Meditate more! I am becoming somewhat of an authority and an expert on receiving massages. Apart from the numerous health benefits there is one peculiar and welcome side affect. An enforced prolonged meditative state. This tends to cause my brain to throb, and all the thoughts bundled up inside it make numerous noises, until I am sitting in front of a keyboard. This is particularly annoying when trying to sleep the night before formal learning.

Thai massage has an interesting style. What I like about it most is that it is non repetitive and it uses interesting body weight contortions that make me think of the dawn of the WWF in the playgrounds of the 80’s.

I started my PADI course yesterday. It is a small class and a largely humorous informal affair. Today we will be getting in the pool and completing our theory before entering the open water tommorrow. Some of the insights are fantastic and could be applied to out of water experiences.

-When faced with vertigo hug your buddy
-Always breath, never hold your breath
-Animals always act defensive
-If you can sneak up on it, it is probably a plant

Captain Nemo still taunts me. I saw this yesterday in town.

More is not always better. After giving scooters a paragraph or two I thought it would be wise to hire the services of a quad bike for koh tao. Good farming stock are often riding quad bikes before they can walk. But I have found that the quad bikes that live on islands are close relations to the garden variety horse. Loud and stroppy due to a diet of two stroke fuel. The island quad bikes need constant throttle and a well timed kick to maintain the engine running. It was this kicking motion that soon got the better of me. Even though I had prepared as best I could the horse/quad bike was soon kicking me back. I now wear a proud memento(in the form of a huge bruise on my foot) from my battles on four wheels and will be staying well away in future.

I wrote a small thing yesterday whilst I was waiting for our dive course to start. I can only call it a thing because that is what it is. It is not my best work or my worst but some of you may enjoy it all the same. Think of it the next time you are waiting…..

Waiting is worst when you have spent money, but is it wise to wonder you have wasted your wage? Perhaps it is prudent to be proud of your patience and instead just forget to pay.

I have recently learned the power that a writer wields whilst traveling. If you want to scare anyone in the service industry mention that you are a travel writer. If you want to scare anyone who is being rude to you mention that you are fiction writer researching your next work. If you need an excuse for tapping on a keyboard whilst people are getting drunk around you say you are a writer with a deadline.Easy huh?

I completed a four hour session in a pool and an exam today for my PADI training. I was not particularly inspired whilst being under water. All I could think about was how the pool was far worse than my local pond.

I know it is rude to brag but if there was ever a pond worth bragging about it this is surely it.