Swimming with the turtles on Turtle Island!

Sawasdee Kraa!

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but Koh Tao means Turtle Island. It is named this for its shape. But if you look at a map, it in no way resembles a turtle...

...and just yesterday, I was lucky enough to get to swim with a turtle! Yes, I'm finally over my island illness (thanks to everyone for the advice) and I was able to go SCUBA diving. How could I not, when it is one of the premiere dive sites in the world?

I haven't been under the sea in a few years, so don't worry Mom, I took an afternoon refresher course. My instructor, I do believe, is the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen in my life. All the dive instructors are... I think it's a pre-requisite. Anyway, we went over the basics on the boat while heading to the dive site, called Japanese Gardens. Once I put the reg in my mouth and put my head under water, it alllll came back naturally. I forgot how beautiful and peaceful it is under the sea! The experience was much different than snorkelling. It wasn't AS colorful, just because you're deeper. But the fish and the corals are simply incredible. Did two more dives yesterday -- one at Ao Mao and another at Ao Tanote. If you look up a map of the island on the internet, you can probably see them, if you're interested.

Saw loads of those goregous neon blue fish, Sgt. Generals, a school of barracuda (I'm told they DON'T attack here), a sea slug called a nudi branch, bat fish, blue spotted rays, kissing fish, 6 banded angel fish, blue ring angel fish, Christmas tree worms (these little neon colored mini christmas trees that pop in and out of coral when you swim by) and a giant sea turtle!!! It was amazing! My buddy (another hot dive master) and I followed him for about 20 minutes.

This place is a diver's haven. It seems like every gorgeous, tall, blond girl in a string bikini is here doing her certification. There are dive schools every 5 feet. At night, you can see hundreds of boats off the coast doing night dives. It's apparently the cheapest place in the world to do it too. Johnny, you'd be in heaven. Sail your little sailboat this way, my friend. :) And ladies? If you're not certified, come this way... :)

Everyone rides a motorbike here. They don't ask you for a license or anything. There are no rules of the road. But the island is so small, it's the best way to get around. I rented a bicycle the other day and took a spin up the coast to a more popular area called Sairee Beach. There are more little huts and resorts up there. In retrospect, we should have gone there for a few days -- simply for the nightlife -- because the resort we're in is very couply and a little bit out of the way. I'm sure people are honeymooning. It has a great pool and by far the nicest place I've seen, but I don't feel like a backpacker here. However, this is where the tour brought us... so we got a great deal. You have to take a 5 minute cab ride to the nearest (and only) little town, Mae Haad. That costs about 1.50. My bike cost me 3 dollars for the day.

All along Sairee Beach, there are little beachside bars and hot spots to eat. You sit on those little floor cushions on the beach to eat in some places... torches lit all along. Folks playing guitar. Westerners (and western food) everywhere. I must say, the food here hasn't been spectacular. My illness may be partially to blame, but the others seem to agree. I've laid off the Thai food for a bit. They seem to do fish BBQs really well though -- they have little dories full of fresh fish: mackeral, giant prawns, shark, barracuda, red and white snapper, etc... and you pick what you want and they'll bbq it for you right there while you wait. I had giant prawns and they were fab. Picture it: a buffet and bbq right on the beach.

Went to a little bar near our resort last night for the last night here as a group. We sat on the little deck on those floor cushions and then the sky just opened up. It poured rain for about an hour straight -- thunder and lightening too -- and we all jumped behind the bar with Phil, the bartender and watched the show. Spectacular. The tides are super high and low these days because of the full moon.

Oh, I just realized yesterday that for the past week, I've been staring out at this island in the distance that is the island the book/movie 'The Beach' is set on. The actual movie was filmed on Phi Phi Island, but it is supposed to take place on this one that I've been looking out at everyday. I can also see Koh Phangnan and Koh Samui in the distance.

So, I say good bye to my friends in this group today and take the overnight train back to Bangkok with Lucy tonight. In the morning, we'll part ways. I'm flying to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and she flies home to England. It's amazing how quickly you become friends on the road. :)

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