Busting Bikes and Scuba Madness - Part 2

Where it all began

Chumpon

I'd already learned to dive in Phuket, and though the nightlife and diving scene there is A1 I'd heard of this other great little island for diving called Koh Tao. Back in the 1990s the island was a real gem in the backpackers map of islands to visit. It was 2003 when I showed up at Chumpon harbour. All I had was a backpack crammed with diving gear, my usual adventurous instincts and a good dose of optimism. The early morning flight into Bangkok and the train journey had taken some of the wind out of me but I still wasn't tired.

The so called 'War on Terror' was raging a world away but to all intents and purposes it was life as usual in the Land of Smiles.

Chumpon Pier

There were five of us waiting to board the six-hour slow boat to Koh Tao. The 250 Baht we paid got us a small mat to lie on at the covered top deck of a converted fishing boat. Clambering on we made our way to sleeping Koh Tao. The other travellers were divers as well, some new wave blonde from the States and a feminazi Scottish little runt.
I soon picked up a few things about Koh Tao that I needed to know. One was that the island was small, it is the smallest island out of the three (the other two being Koh Samui, Koh Phang Yan) and divers were all over the place on Tao.
Koh Tao

Arriving on Koh Tao at six in the morning was like for me. Everything was so quiet, it had just been raining and a real sense of a lost island paradise was there. I'd already made my mind up to complete a Divemaster course at Buddha View Dive Center. I can't remember the specific reason, it might of been a recommendation it might of just been on a whim but soon enough The way Divemaster training works out on Koh Tao is you can do either the 2 week, cram-everything-into it-and-work-like-mad course OR opt for the do-it-at-your-own-pace course. I chose the latter (aka the internship based Divemaster Course). The course was pretty cool looking back to 2003. The divers (almost all of whom were either European, American or Japanese) tended to be easy-going lefties and hippie types. There was (and still is!)drinking parties, opium dens, mushroom shake bars and smoking the wacky-backy was rife. The violence that seems to be more commonplace was seldom for fighting amoungst the divers was a rare occurrence (given all the dope and diving going round it wasn't surprising).
The divers themselves tended to be either gap-year students traveling with their partners or lone traveller types. Plenty of them were on 'round-the-world' tickets and Koh Tao happened to be on the way south for them heading towards Malaysia and Australia. Often they'd intend on staying only a few days but end up staying until their cash ran out and their relatives tired of endless money requests!
The nationalities of the divers varied, but the majority tended to be Scandinavian, English, German, Canadian and Japanese. The Divers actually working there as Instructors or Divemaster's were usually either British, German or Scandinavian. Canadians and Japanese divers tended to travel in packs, although they were friendly enough, they usually kept to each others 'clique'.
People from North America tended to be in a distinct minority on Koh Tao and African folk even rarer (I only every met one African in the six months I stayed!).
Anyway back to the story...

After a month or so I was soon got qualified as a divemaster. Others wanted to go for their OWSI (Open Water Scuba Instructor) but I wanted to get some work first and had had enough of training. I applied for a job with Planet Scuba and was waiting for an answer when I'd found this crazy bar called 'High-Times'. An opium den hangout just a stone-throw's from my bungalow. The place was being overseen by these three crazy thai guys who ran speed-boat journey's back to the mainland and the other islands on the side and the guy in charge was a kept 'husband' of a Katoey! I know, only in Thailand!
Jimbob and Hightimes Bar

A wayward farang guy calling himself 'Jimbob' worked at a reggae bar called Hightimes. He had little money, was in debt, but was making the best of a bad situation by running the bar, creating artwork and stenciling for the place. After a few nights of going there to drink I complained about how the rents were being pushed up all over the island. Jimbob, seizing to this declared that there were bungalows available for free and some as cheap as 1500 baht per month. Ranting and raving like a man with a mission I pressed him for more information. He went on to explain that for an 'Ultra Cheap' Bungalow was going for the knock-down price of between 1500 to 3000 baht per month. The only problem was, though nearer to SSDC (which was in Sairee) it was off the beaten track in the center of the island, vaguely knowing the area I knew an offroad bike would be crucial in getting there. (See beginning of this page)

End of Part 2

Source: On The Road Thailand