Back to Basics: A Scuba Diving Blog
A memoir of my first diving refresher based in Thailand. I originally had written this piece in 2019 and have amended it slightly to fit in with present day. This blog marks the first time I dived in Thailand before I undertook my internship to become a PADI Divemaster.
Overview of Pattaya Beach
Location: Pattaya, Thailand
In December 2018, I was lucky enough to house sit for my friend in Thailand whilst she went away on holiday for 3 weeks.
She was an international school teacher in a coastal city called Pattaya which is approximately 2 hours away (depending on traffic) from Bangkok. I had already left my suitcase at hers from an earlier visit before going off on my solo adventures and when it was time to come back, I was more than ready to relax. After 5 weeks of non-stop travel and staying in various cramped hostel dorms, I was definitely in need of my own space.
Living the good life in my friend’s private swimming pool, soaking up the Thailand sun!
However, after a few days of complete solitude, I soon found myself in need of something to do with my time.
The solution? Go Scuba Diving! The water has always been my friend, a place I could call home and this was the perfect opportunity. My friend suggested a company to me and I got in contact with them about possibly doing a refresher. A pick up was arranged and the next day I arrived at the dive centre ready to jump right in and get back to basics.
Straight away, I was introduced to my instructor called Russell, a very cool and laidback older gentleman from New Zealand. He fitted me with all my kit for the day and honestly, within 5 minutes of meeting the man I reckon we got on pretty well. Especially after discussing all my NZ travels.
We left the dive centre at about 8.30 am in a mini-bus and drove for roughly 50 minutes to a little fishing village called Samaesan. The boat was already waiting for us so whilst the customers boarded, the staff organised all the equipment and when everyone was ready, we were off!
Before arriving at the first dive site, Russell and I had the time to get to know each other a little better and understand each other's teaching and learning styles.
I was very nervous (the last time I had dived was about 4-5 years ago in Egypt and I’d had quite a bad experience) but in typical kiwi style, he was incredibly laidback and made me feel completely at ease. He ran through a quick briefing with me about what we would be doing that day, where we would be going and answered any questions I had. There was also an overall briefing which addressed the whole boat about safety, what’s available onboard, do’s and don’ts etc by another member of the team.
My updated scuba kit. I actually rented for the first few months during my diving journey until I bought my own.
When it was time to put my kit together, I completely froze. I had a vague idea of where everything went but with Russell watching me, I didn’t want to even attempt it. Luckily, Russell wasn’t the kind of guy to throw me in at the deep end and watch me squirm. In fact, quite the opposite. He patiently went through assembling the kit with me, made sure I understood then promptly made me take it apart again to try by myself. He actually made me assemble and disassemble my kit about 10 times in total! He did say I might hate him for it and I won’t lie, I think I might have for a minute or 2!
Before I knew it, I was a pro at putting my equipment together and just in time for our first dive site of the day. A site called ‘Ban Ta Hann’.
Ready to dive!
The beginning part of my first dive was just your normal refresher/reactivate, going back through the skills, remembering where everything goes and what everything does. I was Russell’s only student for the day which I secretly thrived on as then I could get the one to one interaction that I learn best from. We practised retrieving the regulator, clearing the mask, finding neutral buoyancy, hand signals etc. which took me straight back to when I was that 14-year-old girl doing my Open Water Course.
After I’d gotten all the skills down pat, we were free to enjoy the local surroundings. I didn’t take a camera with me as I wanted to be fully focused on easing myself back into scuba diving but I do remember seeing schools of beautiful fish and vibrant coral. I felt so free underwater and so relaxed that I really couldn't believe I’d waited this long to get back into the water and go diving again.
Funny how life and one bad experience can get in the way.
Once my first dive was over, it was time to get back on the boat for a bit of lunch. I’d forgotten just how heavy the equipment could be once weighed down with water because, in the ocean, I felt as light as a feather. I think I may have even struggled to get on the ladder a few times!
When I was finally aboard, it was a relief to sit down, take it all off and change the tank over for the next dive and after lunch, it was soon time to get ready again and enjoy a second dive at a site called ‘Lam Falang’.
Eating lunch aboard the dive boat in-between dives. See the mask indentation on my forehead?
I believe we went down to 15m for our second dive and because I felt comfortable being back in the groove and back in control, I absolutely loved it. I could simply just enjoy myself which is what it’s all about really, right?
To be honest, the day went by far too quickly for me. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed being back out at sea. I even enjoyed washing and packing the equipment away afterwards!
I can’t pinpoint what it was that made that day so different to my other diving days. Maybe it’s because I felt proud of myself for giving diving another shot, maybe it's because I was older and felt more ready for the experience? Or maybe, just maybe, I simply enjoyed the feeling of being back in the ocean and part of a special, close-knit community for the day.
Russell was a complete gem from start to finish, he made the day what it was so I am grateful to him for that. Hey, if I can remember it so vividly nearly 3 years later then the team must have done something right!
Pattaya is known to be quite the party city… I’d say that’s the safest way to describe it. And if I’m being completely honest, if it wasn’t for my friend, I most likely would never have visited.
However, due to this particular day where I re-found my love for Scuba Diving, I learnt that if given half the chance, there is always beauty to be found, sometimes where you least expect.
