Hello!!!

From Koh Phangan we ferried our way to the beautiful Koh Tao, our last Thai island and last beach for a while so we had to make the most of it and it didn't disappoint!

On the ferry, still travelling with Laura and Vicky.

 

 

Arriving on Koh Tao we headed, in the back of a truck, to the quieter side of the island, which we quickly decided was a little too quiet!! Back in the truck, we drove back over to the main beach, Sairee Beach and settled there. We found a beach hut for 4 people and this view...



Koh Tao is defo one of our favourite islands. It's known for its amazing scuba diving but also has a really nice vibe for non divers too and the beach was gorgeous. The sea was shallow and really warm for what seemed like miles, perfect for lazing around in the water with a beer!

The view of the beach from the sea...

 

The island is pretty small, with not too much to busy yourself with other than just enjoying the weather and the amazing surroundings. We spent about 3 days hanging out on the beach, taking strolls to the end and back and reading our books. Come dusk there was always a pretty awesome sunset to sit back and watch.

 

We always had it in our heads that we would have a go at scuba diving at Koh Tao due to its famous reputation for good diving schools and crystal clear waters. So, on the 4th day we headed off at 10am for a (very) short theory and safety lesson focusing on menial things like how to breathe etc. Then off we went with an instructor and 2 other first time divers into the middle of the ocean on a boat and in we jumped, goofy scuba style. We had to swim all the way in to the shallows of the beach to practice our breathing, clearing our masks and our newly learnt underwater communication signals and then swam deeper until we were at 12m. From here we swam around the dive site, checking out coral reefs, lots of big fish and basically getting used to being down there. The dive lasted just over half an hour and then we slowly ascended and swam back to the boat. After an hours break, we jumped back in and did a slightly deeper more relaxed dive, enjoying the surroundings and feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. On the way back to the shore on the boat and for the rest of the evening we were very proud of ourselves and on a high from having such an amazing day. It's a whole different mermaid world down there, very surreal. Defo one of the highlights of the trip so far!

 

 

On our last day, we rented a boat for the 4 of us to motor around the island. We stopped for a snorkel, fed the fishies, grabbed some lunch on a quiet beach, had another snorkel in 'Shark Bay'. Disappointingly we didn't see any sharks but in hindsight, this was definitely for the best as seeing a shark whilst snorkelling in the deep blue sea, far from the shore and the boat would have been far from exciting!

 

 

Cool triple island we visited called Nanguan Island with a sandbar joining them together.

 

Our transport for the day!

In Sync.

We stayed on Koh Tao for 5 days, so a couple nights on the beach were inevitable. Fire Limbo was not expected but some of us gave it a go! Surely the free 'local' (ie potent) vodka shot was worth the risk of no hair.



And then we said goodbye to the beach life for a while and headed to the main land, via ferry from this dubious-looking jetty.

Once on shore again, we got a night bus up to Bangkok and arrived at 3.30am. Not a good introduction to Bangkok and Ko San Road! Bangkok blog soon, we're trying to catch up but slightly flagging!

Lots of Love,

Lu & Kate xxx