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Ko Tao
Shark Bay On our original trip to KPN we had planned to make our way north to Ko Tao but Pong our Blue lotus properitor warned us against it as there was a huge storm brewing. This was the reason we changed our plans and at the time we all thought that we had missed out on a chance to go to an Island famous for its scuba-diving. Fortunately for Kate and I our new dalliance with Thailand had meant we could re-visit the places we loved and go to the places that we missed out. In this instance it was Ko Tao.
The island is only 3 hours from KPN and due to a free pick-up from the docks we were booked into our room by lunch time. We had booked into a place called Freedom and I must say it was beautiful. They had huts that were standing on stilts and built into the rock face. The had budget ones made of wood and bamboo, like ours, or top notch ones made of brick and tiles with posh furniture on the veranda, like our neighbours! We instantly got into the vibe of the island and had a few hours chilling
Ko Tao
Sairee Beach out. The only way to get around Ko Tao is by bike. So we hired a moped that would be our legs for the next few days. Ko Tao is renowned for its scuba diving and this all revolves around Sairee Village. After taking a nose around the Sairee area and the south of the island we went to the beach to enjoy the sunset at one of the bars.
Whilst walking along the beach towards the bar we noticed a guy waving in our direction. Kates reaction was 'whos that and why is he waving to us' and then we both looked around to see if there was anybody stood behind us. There wasnt so we had to admit that the guy was waving at us and the fact that we didnt have a clue who it was. So Kate as blunt as ever walked up to him and just asked him outright 'im sorry mate but do we know you?' Embarrassment over it turned out that we had met the guy on the 24hour bus journey from Vientienne to Hanoi. He was with another couple sat on the back of the bus. We had spoke to him
Ko Tao
Sairee Village a few times on the journey but I can honestly say we didnt even know his name at the time. I felt terrible because he was friendly enough to shout us over and he had remembered us. So we sat with him and enjoyed a few coldies and recounted our bus journey from hell and other stories from our travels.
The following day was spent on the beach which was directly underneath our hut and was Freedom's private beach. It was very relaxing and a nice change from the noisey, busy beaches we are use to. In the afternoon we had planned to meet Allie and Chelsea over at their accommodation on the north side of the island. After going the wrong way and negotiating a few steeps hills (and ruining my flip-flops on the way as I nearly dropped the bike into a ditch) we finally got to a sign that pointed to their place. So we parked our moped next to the sign and walked down the road we thought would lead to their bungalows. It was sooooo not the road to their bungalows.
Even though the sign said otherwise we had to walk up and down a further eight steep hills, in what felt like 30 degree heat and without my flip-flops, before we got there. The sight was breathtaking and so was the 138 steps down to reception. I thought this was our Lord testing me but I realised that I still had to get back!! The problem with our little adventure to Allie & Chelsea’s was that we didn’t leave until the afternoon which meant wouldn’t have long before it got dark so we didn’t have long to say our goodbyes. After Kate had caught her breath back, and obviously had a cigarette, we bid the Canadian’s farewell and set back on our trek back to the moped. We had hoped to spend more time with the girls as we’d had a really good time with them but sunlight wasn’t on our side so we had to be on our merry way. It didn’t seem so far on the way back but it was funny to see Kate and I with one flip-flop each negotiating these steep hills.
The following day we spent the day at Shark Bay. Don’t worry there wasn’t any sharks there but it was very desolate and very peaceful. This would be our last afternoon on a beach in Thailand which left us to reflect on what a good time we’d had, both the first and second time, and the beautiful places we’d visited in Thailand. With our very brief time in Ko Tao coming to an end we booked our onward tickets to Malaysia for the following day. So with the moped dropped off and the bags packed I managed to squeeze in a game of football with the locals before enjoying a few beers on our balcony and hitting the sack.
We wanted at least 2 weeks in Malaysia so we unfortunately had to leave what turned out to be a beautiful island. Looking back we wished we would have spent more time there but that’s hindsight for you. This was now the last leg in South-East Asia which would see us board a plane from Singapore to Sydney.
Our last day was glorious so we managed to catch a few hours on the beach and soaked up any more of the Thailand rays that were on offer. We checked out, showered and grabbed some lunch before embarking on a truck, boat, night-train, tuk-tuk, bus, and ferry to Malaysia. We were due to arrive in the port of Lankawi at about 6pm the next day so we used our trusty LP guide to book a few places in advance to save any hassle when we got there....or so we thought
K&K
p.s. sorry about the lack of photo's but this is due to our camera mysteriously smashing at the pool party in KPN. We're due to buy another one as soon as possible.
xxx
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