Thailand, Again — Diving, Islands & Familiar Faces
- Reese Highbloom
- Feb 28
- 5 min read
January 28 – February 26
I was back where I started.
When Jack and I stepped off the ferry from Langkawi onto the beach in Koh Lipe, customs consisted of a small wooden desk in the sand and a guy barely looking up from his stamp. No cars. No roads. Just longtail boats, turquoise water, and sand underfoot.
We walked the beach to Davy Jones Locker (DJL), the dive shop where we’d be spending the next three days earning our PADI Open Water certification. The course came with free accommodation, which in backpacker math meant we were already winning.
The first day was spent hunched over laptops, completing the online modules. That evening, we wandered the island for sunset and grabbed dinner from a woman selling skewers for 10 baht apiece. Craig had recommended her spot, and he wasn’t wrong; the chicken wings were absurdly good. Smoky, crispy, perfect.
The next morning the real fun began. Our instructor, Andre, gathered the three of us, Jack, a Canadian named Rhys, and me, along with a divemaster-in-training, helping out. We started just off the beach, practicing skills in shallow water before heading deeper. The 100-baht restaurant next door became my daily staple for lunch, and by the second dive I was hooked.
There’s something about scuba diving that flips a switch in me. It’s calm and chaotic at the same time. Floating weightless, hearing nothing but your own breath, watching reefs unfold like alien cities below you. By the time we finished the course, I knew I wasn’t done with it. I’d grown up hearing about my dad’s dives. Now I had my own stories beginning.
Jack headed north after certification, but I couldn’t leave. I stayed.
The DJL rooms had no AC and plenty of mosquitoes, but they were steps from the ocean. I spent my days diving, playing frisbee on the beach, walking Walking Street at sunset, and getting to know the staff, many of whom had just finished their instructor courses. I went to a Muay Thai fight one night, met a new friend from Ohio named Jordan, and ended up at a beach full-moon party before I realized it was February 4th and time to move on.
Krabi & A Reunion
The ferry to Krabi was a rough one. Not five minutes into the ride, a wave slammed over the bow, soaking everything, including me and my passport. Somehow, my bag stayed dry. Others weren’t so lucky.
In Ao Nang, I finally got a proper shower and then met up with Karolina, my German friend from Cambodia. She’d had a bad scooter accident in Koh Phangan and was on crutches when I saw her. It slowed things down, but it didn’t matter. I was just happy to see her.
We spent evenings at the night market eating too much food and listening to live music. I introduced her to khao soi. She introduced me to a perfectly salt-baked white snapper stuffed with lemongrass. We rode sidecar motorbikes home and played endless rounds of Monopoly Deal.
Days were easy, beach time, clinic visits to rewrap her injury, and cards under umbrellas we probably overpaid for. One night, we caught live music at a small bar and let the island breeze do the rest.
Phi Phi & Sharks
From Krabi, we ferried to Phi Phi, limestone cliffs rising straight from the sea. The seas were calmer this time.
After checking in and another clinic stop, we grabbed drinks on the beach, and I wandered through tide pools looking for sand worms. That night, Jack reappeared, and the three of us ended up at the infamous Reggae Bar watching tourists box each other in a ring. Phi Phi never disappoints for spectacle.
The next morning, I was up early for my first post-certification dive. Seeing blacktip reef sharks glide past me and locking eyes with an octopus up close, that feeling is hard to describe. Diving gives me a dopamine hit that lingers all day.
We extended our stay and rented a kayak to paddle out for sunset. It was one of those surreal island moments — cliffs glowing gold, water glassy and still. Nights brought fire shows, karaoke, and pub crawls.
Phuket & Moving North
Phuket was quick but memorable. We rented a scooter, navigated police checkpoints, and spent a beach day where I carried Karolina into the water so she could at least feel the ocean. One night we had Indian food so good it wrecked us the next morning, but worth every bite.
From there, we headed north to Khao Sok National Park. My back was in rough shape from Muay Thai and long bus rides, but I pushed through.
The boat ride into the park left me speechless. Limestone cliffs towered above the water as still as glass. The floating bungalows felt unreal, like something out of a dream. We swam, hiked into the jungle, played guitar at night, and watched a sunrise that reminded me of cool mornings back on Candlewood Lake. It may have been the best sunrise of the trip.
After a cave stop and a long journey back, we made a last-minute decision to head to Koh Samui. The van ride was brutal, but the sunset ferry made up for it.
Samui gave us one of our best final days together, a 300-baht beach massage, Fisherman’s Market, sunset scooters, and a quiet goodbye. She left for Bangkok the next day. I checked into a hostel alone.
But not for long.
Enter Chase
Chase and I met freshman year at Wisconsin when he was my frat father. Four years later, here we were reconnecting in Thailand.
He had finished his master’s and needed a break too. I picked him up in Koh Samui, and it felt grounding to be with someone who knew my life before all this.
We bounced between beach hostels, waterfall hikes in the rain, Ark Bar nights, and scooter rides across islands. In Koh Phangan, we trained Muay Thai, found kittens on the beach, and met new friends from the UK and Spain who joined us in exploring waterfalls and hidden beaches.
Then we ferried to Koh Tao, back to Davy Jones Locker, this time for my Advanced course and Chase’s Open Water.
We cliff-jumped off sharp, barnacle-covered rocks, rode scooters up mountains for sunsets, and got dragged into pub crawls. Diving days started early. My Advanced dives included navigation, buoyancy work, a night dive with blue-spotted rays, and a 27-meter deep wreck dive. One day at Sail Rock, I descended into schools of barracuda and fusiliers while visibility shifted from murky to magical.
Chase powered through his course, though not without a brutal night of food poisoning before our departure.
We watched the USA win the hockey finals at a packed sports bar and met new friends over endless games of pool. Our final nights blurred into beach bars, jungle parties, and long sunsets from hilltops overlooking Koh Tao.
Bangkok & Onward
We ferried back to the mainland, flew to Bangkok, and said our goodbyes at the airport. Chase headed north to Chiang Mai. I checked into a hotel, finally alone again.
For my last day, I walked MBK Mall buying warmer clothes — because tonight I leave Thailand for a very different chapter.
China.
