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After our day in Ayuthaya we took the train back to Bangkok, then took an exciting cab ride through the city to get to the Southern Bus Terminal. This cabbie must have driven F1. He weaved in and out of traffic like it wasn't moving and got us there in record time. After a little bit of a wait, we took a VIP, Air Conditioned bus a few hours south of the city to Chumphon. It was the jumping off point for the Island Ko Tao; famous for its diving. On the bus we watched a Thai movie about a musician. It was all in Thai, so we weren't sure what was happening but it was somehow very entertaining. The ride was very comfortable, and we were there earlier than we thought. By the end of the trip it was pouring rain, and we got out of the bus not knowing exactly where we were off to next. We pulled out the Lonely Planet and found a number for a place called Farang Bar. It was cheap, and while enjoying our meal, we met the owner; a Brit who found himself settling in the city after almost a decade on the Island. He suggested staying at Sairee Cottages on the island, and we took his advice. Clark was planning on taking a dive course there, and Sairee offered a room free for three nights while he was taking the course. We were on the bus early the next morning heading towards the ferry to the island. We ran into Adam and Elise, two American's studying together at a school in Australia. They were travelling together through parts of Asia, and we would be hanging out with them quite a bit over the next few days.

Ko Tao was great. We went there so Clark could get his PADI open water so that both of us could dive together eventually. He ended up getting a dive instructor from Italy named Manuel. He was nothing like Manuel from Fawlty Towers, however... supposedly he was a hard nosed Italian, who didn't take much crap. I guess that's what you look for in an instructor. Clark was lucky enough to have one on one instruction just like I did in Fiji. In three days, he was certified. While he was doing his course I kept myself busy. I spent some time on the beach, in the water, eating, drinking banana milkshakes which I'm now hooked on, and doing some reading. Did I mention getting burnt? I did that too. I also went on my first dive since I stepped out of the water six months ago in Fiji. I felt like a beginner, and acted like one too. I went with Adam, and we had Mark as our dive master. Mark was from London and left an engineering job in the city for a diving job in a tropical paradise. He seemed to be loving it, and had planned to stay for a few years until going back to reality. He was a great guide under water, pointing things out around the dive site. We saw a sea horse under there, the first I'd seen and the first Mark had seen for a while. We saw plenty of fish and coral, too many to mention. It felt great to be in the water again. The sites for the day were called Ao Luck North and South, and we were on the lookout for some black tip reef sharks. We unfortunately didn't see any, but the coral was particularly impressive. And it was an easy dive to get those skills refreshed before doing any more diving. I was tempted to do a night dive while I was there, but opted to save my money for some diving in another country a few weeks down the road.

While sitting down at the Sairee Cottages restaurant on the first night we met two South Africans, Grattin and Kate. They invited us to sit with them when they noticed we were struggling to find a seat. They were great to talk to, and we all shared some laughs together. One night after a mexican meal we all went to a Cabaret show. But of course, this wasn't just any Cabaret show. We were in Thailand, so we expected a twist. In this show, all the performers were men. Dressed as women. Men dressed as women with women's parts. It's all very confusing, but wildy entertaining. We had one overpriced beer each before leaving the cabaret show for the beach. We enjoyed some buckets, running out to a fishing boat, balancing precariously on it to have a little private dance party, and eventually ending up safely back on the beach. It was a great few days with all of them. Once the Americans left Clark and I challenged a few German girls to a game of beach volleyball. Another Swede was passing and insisted on joining us, and we welcolmed her. We had a great game that must have lasted a few hours. We ended up meeting up with the Swede and a group of her friends a little later on. She had heard about the Cabaret show so we agreed we would check it out again with a group of them. A friend of hers came out with us who was traveling with her husband and two little kids. they reminded me of Nate and Malcolm and it was great seeing such a young family traveling together. All the kids wanted to do was play pool and eat chips... sounds like a good life to me!

Bikes and scooters were popular on the island, and Clark and I couldn't resist renting a few for a tour of the island. Clark had finished his dive course so we had the whole day to explore. We were supposed to go with some Swedish girls we had met the day before playing volleyball, but they had left early in the morning. We ended up crossing paths with them; they were on a four wheeled quad heading back from a snorkeling spot on the north of the island. We headed the same direction with our snorkels and fins, and we got to the northern tip of the island, where we walked down to a popular spot called Shark Bay. Again, we were on the lookout for black tip reef sharks, but all we found were jellyfish. I was excited to use my fujifilm 'waterproof to three metres' camera, and I did. Until it stopped working. Turns out it wasn't waterproof at all, and it was good for only a few minutes at barely a meter under water. Despite the huge disappointment of losing yet another camera I had just bought, we had a good snorkel. We tried to paddle our way towards an Island a little ways out, but the jellyfish smartened us up. Both Clark and I got stung; Clark on the arm and myself on the top lip. So we decided to turn around and leave the water. As soon as we left the water it started pouring rain, and I felt drier in the ocean than out of it... We hopped on our bikes, and as the weather pelted down on us we scooted our way to the southern tip of the island. We sat down to some food and mosquitos, while I attempted to fix the camera. It was dead... Nonetheless, we had the restaurant to ourselves and an unparalleled view of the ocean. We took one more trip towards a bar we'd heard about from a few other backpackers. Supposedly it had the best view of the ocean and surrounding bays from anywhere else on the Island. It was closer to the middle of the Island, up a massive dirt trail. I haven't laughed so hard following Clark up that hill on those bikes. Just like me, he was wobbling all the way up with both legs out to the side. I almost lost control because I was laughing so hard. It was hilarious. But the challenging ride up to the top was enitrely worth it. The clouds were just parting from the storm, and after a few minutes inside the restaurant, we could see everything clearly from up there. I promised the owner that if I somehow fell into some money, I'd return to buy some property off her. A Brit and a few Aussie's had already invested in some of her land at the top of the hill, and were making their homes there. what a place. We took a few memorable shots and headed back down, with a few wobbles to return the bikes. We had an awesome day, and I loved scooting around on those bikes. Thankfully, we avoided everything else on the road and any spills. Unfortunately in Ko Pha-Ngan I wasn't so lucky (I escaped with a few scratches, but I'll tell you about it later).

All too soon it was time to leave paradise... But the good news was that it was off to another island for the world famous Full Moon Party. Ko Pha-Ngan was next up on our to do list, and we were ready. Or so we thought...

Stay tuned for more updates!

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