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We arrived in Bangkok yesterday, but we're just catching up with the past few days on our last island. Oh, and we added a couple of photos on the last blog, too.
We spent the 19th to the 23rd in Koh Tao, a little island north of Koh Phangan. The ferry ride was bit rough, and I just managed to keep my breakfast down!
Such a cool little place, we both really enjoyed this island. It's world-reknowned for the diving--pretty much every few meters in the town was a dive shop. However, we made the decision to save a lot of cash and forget diving. Instead, we explored the island on our own and did some snorkeling.
The first day we met up with Anna and Chris, our new Kiwi friends who we'd met on Koh Phi Phi. The four of us took a couple of motorbikes around to try and get to Shark Bay. Several minutes and steep dirt roads later we made it to a beautiful little bay with one little restaurant...and then we discovered that we could have made it there from the south of town in just a four minute walk! We laughed
Dodgy Dirt Roads of Koh Tao
I had to hop off the bike for this one! and decided our adventure was definitely more exciting.
We stayed on Sairee Beach, which lies on the west coast of the island. A little village, mainly tourist-related shops and cafes sit at either end of it. We found a cheap place to stay (250Baht/night, which is about US$6/nt) on one end, just seconds from the beach and the main brick lane that runs the length of the beach.
Cool little restaurants and bars line this pathway, most of them open except for the roof so we would nearly be sitting outside by the sea every night at little tables with pillows as seats. The only time the plastic walls would come down was during the massive rainstorms that blew in from the sea as fast as they blew out.
The second day we headed out with Anna and Chris again, this time to another bay on the east side to snorkel. The light blue waters were refreshing in the heat, and the snorkelling was fantastic. We saw tons of different fish and coral, all different colors--the best yet, and we literally found it just a couple of meters off the beach.
Kiki and Matt, the American
Main Road in Koh Tao
We were right behind Anna and Chris, racing up and down the main road of the island...only took a couple minutes to get from one end to the other. couple we'd met in Railay, also arrived on this day with their friend Justin so the 7 of us had a good night out. Dan jokingly asked the waiter if we could have a few Samsong buckets for a cheap price, thinking that of course he'd say no. But he agreed, so we had four big buckets of rum/coke/red bull to share between us...a fun night, if you can imagine!
The next day Dan and I rented snorkellying gear and bikes again with Kiki, Matt, and Justin. This time we opted for a big four-wheeler so we could get up and down the dodgy dirt roads better. Justin and I hopped on with Dan and the other two were on a motorcycle. Our first bay was amazing. So secluded with only 3 resorts around. No beach, just huge boulders to climb down to the water. It was a deeper blue and so clear. Again, great snorkelling.
The next stop planned was to be Mango Bay up on the north end. When we mentioned it to the locals, they just kind of laughed...we soon found out why...
The road to this northern bay was a series of long steep
Sai Ree Beach
The tide was too low to swim (knee deep), but the beach was still nice. hills up and down and around...rocks, ruts, and divets didn't make the drive any easier. We had to hop off and walk on a few, but eventually we had to just leave the bikes and walk. We were hungry and hot and didn't think it could be much further. However, it WAS much further, and luckily, mostly downhill. By the time we actually sat down at the little restaurants with huge bottles of water I got the giggles from being so tired 😊
We tried to snorkel, but the water was a bit too deep so we just swam around and layed around. We convinced a taxi (a 4x4 pick-up truck) to haul us up to our bikes along with the other passengers he had to carry back to town. Thirteen of us squished in the front cab and on back...it was an interesting and steep ride back!!
We did finally make it, exhausted, but it was a unique adventure that we'll all remember.
On our last day I got a Thai massage where they stand on you, push on your muscles, stretch and pull your limbs in every direction. Kind of different, but it felt great.
The Samsong Buckets
The four buckets I mentioned... It rained pretty much the rest of the day so we just relaxed and had one last dinner with Anna and Chris.
Overall, we loved our days here.
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Dad
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Sounds like you are having a great time. I am glad you have met others from abroad. We had a great weekend in Grand Lake last weekend with Ross, from England, Sophie, from Austrailia, Mary from Michigan, and Brett. The kids chased herds of Elk, and saw a moose from about 10 feet. Charlie and Brett played guitars by candlelight each night and a goodtime was had by all. Our prayers are with you on your journey. Brett leaves for Michigan on June 2nd. Love Dad