Day 157! As the title says, it was another great day on Koh Tao. It was a pretty chill one but that’s because the next two days will be chock full of action! So get excited!!

I’ve been getting a full night of sleep the past couple of nights and it’s been amazing! But it means I’m waking up on the early side again.

So I got ready and took my “new” guitar and went out to find a place to strum a little. I was planning on just sitting in the lobby of the building I’m in, but there was a group of open water divers having their class… so I found a spot a little down the road to sit and play.

Words cannot explain how happy I am to have my hands on a guitar again. And it’s also fully mine for the time being! Playing music is one of my main self therapy/emotional outlets and I’ve been missing it consistently for quite some time.

I sat and strummed for a while and then my friend Emma popped by and we went and grabbed breakfast together at a restaurant down the road.

The restaurant is called Pork Leg… but that’s not what either of us got. I started off my morning with a Thai tea shake (something I found a couple weeks ago) and a chicken with cashew nut. Both kickstarted my day off right and set me in a very good mood.

I had to work soon, but Emma wanted to go to the beach. She’s not very keen on riding a motorbike herself, so I offered to take her to a beach even though I had to do my volunteering duties. I drove her a few minutes down the road to Freedom Bar, which is a beach I’ve been to a number of times.

The ride to and from is very steep, but it leads to some incredible views of the ocean and the island!

I went back to the hostel where I had my usual morning of socializing and of course, playing pool.

I played a LOT of pool this morning… and actually had one of my best pool games yet! I was playing doubles and walked away to chat with some people (you know, do my job and all). When I came back we had 6 balls left and the 8 ball and the other team had 3 or 4. I ended up sinking ball after ball until I hit all 6 of them in and then sank the 8 ball as well.

I was very ecstatic and so was my partner… the other team was not. But they were all thoroughly impressed, as was I!

After that game, I was chatting with another group of travelers and one of them asked me if the green Nalgene was my water bottle. I said yes and it turns out she knew the band Post Sex Nachos (which is one of the stickers on my water bottle). Somehow, Tia, from Australia had gotten a song of theirs recommended to her on Spotify… crazy!

I then sat down for a delicious pad see ew from the hostel and then 30 minutes later ended my morning volunteering.

Emma had just wrapped up at the beach too so I went and scooped her up before heading off to the gym.

Today was leg day… which also happened last time the day before my dive. I’m not sure why it keeps lining up like this but I shouldddd be fine.

The gym was very quiet and I got a nice long workout in. But then it was time for some relaxation and some more guitar playing! My fingers started to hurt (I’ve lost my calluses unfortunately, but I’ll build them back up). So I went to my room to read some of the diving prep for the advanced diving that starts tomorrow!

Dinner time rolled around and I was planning on just going solo. I had a sudden craving for fried chicken, so I went on a walk down the road to Mama Tam who has some of the best nearby.

BUT when I got there, there were 3 people from the hostel who invited me over to sit with them. So I did and it was a lovely way to start my night of hostel work.

I of course got a mango smoothie along with my fried chicken. And then I went back to the hostel to enjoy a great night of hosting trivia!

We had 5 teams this time but it was still a great time! It’s one of my favorite hostel events I get to put on.

Tomorrow I start my advanced diving!! I’m so freaking excited to see how this goes and confirm my love for this activity. But… for now it’s time to hydrate, rest up, and make sure I’m physically and mentally ready for the two days to follow!

– Elie