Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand

I took one last deep breath and exhaled, the water rose above my goggles and I was under. After a few breathless moments, I started to get used to my regulator and lowered myself to the bottom.

This was the first time I had been diving and it was a strange feeling sitting on the seabed, breathing through something Darth Vader would be more comfortable using.

As I settled my nerves and gradually became used to the fact that every little breath made me float up and down, resembling a human yo-yo, I started to enjoy it. I looked around and saw the amazing variety of colourful fish and corals. The tranquillity was surreal.

I was on the first dive of my PADI Open Water Diver course in Koh Tao, Thailand. Yuki, my instructor, had taken my friend Edd and I to a shallow reef where we could practice.

After mastering basic skills, we swam around the reef, looking at the wonderful sea life. However, I was concentrating more on what I was doing rather than paying attention to my aquatic surroundings.

Following our first dive, we relaxed on the way back to Koh Tao and ate lunch at the local café. To pass the course, there is an exam based on the PADI Open Water Diver book. I was told the exam would be a piece of cake but I took no chances, and decided to peruse through some textbooks.

Diving in Koh Tao. Photo credit: Jonny Payne.

The nitrogen in my body from the earlier dive was making me doze off during the exam, but luckily, I passed and was well on my way to becoming qualified.

Koh Tao is a beautiful island to visit. Surrounded by the Gulf of Thailand, it is less touristy than its neighbour Koh Samui, and less crowded than Koh Phangan, home of the famous Full Moon beach parties. The main town of Sairee is home to a number of dive operators and numerous trendy bars and restaurants on the beach. We stayed in Mae Haad, which is a fifteen-minute walk from Sairee, but also has the necessary backpacker services.

On our first night, we headed to Sairee for a meal. We found Crabby's restaurant, a little shack on the beach with a barbeque. We asked what was on offer and the waiter pointed to a barrel of fresh fish. I chose the red mullet cooked on the barbeque, in a sweet chilli marinade, which was superb and full of flavour. The meal cost all of £2 - I was severely tempted to have another - but I resisted.

After our meal, we went to one of the beachside bars. We unwound and listened to the music, drank Singha beer and watched the fire poi dancers. I had to pinch myself to ensure this wasn't a dream.

Reality hit me the next day, as we were required to be at the dive centre at 7am. Nursing a slight hangover, we set off for Chumphon Peninsula, a dive site about 30 minutes away by boat.

Once there, we managed to dive to a depth of 20 metres. We saw grey reef sharks, batfish, jellyfish and barracuda among other species. After a 40-minute dive, we moved base to White Rock dive site where we saw triggerfish, which are known to bite through fins (flippers) while protecting their territory.

Jellyfish in Chumphon Peninsula dive site, Koh Tao. Photo credit: Jonny Payne.

After surviving the triggerfish intact, we headed back to Koh Tao. The nitrogen once again kicked in and we decided to have a quiet night in our local bar.

Our dive course was bought as a package from the UK and included all of the dives needed for the Open Water qualification as well as some extra dives. Since we enjoyed it so much, we paid a bit extra to convert these to the Advanced Open Water Qualification. This meant we could choose a number of different dives to do in a two-day period. We plumped for a photography dive, DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle) dive and a night dive, as well as the mandatory navigation dive and deep-water dive to 30 metres.

The navigation dive was interesting. We used compasses to navigate our way around dive sites and had to find our way back to the instructor. Fortunately, Edd knew where he was going, otherwise with my shoddy compass reading we would have been swimming in the wrong direction.

The DPVs were great fun. It was nice to relax and let the machine take the strain. Although mine cut out for a minute or two, and I could see Edd and the instructor rapidly disappearing into the deep blue ocean.

The photography dive was probably my favourite. We learned how to take quality photos, which produced decent results. We took hundreds of photos and they turned out much better than expected.

The night dive was a bit scary. With a thunderstorm in the distance, we stayed in the local bay. It was pitch-black underwater, with only our underwater torches providing a small ray of light. The lightning in the distance lit up the seabed for a second but we soon plunged into darkness again. It was strange and thrilling at the same time.

When the lightning illuminated the seabed, I realised I was about to be spiked by large sea urchins that surrounded us. After half-an hour, the thunderstorm was advancing and we decided to quit for the day. Being in water with a metal tank strapped to your back isn't the most sensible thing during a storm.

The deep dive the next day was amazing as well. We managed to dive to 30 metres and saw different species of fish that live in deeper parts of the ocean. It's a different sensation being so deep. It's darker and harder to breathe because the air is compressed, making it thicker, in effect. The dive, therefore, is far shorter because air is used up more quickly.

When I booked the diving trip, I wasn't sure what to expect. My friends said diving is one of the best experiences, but I wasn't convinced until I tried it myself, and I whole-heartedly agree.

Koh Tao is one of the best places to learn how to dive. Its clear water and relatively unspoilt reefs make it a great habitat for fish, coral and other marine life. The island is also one of the cheapest places to learn and the island itself has a sleepy charm lacking in its bigger neighbours, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. Koh Tao should be at the top of any traveller's list - it's the perfect place for diving and relaxing without the bombardment of tourists.