Koh Tao, Part II : Ban's and Big Fish Murmurings

We arrived at Koh Tao's dock and were immediately swarmed by tuk-tuk drivers asking us where we were staying and telling us that place was shit and that they knew of a much better place to stay. I waved them off, just like I was doing to the dockflies, and kept muttering, "Mei, mei, mei..." Luckily, Ban's Dive Shop came through this time and had a pick-up waiting for us for free. Another eight farang piled in and we headed for what would be home for the next week.



I got to Ban's place around two in the p.m. on Saturday the 11th. Dive lessons started at four. At checkin, I was a little apprehensive when it seemed that Amelie wanted to share a room. I quickly put the kibosh on that and headed to my room. It was a small deal with a single bed, small balcony, and a shower I couldn't stand up straight in, but it had HBO so I popped on Back to the Future 2 and collapsed on the bed. Two hours to look around, grab a bite, and take a nap, the latter of which I decided upon, but as I lay in my room and tried to stop sweating, sleep wouldn't come. So, I got up and decided to take a walk around the grounds. The resort was pretty impressive, considering the price (I paid 9,000 Baht but that included the PADI certification; six nights and scuba-diving for about $300, not including the cash that would eventually disappear by way of other means peripheral to the accomodation); covering 20 acres and settled on a lushly vegetated hillside that sloped directly into the sea, it was made up of two long dormitories on each side of a training pool/garden that ambled down to a boardwalk bar/restaurant/classroom. The bar/rest./class was the sturdiest structure I've ever seen made entirely of bamboo, and quite a comfortable little hang-out as well, situated right on the water with an intoxicating view of the bay and nearby Shark Island. I ordered a cold one and parked my ass on a pillow to watch a dozen or so Israelis just back from a dive washing their gear and boasting of the sights they saw, as I waited on my intro. class to start. There were a surprisingly large amount of Israelis on Koh Tao for a holiday. Many of the restaurants had Israeli food and Hebrew menus. I never did figure out this cultural phenomenon. Anyhow, the group of divers couldn't stop talking about what would prove to be a ubiquitous conversation all over the island. Seemed a boat they were diving in close proximity to just a few hours earlier was all aflutter with excitement after supposedly seeing a couple of whale sharks. Sitting there listening to the buzz, not once did I consider the possibility of such a privilege presenting itself to me over the next week.

After an hour or so of lounging around, it was finally time to head upstairs to the classroom above the bar, to meet my future dive buddies and to learn how to breathe oxygen at ambient pressure.