Diving in Hoi An

8 Apr 2016
Tash and I have been wanting to dive again since Cambodia, so we decided to book a dive in Hoi An, Vietnam. We would depart for the dock at 8am, take the boat to Cham Island, participate in 2 dives, enjoy lunch on the island and then boat back around 4pm. We assumed the diving in Vietnam would be great because the diving in Thailand is great.
We were given two wetsuits to wear (I was beyond thrilled for this because I have never dove in a wetsuit and when I was being certified I wanted desperately to do so-- I didn't feel I looked the part without one!) However, getting a wetsuit on is more difficult than it looks. After putting mine all of the way on, my dive leader informed me it was on backwards, so I had to peel it off and restart. After my 2nd attempt (I got it on right this time!), I was given a another wetsuit to put over the first one. The only thing more difficult than putting a wetsuit on your body is putting a second wetsuit on over the first wetsuit. My struggle with the suits was not going to bring me down however, because now I finally looked like a diver!
After getting the rest of our equipment on, we began our dive. I was struggling to keep my buoyancy in check because of the two suits; even when I tried to stay down I started to float back up toward the surface. During one of these buoyancy battles my mask filled with water and I couldn't clear it, so I swam to the surface. On my way I kicked off a flipper (which somehow managed to be the only casualty of the day). To top it all off, the water was absolutely freezing! My body was shivering, my lips were blue, my teeth were chattering and I couldn't feel my fingers. Needless to say my dive leader was none too happy-- I may have looked the part, but I sure wasn't acting it!
After completing our first dive we boarded the boat and tried to warm up. After 30 minutes I was still shivering so I opted out of the second dive. I spent the next hour soaking in the sun on the top deck while Tash went numb underwater.
The boat then docked at Cham Island where we were given a Vietnamese lunch, complete with squid, grilled veggies, pork, rice and dessert.
The water was incredibly choppy on the way back; so much so that we weren't allowed to sit on the top deck. While sitting on the lower deck we got absolutely soaked from the waves crashing over the sides of the boat. It was quite an experience, but not one that I need to repeat anytime soon!