Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand This Week

[livinlifeinBKK]

Just got back from Koh Tao and finally got to use my camera! I took these pics and many more in one day (actually 186 total) although I was there for a week. I'm going to make a trip down to Phuket to take dive photography lessons this coming month and will get plenty of pics from around there soon to add (Koh Racha Noi, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and possibly the Similan Islands) and plan to go back to Koh Tao on the return trip to Bangkok! All these pics were taken just snorkeling and haven't been edited at all yet. Wish I could post videos! Some turned out pretty good while some weremt so great since this was my first time using the camera (the best ones I'll save for now and some of the others I'll touch up). I'll be sure to post plenty more later after visiting the islands near Phuket this month and going back to Koh Tao afterwards!

Bannerfish

Tabling Acropora Sp. (Possibly Acropora hyacinthus)

Cucumber half the size of my arm

Bannerfish and Chaetodon weibili Butterflyfish

Spirobranchus sp. Worms

The most neon green Acropora I've seen in nature

Unidentified blue sponge

Tridacna clam

Very close to shore view (it was less cloudy the farther you went out)

Boring clam

My feet.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

A few more...

 

[dangles]

I so desperately want to go back to Thailand for more diving. I was there in 2019 and dove Koh Haa. They were my initial dive certification check off dives and I ruptured both eardrums

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I so desperately want to go back to Thailand for more diving. I was there in 2019 and dove Koh Haa. They were my initial dive certification check off dives and I ruptured both eardrums

That sounds painful! Why did they allow you to dive to a depth that would be possible during your certification? Generally the dives for your open water certification are very shallow! Did you ever complete your certification??

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Since this month will be diving, I should be able to better stay still for the pics since I'll have neutral buoyancy (not a luxury I had while snorkeling)...I should also be able to picture some more really beautiful fish, deeper corals, and maybe some starfish as well...the instructor I'm taking courses with just sent me some beautiful macro shots of a male Ostracion meleagris Boxfish (for those of you who don't know they're blue on top with spots and yellow on the sides with spots). We get small ones from Indonesia for the aquarium trade fairly commonly but seeing natural pics is absolutely amazing!

 

[dangles]

That sounds painful! Why did they allow you to dive to a depth that would be possible during your certification? Generally the dives for your open water certification are very shallow! Did you ever complete your certification??

You do not have to go very deep to rupture your eardrums. You can rupture them in 10-20 feet if you suck at equalizing - which I did lol.

Since then I’ve mastered the skill and got certified. Several certifications actually.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

You do not have to go very deep to rupture your eardrums. You can rupture them in 10-20 feet if you suck at equalizing - which I did lol.

Since then I’ve mastered the skill and got certified. Several certifications actually.

Awesome! (Except for the rupturing your eardrums part).

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

These are just a few pictures I took in the Andaman Sea last week...sorry that I have to save some of the best pictures for other sources. I'd like to be able to write short articles about certain species of fish/inverts which are difficult or currently not possible to keep in captivity for R2R members and if/when that becomes possible I'd love to include the best pictures I have for all of you! It was amazing how many crinoids there were everywhere! I also got some great pictures of 3 different species of Linckia genus starfish, both male and female Ostracion meleagris boxfish, a banded sea krait, moray eels, clams of every color combination imaginable, a cuttlefish, and many more incredible marine organisms!

 

[trhphuc]

You do not have to go very deep to rupture your eardrums. You can rupture them in 10-20 feet if you suck at equalizing - which I did lol.

Since then I’ve mastered the skill and got certified. Several certifications actually.

Any tips on how to master equalizing? I also failed to equalize and couldn't complete my initial dive certification check off dives this summer. Only one ear would pop when I blew the air out while pinching my nose.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Any tips on how to master equalizing? I also failed to equalize and couldn't complete my initial dive certification check off dives this summer. Only one ear would pop when I blew the air out while pinching my nose.

At what depth do you first attempt to equalize? I'd recommend you try to equalize at the very surface (before the need to equalize actually occurs) and continue to hold your nose as you descend slowly. It's rare for someone to be completely unable to equalize so I would assume that you're waiting until the pressure has already built up which may make it more difficult for you.

 

[dangles]

Any tips on how to master equalizing? I also failed to equalize and couldn't complete my initial dive certification check off dives this summer. Only one ear would pop when I blew the air out while pinching my nose.

Yes! I feel your pain. Literally!

