Phuket

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Day 15-22 Phuket / Similan Islands / Ko Phi Phi.

We flew to Phuket as we were a bit tired with the buses. We stayed in Phuket Town. From here we traveled to the beach. We spent Christmas day on the beach. On boxing day we thought it would be interesting to learn to dive and should be a fun experience. So we inquired about the places we could learn to dive. And the following day we were on our way to the Similan Islands to dive. There are 9 islands that make up the Similans. We transferred from the speed boat (1 ½ hour journey) to the boat we were going to spend the next 4 days on. We got a warm welcome from the people that were already on the boat. OK we were asked to get into the scuba gear and then asked to jump into the water - open water. I stood there on the edge of the boat looking at the instructor and Jag's – who also was hesitant when he went in. I couldn't bring myself to jump in. The fact that the scuba gear weighed a tonne, we were in the middle of nowhere and I was scared shitless. Anyway the guy on the boat could see I wasn't going anywhere fast – so he gave me a bit of a nudge. Splash! Bubbles! Can't see! Then I came up and was floating. The story's going to be too long to write it all so we'll tell you about it when we get back. Let's just say we kinda enjoyed the experience but came back wondering why on earth do people dive – there's something really WRONG about it.

Splash! Bubbles! Can't see!

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We got back to Phuket Town after becoming qualified open water padi divers – have to say don't feel qualified. We then spent New Years on Ko Phi Phi Island. Very nice but you can't swim – the waters too shallow. So the Phuket trip was all about the sun, sand and sea.