Koh Tao, Thailand

Once I left the warmth of Thailand, I lost my will to live...err...I mean...blog (I know, I'm overdramatic).  But I'm attempting to get caught up here.

The trip from Tonsai to Koh Tao is not a difficult one...unless, of course, you were on your deathbed the previous day.  I took an early morning boat ride to Ao Nang (the next beach over) where I would be catching a shuttle.  That shuttle ended up dropping us on the side of the road to join others waiting for a bus....Eventually the bus took us to the ferry in Surat Thani.  Now, I hadn't heard the best stories about the ferry - so, being in the condition that I was in, I decided to sit on the top (open) level to get some fresh air.  It was actually quite a nice ride despite being super windy and forever long.  Most of the people up there were heading to Koh Phangan for the infamous Full Moon Party (picture a TON of people drunk on the beach, partying through the night).  We ended up having a nice little party up on the top level, with a guy (that I'm sure was destined to get himself killed at the FMP) being the entertainment of the party - stumbling over everyone and everything whenever he tried to move.  So anyways....2 stops and 3+ hours later, the ferry reached my destination:  Koh Tao.

I arrived in Koh Tao at night, met a new friend who happened to be going to the same hostel as I was, and hopped in the cab of the taxi truck.  We arrived at Koh Tao Backpackers, battled the awful smelling bathroom, and hit the sack.  The next day Daisy and I spent a little time snorkeling in the warm, clear waters on Sairee Beach (just a couple of minutes from our hostel).

Koh Toa is covered with dive shops, so we spent quite a while walking around, trying to find a company that would be diving at the location we wanted - before finally settling on Davy Jones' Locker (the company associated with our hostel). 

Day 2 - Me, D, and a new roommate, Monika decided to take a little island adventure.  The plan was to walk to a lookout point to watch the sunset, stopping for some snorkeling on the way.  We set out and walked (and walked and walked) to a resort/snorkeling location at Nang Yuan.

D and I hoped in for a nice, refreshing swim and found ourselves surrounded by fish.  The snorkeling was awesome.  I love the ocean!

A parrot fish:

A sea cucumber:

After drying off a bit, we headed for a lookout point, but we quickly turned back when we realized that life was more important than the crazy hike ahead...so we went back to town.  Now our story gets interesting: We stopped for a snack at a local bakery type of place.  As we walked along, heading for some more sandy fun, D stopped to buy a new snorkel (for the 2nd time).  That's when she realized that her wallet was missing (which had her money, her dive card, and both of her bank cards).  We retraced our steps, stopping and asking people along the way if it had been turned in.  We were directed to the police station (which felt like it was a mile away).  So we finally arrived and there was a guy sitting at a desk.  D asks if a wallet has been turned in.  He says no.  Offers no further help.  D says she's lost her wallet and leaves a phone number, but ultimately this guy is worthless.  Who knows if he even actually worked there.  So now she is stuck with no money.  I offer to help her out for a few days.  We stopped for a swim while we tried to figure out how she (from the UK) could transfer money to me (from the US) or if she can Western Union it without paying a boat load.  A nice view, but no luck with the bank issue.

In the end, we ended up going to the pool/bar across from the hostel (owned by the dive company we were going to use).  She literally walked up to a guy sitting at the bar, asked if he was from the UK (he was), and tells him the story - asking if she can transfer money to his bank account and he can give her cash.  HE AGREED!!! wowza!  People are good.  He ended up being the owner of the hostel/dive company.  Lucky.  So that worked out. :)

After that debacle, we ended up taking a taxi to the south side of the island, where we would hike (in flip flops) to the gorgeous John-Suwan lookout/sunset point.

It was a bit cloudy and overcast, so we didn't have the best sunset...but the views were definitely worth it!

We had some delicious pizza at a place called Farango Pizzeria before having a fairly early night to prepare for the next day's scuba trip!!  Let me just say that the diving in Thailand is incredible.  I have already established that I love diving...but I LOVE DIVING!  I want to go back. Like. Now.  We dove at Green Rock first, where I saw a yellow boxfish!  (super cool)..and then on to White Rock.  Both dive sites had Titan Trigger Fish (very aggressive), which was fun.  

Suiting up:

Dive boats:

And then we wrapped up with a lovely sunset on the beach.

On my last night we went out with a big group of people from the hostel (they were on vacation from a study abroad program).  I was out long enough to not finish a beer, before the SE Asia bug reared it's faceless, deviled little head again.  I went home. And I barely made it there.  Of course, as it goes, I had to catch an early(ish) morning ferry the next morning to get back to Bangkok.  I was surprisingly well and ready for the trip the next day.  

Goodbye to Koh Tao.  It goes down in the books as one of my favorite places and will be greatly missed.

Diving in Thailand, check

Swim in Indian Ocean (bonus: Gulf of Thailand), check

Survive infamous SE Asia stomach problems, double check

~Jac