SAND IN MY HAIR

(Tuesday) We woke up early and headed to the airport. We flew from Bangkok to Krabi which is in Southern Thailand. To get to our final destination we took a couple of buses and then a longtail boat to Railay West. The beach was absolutely beautiful. There were limestone mountains surrounding us. When we got off the boat some guys tried to put our bags into a card and wheel them, but we all took our bags out because normally people try to scam you this way. Hillary let us know that they worked for the resort we were staying with, and they led the path to our beach houses.
We were split into two groups and two beautiful houses. I was in the house with seven other people and Madeleine was my roommate. I told her to go upstairs and get us a room. She grabbed the honeymoon suite :) The houses were stunning. Ours had four bedrooms and three bathrooms. There were two rooms downstairs and one bathroom. After washing our feet, we walked upstairs where a large deck connected the kitchen, a bathroom and bedroom. The deck had a bench along the entire edge with plenty of space. The kitchen was amazing. I wished I could have cook every meal! The kitchen led to a sitting area that was open and had a bench and pillows on the floor. This opened to the patio where a table and chairs were placed with fresh flowers. From the living area was a separate walkway that led to our room. There was a large bed, private bathroom and a private balcony. There was so much space. These vacation homes were relatively inexpensive to for accommodating eight guests. It was the perfect place to end a trip!
All of us had to get fitted for scuba diving tomorrow which took about 20 minutes. We went swimming and laid on the beach to watch the sunset. The tide went out, and we walked to Railay East for some dinner. Upon recommendation, we went to Mom's near the end of the walk. The path was dark to get there, but the food was worth it! I had tofu green curry. In fact, I ordered this from Mom's four times throughout our stay. Everyone was satisfied. After dinner, we made our way back to our houses and sat around chatting. Eventually we pulled our mosquito net over our bed and went to sleep.
(Wednesday)We woke up nice and early to enjoy some breakfast before getting on a boat. I had some hot tea and dipped my Nature Valley Roasted Almond Bar in it. Then we walked over to the scuba shop and filed into a couple of boats. The longtails took us to a big boat that we would enjoy the rest of the day on. There were a couple other small groups on the boat, but we were the majority.
My partner for the day was Noam! Yay! Since we weren't certified, we had one guide per two people. Our guide walked us through a flip book with rules and regulations. Naturally I had a million questions to ask him. He was patient with me :) I was very nervous but excited. I kept thinking, "What if I don't breathe?"Which isn't a logical question because why would I stop breathing? He just kept emphasizing the importance to continuously breathe while underwater to prevent lung damage. Note to self:Don't stop breathing. Check.
We ate a light breakfast on the boat and stocked up on electrolytes and water. Then we tested our gear. We had about an hour and a half to get to Phi Phi Islands. The boat ride was amazing. The limestone cliffs were so beautiful and enticing. I couldn't stop taking pictures. When we got to Phi Phi, the water was crystal clear. I was very happy. We went downstairs and put on our wetsuits (I swear mine was a kids size which made me feel like I was choking).
He put on our weight belts for us and helped us strap into our jackets. We practiced breathing in the oxygen and proceeded to put on our flippers and goggles. When we were ready to go he asked us to stand up in order to lift our tanks from their holders. All I could say was, "I am standing! I am standing!"My short little self could not get the oxygen tank out so he had to climb up and help me. Anyway, we took a couple of steps and jumped into the water.
We were required to do skills tests before diving. Once in the water, our guide took us down individually. We had to acclimate our bodies by plugging our noses and breathing every meter or so. Then we had to practice what to do if our mouthpieces fell. Another skill learned was how to clear our masks of water without having to swim out. I'm so glad I learned this for future snorkeling adventures!
Our dive was amazing. We swam around the beautiful coral. There were schools of fish everywhere. We saw giant turtles too! On our second dive, the guide told me to look behind and there was one within touching distance. It was a great feeling. The giant coral was so precious, and I was extra cautious not to knock my fins into anything. The idea of that happening scared me so I tended to swim a bit higher. Sometimes the guide would have to pull my fin and bring me back because I kept floating to the top.
On the second dive I felt extremely nauseous. I think it was from eating and then diving shortly after. I still did the entire dive. Both of them were 50 minute dives,and we went about 12 meters deep. It was crazy being able to glide across the water and swim with the fish. I absolutely loved scuba diving.
We had a great lunch in between dives and then delicious fruit after the second. Those of us that were on the boat ate almost all the pineapple and got extremely giddy with it. We came up with things to tell the others as to why there was no pineapple left. Then we spent our spare time just soaking up the sun and jumping in the water.
We got back to the beach houses around 5pm. After a shower and change of clothes, we watched the sunset. This one was beautiful. I was kind of grumpy and almost missed it because I was so hungry! The sky was different hues of pink against the limestone and ocean. We went to Mom's again for dinner and ordered the same thing. Then it was time for bed. I was exhausted!!!