Fun Dives on Koh Lanta

So I finally made it. On the 25th February 2024 I got my Open Water Diver Certificate in Koh Lanta with OK Club Diving Center. Little did I know that after the first dive, I would be hooked on diving for good. That is why after becoming a certified Open Water diver, I tried to get my name up on the whiteboard at OK Club as often as possible. Because that meant that I was scheduled for that day’s diving trip.

My new addiction

After passing my Open Water Diver exam on the 25th of February 2024, I used every opportunity to go on some fun dives. Taking the OWD with OK Club Diving Center was the best decision ever, so I wasn’t even looking into other diving centers to do my fun dives with. My goal was to dive as often as possible with André, the owner of OK Club, and his amazing and fun team. That gave me a bit less than a month to get in all the dives that my schedule allowed and my wallet could afford.

Diving schedule

One of the times I love having my name written in blue on a whiteboard, is when it means that I am going on a diving boat. Ok maybe I also like seeing my name on a whiteboard when we are playing Killer Pool at KoHub, which btw., I suck badly at 😉

Every single time I passed the OK Club Diving Center shop at Lanta Sport Resort – very convenient that they had their shop at the hotel I was staying at – my heart made a tiny little jump when I saw my name written in Saara’s handwriting on the schedule.

So during the last 3 weeks of my stay on Koh Lanta I managed to do 12 dives in total:

• 17.02 – 1st day of my OWD – dive #1 + #2
• 25.02 – 2nd day of my OWD – dive #3 + #4
• 03.03 – fun dive with André diving along with a participant of an Advanced course – dive #5 + #6
• 14.03 – fun dive and snorkeling with Kevin & Ophelia – dive #7 + #8
• 17.03 – fun dive with Bauke and Camille, and Sebastian as divemaster – dive #9 + #10
• 19.03 – fun dive with Sebastian as divemaster – dive #11 + #12

Fun Dives – dive #5 to #12

Finally! I was the proud owner of an OWD certificate and was officially allowed to dive down to 18 meters. Not saying that I hadn’t maybe already seen a slightly higher number on my dive computer during my first dives while doing my OWD – but don’t tell André 😉

Now the fun part could begin. Going just a couple of days after the exam on my first fun dive, I was impressed by how much better and more beautiful the ocean can be, when you can fully focus on the underwater world, without thinking about skill training, passing your exam, and the watchful eyes of André. Underwater you have a very limited angle of view, there is no sound around you and you focus on your breathing, your buoyancy, and your buddy. And that’s one of the many reasons why I fell in love with diving. You get one hour when everyone shuts up. When there are no annoying people, no loud cars, no screaming babies, no complaining idiots … just you enjoying the peace and silence.

Peaceful! I think that is the word that describes the feeling I had every time I was underwater, caring just about keeping my breathing steady and enjoying the moment. Every single fish, you are lucky to see. Every beautiful coral, you are able to discover. Those are the moments that make diving so special for me. Because one thing that I have also felt every single time I was diving, is that I am just a guest in this underwater world full of mysterious creatures that share their habitat with us without judging. And that is something that we all should be thankful for.

First fun dives at Koh Bida Nok & Hin Bida

For my first fun dives I joined an Advanced Course participant and tagged along with him and André in Koh Bida. Going on the big boat takes longer but it definitely has its advantages as well. You can enjoy the boat trip to the diving spot while chatting and getting to know other divers.

Starting the trip with a “how to behave on the boat” briefing by the crew, André almost immediately started with some theory, which I was more than happy to listen to. Never miss out on an opportunity to learn a bit more about diving. Followed by grabbing some breakfast – chicken, salads, tomatoes and toasted bread – and drinking a lot of water, tea and electrolytes, we chilled a bit more on the deck waiting for the most exciting sound on the boat. The horn!

Ko Bida here we come 💙

The horn means that every diver should get downstairs, squeeze into their wetsuits, put on their equipment, grab their fins, and get ready to jump into the water. I have to admit that I am super happy that a couple of years ago I got back into yoga, because without knowing how to do a downward dog, a cobra, or the binding thing I am not sure I could have managed to squeeze my body into the wetsuit. It included some bending, jumping, pushing, pulling, and a lot of sucking in your stomach.

After the “bending and squeezing my body into the wetsuit” thing, you normally already have your equipment prepared by your divemaster, and the only thing left is to put it on. I, however, refused to be lazy and wanted to practice this every single time I went on a dive. So looking for the bag with my name on it, I took all my equipment, found my tank, and started the assembling magic.

How to assemble your equipment?

