An encounter with unknown

by Harika Pusuluri (Germany)

A leap into the unknown Thailand

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore”, I recollected a quotation. I was gazing out of the window as the aeroplane ascended altitudes till the objects below became tinier and tinier before disappearing totally. I was on my way to Koh Tao - a little island in Thailand, of which I have never heard of, until I met this man who was now sitting next to me smiling, reassuring me everything would be good. I married Arjun ten days ago in a magnificent ceremony, a typical Indian arranged marriage where I met him just once and the wedding date got fixed. I closed my eyes, my mind racing in different directions about the sea of possibilities that lay ahead. “We have now landed in Bangkok. Hope you had a pleasant flight.” My reverie was broken by an announcement asking us to disembark. We scurried through the huge bustling airport, to the ferry station from where we had to board a ferry to reach Koh-Tao. In the resort, our little room with balcony overlooking the pool delighted me. Too weary to wander, we had a Pizza Margherita in the in-house café and crashed for the day. Morning sun brought the streets to life, and I realized this place is Scuba Divers’ paradise. The only activity here is Scuba Diving, and everything revolved around it. Well, that’s the primary purpose of our visit too. Arjun was fascinated by the sport and wanted to do a professional course here. Arjun was to go diving at 11:30 AM the next morning, and I registered to sail and stay on the boat while the divers complete their dives. After an hour, Arjun came back elated, and chirping about his experience showed me pictures and videos he captured underwater with his waterproof camera. I was captivated by the enticing blue waters and aquatic life. Wonderstruck with his stories and pictures, I signed up to dive the next day. I had never once been into a swimming pool all my life, let alone the sea! But the ocean intrigued me, and I decided to venture into it. Dawn brought with it an exhilarating day, which altered the way I perceive the world. “Your instructor will meet you in the restaurant in five minutes, Aditi” said the loquacious coordinator with heavy British accent, while his pet – a cute black Chihuahua licked my feet. A medium built guy with curly hair and a cute smile walked up to me. “Hi, I’m Antony, your instructor. Let’s brief you up on the dive” he said, leading me to a table. For the next thirty minutes he taught me various hand-signals used for underwater communication, aquatic life and more. After giving a demo on how to use the scuba equipment and ensuring I mastered it, he ushered me into the boat. The waves crashed against the speeding boat, as my stomach churned. Antony helped me get into the scuba gear, took me to the rear of the boat (which now halted somewhere in the middle of the ocean) and hopped into the water, signaling me to follow. It was just one leap to discover what lay beneath the calm surface. I stood there mustering courage and finally took the stride. Whoosh... I plunged into the ocean. We slowly descended 8 meters under water and lo behold! I was awestruck at the sight. Colorful spectacular fishes swam past me, staring as if saying something. The beauty of huge corals enthralled me and calmness of the water soothed my soul. After forty five splendid minutes, we swam back to the boat. The whole adventure filled me with a sense of vitality and triumph. Arjun and I dived many times during our one-month stay, each dive taking me closer to marine life, and each day endearing Arjun more to me as I became an ardent admirer of both. Sometimes it is just one step we ought to take and life never fails to surprise us, isn’t it? “We are going to Portugal for our next holiday, and we can go Scuba diving there too!” I said winking at Arjun, as I began booking travel tickets.