Shark Bait!

Many of you know we took a vacation to Thailand. We had such a wonderful time. On our trip we had the opportunity to do LOTS!! One of the coolest things though was scuba diving. The best part was that we didn't have to be scuba certified! Gotta love Thailand!

We took a boat cruise to the most popular islands, Phi Phi Island (yes, pronounced Pee pee). Just off the coast while everyone else is just snorkeling, we suited up for scuba diving. I think there would've been some benefit to having certified to know and understand the basics. I was having a hard time managing the sink/float mechanism, the mouth piece, the flippers, the waves, and worst of all, getting my ears to pop under water. It just was not working. And all of this going on while our tour guide hardly knows any English whatsoever. Finally I just sucked it up and we went down. The guide was nice enough to help me by tugging on my gear so all I had to do was look and breathe, and Valsalva.

It was so neat seeing the sea urchins and their eyes and mouths, schools of fish, and breathing rocks. We got to one spot that had a rock with sea anemanenaminee (anemone) and little Nemo fish in them. I was rapidly falling on the frilly tubes and was terrified because all I could think about was that they shock. "Do you want this anemone to sting you?" And I did not! I tried swimming back but realize now that the guide must have still been holding on to me and since you can't really talk under water, I was at his mercy.


Finally we all surrounded the strange plant and the guide showed us it was okay to touch the plant. Hunny followed tentatively and me even more so. And was very surprised. It doesn't technically 'shock' you, though it is shocking, but it is more like an intense suction feeling. Like it latches on. Like tentacles. I would've played more with it but I felt something like a small rock fall on my leg. Seeing as there were no rocks above me, I got nervous but let it go. It happened a second time but this time more sharp. I looked down toward my leg to see a fish the size of Devon's hand hovering in the water staring at me opening and closing it's mouth as if to say, "Nom Nom Nom". I screamed and swam/jumped into Hunny's arms underwater. I pinched his arm pointing to the fish struggling to convey that it had just bit me. Thankfully he saw it and attests to it, even that he heard me scream under water.

We left the scene of the crime and enjoyed the rest of our swim exploring the different wonders of the coral and surrounding waters. It was so interesting to see the different colors and creatures. When we got back on the boat I looked at my leg and sure enough there was a red circle mark from wear I had been attacked. Despite it though, we had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed scuba diving and I hope we will be able to get certified and go more often.

"Then the darn thing bit me!"