Diving in Koh Tao

The Island of Koh Tao, is well know for their scuba diving activity. Since Esmond and I haven't tried diving here before, so why not we give it a try. We arrange the dive from the Resort itself, it saves us the hassle to walk and carry my equipment all around.

From the hotel, they provided us the shuttle to the pier where we waited for other divers to join us on the trip. So here we are in this room filling out our paperwork before we go to the underwater world.

The boat has finally arrive, and its time to board!

 

And away we sail, from here it looks as if we are sailing to a journey of no return ..

 

Gears are properly assemble and indeed it's time for our 1st dive ..

 

It took almost an hour plus.. and Esmond wasn't feeling quite ok.  On almost every dive trip i go.. someone is bound to have seasick. In this case, it was Esmond.. hahahah.. poor fellow ..

According to our Divemaster, this are the proposed dive sites ..

 

Some of the cool underwater shots taken by my GoPro ..

 

Can you see me?

 

Unfortunately, the visibility was quite bad. I was also shock that there weren't many corals and marine life. There were this stretch of dead corals all over the seabed. Oh my! i hope they do something about it. I was expecting better than this ..

We only went for two dives for this trip, we wanted to do 3 dives in the day and also one night dive at first. Luckily they told us that the night dive wasn't available due to bad weather conditions and also only two dives were possible on that day because there wasn't any other slots available. If not it will be a waste of money, seriously there's nothing much to see..

So it's time to pack the bags and head back to the resort and plunge in the pool!

The Tarna Align Resort, Koh Tao unmistakably relaxing

 This week’s adventure brings us to a few places. First, let us start with Koh Tao, which a small island away from an Island. Apparently, this island is famous for diving and snorkeling. So that's why my friend Esmond decided why we should give this place a go.

 There are no other travel options available from Kuala Lumpur besides, Bangkok Airways which will take your from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) direct to Koh Samui (USM). The journey takes approximately an hour and forty minutes.

They serve a pretty decent meal. They have no entertainment system on board their Airbus 319 aircraft. So basically the term "sit back and relax" really do apply here.. lol

 Well, the journey isn't that long and before you know it.. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Koh Samui International Airport..

Since its an open bay, you have to be chauffeur driven to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) area.

The airport has this interesting open concept and its surrounded with lush greenness. It really makes you feel as if your on a tropical island of paradise.

From the airport, Esmond arrange a shuttle to bring us to the pier. There are several ways to get to Koh Tao from Koh Samui but the most common ones are by;

1. Lomprayah High Speed Ferry ( Website: www.lomprayah.com )

2.  Seatran Discovery Express Ferry ( Website: www.seatrandiscovery.com )


After we arrive we felt so exhausted ... even tho the location wasn't that far from KL but all the travelling really took a toll on me and Esmond. The first thing that came to our mind was food.. and food it was...

At this hour there wasn't much to choose from because it is still considered early for dinner and most shops were just beginning to open. After which we went back to the hotel which was The Tarna Align Resort to really explore the property and what it has to offer ..

I really love the pool of this resort. The picture above is the resort main pool, it is really deep and this is where some the confine pool diving session is held by their in house diving school.

The name of the in house dive center is Chic Diving and their website is www.chicdiving.com
So far i had a good experience with them during my dive ..

This is the view from our room.. retractable glass door gives you access 24/7 to the pool. This is a shared pool. 2 units per pool, but since there wasn't anyone occupying the next room .. the whole pool is ours!

The plus point about this resort is that;
1. It is really secluded, so you don't feel to cramped with other hotels / resort nearby
2. Brand new property, so its new sheets, bed amenities and etc
3. Individual swimming pool and shared pool so you can enjoy lots of privacy
4. in house diving center, so you don't need to go elsewhere when your here. They will take care of everything for you
5. They have a Nespresso Coffee machine in your room.

what's not good;
1. There's a construction going on next door, and i was given a corner room. From my pool i can see the construction site and people working on it which doesn't seem so therapeutic.

 2. It is situated on a hill and the way up to the main lobby is very steep.
3. The Bathroom flooring is very slippery .. please be extra careful
4. The way back to the hotel if your planning to walk to nearby eateries could be very taxing.

For those of you who would like to check out this resort, here is their website www.thetarnakohtao.com/

Overall, i would say this resort wasn't that bad because it delivers what i wanted.. i left feeling relaxed!