• Find your tank (on every boat there is a map that shows you where each diving center has its tanks; and I only figured that out on my very last dive of the season)
• get your bag with your name tag – I don’t know why, but I love to see my name on those bags 😉
• retrieve your BC (buoyancy compensator)
• put it on the tank (in my case readjusting it at least 15 times)
• check the air in the tank by opening the tank and smelling the air – I am curious how “bad” air smells 😉
• assemble the 1st and 2nd stages, the gauge, BC inflator/deflator attaching everything the way it should be (or how André or Seb like it :-))
• put away the octopus (your alternate air source) in the corresponding side pocket – don’t forget to make the half-ribbon to make it fit better in the pocket
• check the functionality of the regulator, octopus, and the BC (always thinking about what Seb taught you!)
• prepare your weight belt (in my case: 4 x 0.8kg)
• attach your mask to the BC and
• prepare your fins

Seb (Dive Master): “So tell me Kasia, what could the reason be for your gauge going crazy while you are testing your regulators?”
Note to self: when your gauge is going crazy while you are breathing through your regulator it is probably because you didn’t open the tank fully – thanks Seb for your patience 🤦‍♀️

The dives with OK Club Diving Center

Diving with André is always a lot of fun. Not only is he an amazing person, with whom you always end up having tons of fun. He indeed is also an incredible dive instructor. So even though it was my first fun dive we ended up practicing some skills, which I was super grateful for. The more you practice the more confident you feel on the following dives. And I can never let an opportunity pass by where I can learn or practice my skills.

We saw a lot of beautiful fish but the highlight was definitely seeing my first Blacktip Reef Shark. Beautiful and majestic animals.

Between the first and second dives, we went through some more theory and chilled before we went to Hin Bida to enjoy our second dive.

Unfortunately, it is very rare that the boat decides to get a third dive in. So after Hin Bida we had some delicious lunch on the boat heading back to Koh Lanta.

What I really like about diving is that everyone is so freaking awesome. Arriving back at the pier in Saladan I love the tradition that everyone, not only the crew and the divemasters but also the course participants and fun divers, help unload the boat. In my opinion this, as well as assembling and cleaning your equipment, is part of the whole diving experience.

Driving back with André may take a bit longer than just driving your scooter, but it also has its advantages. If you’re lucky you end up at an ice cream shop on the way back to OK Divers Club Center and get a taste of the delicious caramel-salted dream that melts in your mouth and makes your taste buds dance to the rhythm of a Cha-Cha-Cha.

Diving with friends

As with everything you do in life, at least for me, it is always way more fun when you can share it with friends. So I call myself very lucky that I was able to also share some of my fun dives with friends.

Fun dives with Kevin & Ophelia

The first fun dives that I went on with friends as buddies were with Kevin and Ophelia. I have known Kevin for I don’t know how long and if I went blind and had to trust someone with my life, Kevin would definitely be one of the chosen ones. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be able to call him a friend.

Because Kevin has always been diving with Lanta Divers, he booked a trip including 2 dives (Kevin and I) and 1 snorkeling (Kevin, Ophelia, and I) for us. Only when I arrived at Lanta Divers in the morning, checked in, and noticed that they had put Kevin – obviously – into a more advanced group, I realized what a big sacrifice he took upon himself just to dive together with me. Being an advanced diver with I don’t know how many dives in your log book, I assumed it would be super annoying and boring to join a freshly made OWD. But the main reason for going together on this trip was to dive together so I “moved” Kevin to my group hoping that he was ok with that 😉

Spending some time on the boat, chatting with Kev & Ophelia and having some breakfast, I realized once again how lucky I was to have met those two. The two dives with Kevin were great. He is the most calm and patient person I know and I also enjoyed him pointing out all the underwater creatures I might have missed, while still being a bit nervous about the fast descent, my ears, and the fact that I was breathing with the help of a regulator and a tank 18 m underwater. Also, I found my new favorite diving breakfast – toasted bread with smashed banana topped with Cornflakes. Before you judge me, give it a try!

During the third stop, the divers and the people snorkeling went onto the water at the same spot so I used the opportunity to take some videos with Ophelia’s camera. And I had a blast trying to capture the ascending bubbles from the group diving below us.

Fun dives with Camille & Bauke

Another fun dive I was able to dive into (pun intended :-)) was with Camille and Bauke. We went with OK Club Diving Center and Sebastian as divemaster. I would say that, for some people, Seb might come across as a bit of a “Bad Boy”, but as soon as he is in diving mode he becomes super serious and is all about keeping you safe and making it the most fun time for you.

I very much appreciated all his patience with me, allowing me to assemble the equipment by myself and practice additional skills.

Although the briefing was in French tried to listen in, even though I already knew the briefing by heart. But there was a moment when I had to interrupt, which was when I heard Seb mentioning my name. “Wait! When you say my name I deserve to know what you are talking about ;-)” … It didn’t get clarified what they had been talking about, but Seb mentioned that it was ok to say that because I kind of was like family, and made my heart jump just a tiny little bit. Scratch that. It was more like it had jumped down on a trampoline from the Empire State Building and was bouncing back like those small tiny bouncing rubber balls that were popular back in the 90’s.

