Sunday, April 8, 2012

foolin' around in thailand

This weeks P52 theme is foolin' around.  My mom was the only one who tried to fool me this year and boy did she get me good.  She told me that someone very important (think most important person in America) died and had me running to the TV to check the news.  Thankfully she put me out of my misery quickly or rather my savvy husband figured out that she couldn't possibly be telling me the truth and reminded me of April Fools Day.  Phew!  

We are still here in Thailand and loving every minute of it...so much so that I'm rather late on this post...oops.  This weeks pictures might be a bit of a stretch, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to pull it off.  I thought I'd share some pictures from our short trip out to Koh Tao (Turtle Island).  On our trip, we managed to get in 4 dives and had fun foolin' around in our wetsuits and down under the ocean.  That said, I sadly don't have any photos of us in our wetsuits or any photos of the amazing animals we saw during our dives.  I know...I know...I got nothing.  I hope you enjoy the photos anyways! :)

On our first day to Koh Tao, we had lunch at a small restaurant on the beach.  When we first sat down at our table, there was a bird pecking at some food on the plates of the people who were at the table before us.  The staff took the plates and off went the bird to another table.  We started eating our food and about half way through our meal, the (I think it was the same) bird dove into my dish and landed on a plate with a thud before flying off again with food in its beak.  It was INSANE and totally sad because I didn't get to finish my meal...

There was a full moon and lots of people were up late partying at the 
full moon parties on the island.  We were in bed by 9pm. :)

We had 2 dives in the afternoon from 12pm - 5pm.  Then we did 2 more dives the following morning from 6am - 12pm.  There are tons of dive companies on Koh Tao, but we did our 
dives with New Way and loved our experience with them.

Finally...one of us after our dives! :)

Our BCDs on our tanks all prepped and ready to go!

Look at the bottle carefully...yes...those are cigarette butts you see.  
There are a lot of smokers who dive apparently! :) 

Regulators for breathing.

Weights and flippers.

Other dive boats heading out to different dive sites.

Beautiful Thai Flag!

The dives we had were AMAZING.  We saw some incredible sea life down below the surface and let me just say that our world is pretty remarkable and beautiful.  There were awesome schools of fish that swam past us, neat coral and rock formations to swim around, and all sorts of stunning details to be enjoyed everywhere we looked.  Some highlights for me included seeing a huge Green Turtle grazing on the coral (I could have watched it for hours), watching a Sea-snake (thankfully) swim/slither away from us, spotting three Blue-Spotted Sting Rays hiding on the sandy bottom, observing the White-Eyed Moray Eel from a distance, hoping the Pufferfish wouldn't puff up too much more, and seeing the Razorfish with its vertical body bobbing about.  We saw a plethora of "normal" fish too including a couple of aggressive Triggerfish, school of Barracudas, beautiful Bannerfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Clownfish, and so many more! This trip has made us both want to dive more, so hopefully we'll be able to do just that! :)

Come back for a visit as I'll be sharing more pictures from our island vacation later this week! 

14 comments:

  1. Ohh! You are so brave to go diving! I am such a chicken about it but my husband absolutely loves to dive. Maybe one day I'll work up the nerve. I was surprised to see that photo of the cigarette butts - who would think so many divers smoke! And...thanks for posting a photo on my self portrait club link up! Hooray! And, as for your comment, I don't have a tripod either! So far, I've gotten by with using something available - a wall, table, dresser or even a zip line ramp at a playground! maybe someday i'll spring for a tripod - but finding something else to use often ends up being part of the fun for me! Glad you are doing "selfies" too. Have fun with it and keep sharing them with me! xoxo Sarah

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    1. Hi Sarah! You've inspired me to try to get more creative with my selfies especially now that I know you don't use a tripod. So hopefully you'll see me a bit more on your linky party. :) Let me just say that I'd definitely recommend diving as it is really incredible. I'd just say take it slow, get a good teacher, and do as much as you are comfortable with. I hear you about the cigarette butts...makes no sense to me. I thought divers needed to have good lungs! :) xo

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  2. Hi, Melody! That bird--oh, I would've been so mad! They are so smart, though, doing that. How fun to get to go diving! I don't know that I'd be brave enough; or, maybe I'm too old. :) You've made some great memories!

    Christine

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    1. Hi Christine! Right?!? I couldn't believe it when it was happening...alright, so truth is I totally did not keep my cool when it happened. A totally unreal moment, that's for sure. :) I'm gonna say that you are not too old at all! I'd definitely recommend it and just say to take it slow. It can totally be done. :)

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  3. Looks like so much fun! We're headed to Thailand for Christmas next year and I'm so excited (already!)!

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    1. Hey Chelsea! It was wonderful and I'm excited for you! The beach is AWESOME...where are you guys going? We are actually moving back to Thailand (Chiang Mai) and are so stoked about it. :)

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  4. Great series of images & memories! Lovely shot of the two of you.

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    1. Thank you Liz! We have a pretty blessed life and totally enjoy our adventure around the world. :)

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  5. I´m not sure I´d dare to dive, though I´d like to try one day! :-)

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    1. I totally understand how you feel Tina. That said, as soon as you try, you will be hooked. My husband and I have become dive snobs and would never think of just going snorkeling ever again! :) Once you get under water and see all the amazing sea animals, it is totally worth it!

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  6. ohhh,the bird is so hungry..it looks you both have a good time in Thailand. I've been in thailand for work and leisure and stayed for 4 years and I love it. Looking forward to go back if I have a chance.The people are great and the food is awesome.

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    1. I'm so glad you had such a good experience in Thailand. It is an amazing country with wonderful people and the BEST food! :) We had a wonderful trip and can't wait to make it out there again!

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  7. Two things on my bucketlist: get a scuba diving license & visit Thailand!

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    1. Oh Katrina...we will have to get that taken care of! :) Now that Matt & I are moving back to Thailand, wait till we have a house built and the guest room will be yours whenever you all want to come for a visit! xo

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