Bangkok saw me make it to 820ft above sea level, as I watched the world go by from the city’s famous Sky Bar! Koh Tao gifted me quite the opposite, heading 18m below sea level for my first Open Water scuba diving course.

Tali & I set out for the island together, and as with many of the journey’s I’ve written up, this one wasn’t without its quirks! My personal favourites include…

1. Getting shouted down by our driver for daring to walk to a 7-Eleven at our pit-stop
2. Being near blinded by a torch for trying to cross a road

Luckily we were able to survive these horrors with the lesser known Walkers flavour… Salt & Sour! Perfect for when you want the memory of ordering one two many tequila’s but in snack form. Bad choices in a neat, ready-to-eat package.

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After arriving to the Chumphon docks in the early hours and catching some zzzzz’s we jumped aboard our Songserm Ferry for the final leg.

I spent the first couple of days exploring the island by bike! If you can actually find it (Google Maps no help at all here I’m afraid), West Coast View Point has a great view of… you guessed it… the west coast 😛

The journey back down was somewhat challenging, but sunsets and guitars go hand in hand!

The diving is fantastic here, but it’s the whole experience that really makes Koh Tao stand out as a top destination! The night life on the island is brilliant.

Dwarfed in size by Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Samui, you might expect a dull experience after hours, but the opposite is true! Koh Tao’s cosiness means the whole island flocks towards a buzzing strip of beach front bars and cocktail shacks, and the coastal walk to reach them sets the mood beautifully!

Having settled into the island! I was ready to take on the challenge I’d been waiting for, my Open Water Scuba Course! I had no idea what to expect, but what a fantastic adventure it turned out to be. I’ll give a shout out to Phoenix Divers now as well – they’re a brilliant company, from the setup and training, to our amazing team of instructors. Totally recommend them!

This entry level course into the world of scuba diving is going to set you back 11,000 Thai Baht (about £270), so be sure to budget this in if you plan to make this memorable experience a part of your travels through Southeast Asia. Make use of Phoenix Divers onsite accommodation available for a reduced rate when you book onto a course. To be honest, just book it because you get to walk on stepping stones on the way in 😛

In the first couple of days, you’ll grind through the theory, breathing techniques, the equipment, and even try out many of the manoeuvres in their training pool. Providing you pass this, you’ll head out into the ocean early on Day 3 and enter a whole new world!

There’s really nothing I can say that would accurately describe how awesome it was to experience this for the first time. The nerves I felt in the training pool vanished, replaced by complete awe of the life around me. Moving as they do, you feel for a short time a part of this distant aquatic world we know so little about.

Amongst this underwater serenity, we did pack in a few laughs with the help of our photographer Mimi.

Check out this highlight reel too, brilliantly put together by Mimi, showing all the best bits from an experience I’ll never forget.

I left the next day, but definitely not for good.

As I drifted away from Koh Tao, this also marked the beginning of the end for my time in Thailand. 1 month previous, I arrived by boat from Laos, so it seemed fitting that another carried me away, bound for new ventures across Malaysia.

Thailand, already on the bucket lists of many a traveller, will not disappoint. Tackle the rush of Bangkok, venture upwards to discover the tranquil north, or opt for new experiences on one of the country’s 1430 islands scattered throughout the south, and you’ll open yourself up to a world of incredible culture, delicious cuisine, some crazy bus routes and people that you’ll want to bring home with you!

When you take a trip across the world, you will never run out of firsts, so join me soon to see me take my very first sleeper train, rail-bound for the delights of Penang, Malaysia!