The best thing you can do is practice leading up to your trip. Here’s what I did…

Plug your nose, hold your breath and push (“blow”) gently against your pinched nostrils - as if you’re trying to equalize. While you’re doing that, swallow WITHOUT releasing the slight pressure you’ve built up. You should feel both ear drums flex/pop when you swallow. You’ll know right away when you get it right.

I do that 5-10 times a day in the weeks leading up to my trips. Stretch those eustachian tubes out a little. Do it a few times the morning of your dives and on the boat out to site. Then do it again on the surface of the water before you descend.

Now go back to just normal Valsalva (without the swallow part) and start equalizing RIGHT AWAY. Don’t wait until you’re feeling pressure. Start as soon as your head goes under water, and again every 1-2 feet. It’s really helpful if you can find some dives with mooring lines to descend down slowly in a more controlled manner. You can of course do the same thing in open water but it’s easy to stop paying attention to your depth and start to ascend accidentally.

This process worked REALLY well for me when nothing else did. Now I can equalize reliably.

Hopefully it works for you like it did for me!

 

[trhphuc]

Yes! I feel your pain. Literally!

The best thing you can do is practice leading up to your trip. Here’s what I did…

Plug your nose, hold your breath and push (“blow”) gently against your pinched nostrils - as if you’re trying to equalize. While you’re doing that, swallow WITHOUT releasing the slight pressure you’ve built up. You should feel both ear drums flex/pop when you swallow. You’ll know right away when you get it right.

I do that 5-10 times a day in the weeks leading up to my trips. Stretch those eustachian tubes out a little. Do it a few times the morning of your dives and on the boat out to site. Then do it again on the surface of the water before you descend.

Now go back to just normal Valsalva (without the swallow part) and start equalizing RIGHT AWAY. Don’t wait until you’re feeling pressure. Start as soon as your head goes under water, and again every 1-2 feet. It’s really helpful if you can find some dives with mooring lines to descend down slowly in a more controlled manner. You can of course do the same thing in open water but it’s easy to stop paying attention to your depth and start to ascend accidentally.

This process worked REALLY well for me when nothing else did. Now I can equalize reliably.

Hopefully it works for you like it did for me!

This is awesome. I will definitely try to practice.

At what depth do you first attempt to equalize? I'd recommend you try to equalize at the very surface (before the need to equalize actually occurs) and continue to hold your nose as you descend slowly. It's rare for someone to be completely unable to equalize so I would assume that you're waiting until the pressure has already built up which may make it more difficult for you.

Even on land, only one of my ear would pop using the normal Valsalva technique so I guess it was not because of the pressure differential. The instructor at the time tried to pull me to the surface and had me equalize constantly but pain persisted in the ear that wouldn't pop. Any suggestions?

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

This is awesome. I will definitely try to practice.


Even on land, only one of my ear would pop using the normal Valsalva technique so I guess it was not because of the pressure differential. The instructor at the time tried to pull me to the surface and had me equalize constantly but pain persisted in the ear that wouldn't pop. Any suggestions?

If it's that persistent I'd pay a visit to an ear, nose, and throat physician just to check if there may be an actual issue (it can almost certainly be fixed easily if that's the case)...diving is an incredible experience nobody should have to miss out on!

 

[dangles]

This is awesome. I will definitely try to practice.


Even on land, only one of my ear would pop using the normal Valsalva technique so I guess it was not because of the pressure differential. The instructor at the time tried to pull me to the surface and had me equalize constantly but pain persisted in the ear that wouldn't pop. Any suggestions?

Try the nose-pinch/swallow and see if they both equalize or still just one. I have one ear that takes a little more work as well but they both pop easily using that method.

 

[Gundy]

If it's that persistent I'd pay a visit to an ear, nose, and throat physician just to check if there may be an actual issue (it can almost certainly be fixed easily if that's the case)...diving is an incredible experience nobody should have to miss out on!

I ruptured my left eardrum diving in Jamaica a year go. I had no pain but noticed water coming out of my ear. Turns out it was a large rupture and the first surgery to graft my eardrum didn’t take and had to have a second Surgery. I probably didn’t equalize early enough.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Just wanted to share a couple more of my pics with the R2R community because it's been a while since I've added to this thread. I originally intended to regularly post here since I love sharing my dive experiences with others. I actually just started an IG account dedicated to posting pictures I've taken myself. @divingdeeperdepths

 

[MoshJosh]

AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

AWESOME! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! I plan to start posting a new picture on the IG I just started every day or two. I'm actually going down to Phuket later this week to dive there again!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Chaetodon wiebeli
Follow @divingdeeperdepths on IG to see more dive photography of the reefs surrounding Thailand's many islands and related content posted regularly.