Another moment that made my heart jump and my stomach feel like it was hosting thousands of butterflies was when Seb asked me if I wanted to open the SMB, the surface marker buoy, after the 5-minute safety stop on our next dive. Everyone who knows me, knows that my answer to a question like that is always “Hell, yes” followed by a “Wait! How do I do that? What does it mean? and … say whaaaaat!?!”. But no worries! Seb had me covered. He explained exactly what I should do and how I should do it. And for all of you who might have been concerned for the safety of Camille and Bauke, who were diving with us, no worries, everyone survived. Also, Seb picked a diving spot where we wouldn’t have needed an SMB anyway, so it was the perfect spot for me to practice. There is definitely space for improvement, but it was not too bad on my first try. I just need to remember to blow the SMB with my octopus to the fullest before I let go.

Two dives with Camille & Bauke and Seb as a divemaster. Spending time with great people and enjoying the sun and the boat trip. Trying out the SMB and seeing tons of great fish. All of those things are more than enough to make a day memorable. But if that’s not enough, I can tell you that I had the most astonishing and best experience during our second dive.

The School of Fish

Most people are looking out for Blacktip Reef Sharks, Leopard Sharks, or turtles. Yes I agree, all of those are amazing and beautiful in their way. And I would lie if I said that I wouldn’t want to see a turtle at least once in my life while diving. But my highlight was the moment I was surrounded by a school of fish. Being in the middle of hundreds or even thousands of fish that surround you was one of the most astonishing moments in my very short diving experience. Being underwater and seeing fish in every direction you turn your head, having the feeling of being totally at the mercy of the fish that surround you, was at the same time mindblowing and a bit scary. Especially the moment when the school of fish swam away from me, decided to turn around in a split second, and moved towards me as one gigantic wonder of nature. That was one of the most beautiful and intimidating moments in my life … and I also think that I peed myself … just a tiny little bit. Good thing that, underwater, no one notices 😉

Underwater Photoshoot

I love to take pictures capturing moments I would like to remember. So I call myself very lucky that during my first fun dives, I met Zoë (sub-motion.com). An astonishing underwater photographer and a charming human being. She managed to take amazing pictures of me even on my first dive where my main focus was on trying to balance my buoyancy, keeping my breathing steady, and well … mainly surviving. Thankfully I met her on following dives again, so she took even better and more “fun” pictures of me.

If you are ever on Koh Lanta and go diving and see a lovely, red-haired woman with the cutest freckles assembling a huge underwater camera, please say “Hi” ;-)

Dive spots on Koh Lanta

For Open Water Divers there are few places for fun dives near Koh Lanta. But to be honest it doesn’t matter, at least not for me. Every time I wanted to go diving I just messaged Saara to ask if there was a boat going the next day and if they had a spot for me, without even really caring about where we would go. Even though I have been several times to Ko Haa and Ko Bida, the two most common spots to go to, I swear I never felt like having been there before.

Every single time I had the feeling of exploring a new place and a new world I had not seen before. I have to admit that I am curious how this changes for someone who is doing this for a living and visits the same diving spots several times a week. But also it might be just comparable to having to deal with similar code and the same annoying bugs every single day when you are earning your money by being a software developer.

Best moments on my first fun dives

There is nothing that was not amazing and breathtaking during my fun dives, but if I had to narrow it down to 5 things that I enjoyed the most, this would be the list:

• seeing 18m depth on my dive computer for the first time
• getting my equipment ready without needing help: once again thank you Seb for your patience
• staying underwater for more than 60 minutes
• managing the SMB
• and probably the most mindblowing thing: being surrounded by a school of fish for several minutes – OMFG

All those moments were proven by the feeling I had every single time I emerged to the surface after the obligatory 3-minute safety stop 5 m beneath the surface. The feeling that I wished I could have stayed longer in this beautiful underwater world. The urge to go down immediately for another dive. The desire to be able to do this for the rest of my life.

One of the moments that I also very much like looking back to was when I tried to fix the BC on a tank. I was struggling with that for a bit. Seb wanted to help me, and I convinced him that I would manage by myself. I tried a couple more times, wanted to give up, and asked Seb for help, and he just replied “Nope, you got this.” And I did! I had to try a couple more times, assembling the BC to the tank, checking the height, opening the strap, reattaching it, and doing this dance for a few minutes. But then, at some point, I managed. I did it, without help! And this feeling was just amazing. That is exactly what I love about OK Club Dive Center: you learn all the skills by practicing them.

What’s next?

You might be asking what’s next. Well, for sure more diving. I am eager to do the “squeeze your body into your wetsuit” dance. Eager to listen for the horn, the sound that every diver on a boat wants to hear. Eager to meet new people and experience more underwater moments. That is exactly why I booked a diving trip to Egypt two days after I returned home (?) from Koh Lanta, Thailand. This will be 6 days focused on diving, with probably 3 to 5 dives a day and maybe even a Night Diving Certificate if I get lucky.

After that … patiently waiting for my flight to Koh Lanta. Followed by more diving, advanced courses, further certificates, and lots of fun.