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After my latest, hectic travels I decided to take a bit of a break and spend some time chilling out at the diving mecca of Koh Tao. Not being able to dive, I sought out the quitest place I could find to spend some time lying in a hammock! A bit of quick research indicated that Laem-Thian, a secluded bay on the sparcely populated eastern side of the island would fit the bill nicely. Access to the bay is limited to either water taxi around the outside of the island, or a drive along a treacherous mountain road, explaining why the place is so minimally developed. The water taxi is fairly pricey by Thai standards at 1,000 Baht (£15), so I opted to take my chances (and save some money!) with the road...

A driver meets the ferry and takes you straight there free of charge if you stay at 'Laem Thian Bungalows'. It is an exciting and often hairy ride, hanging on to the back of the pickup truck as it scrambles its way upwards through the muddy track carved into the mountain, barely hauling itself over car-sized boulders as the trail becomes impossibly steeper and more insane with every nail-biting minute. Upon finally starting the descent, you get brief, tantalising glimpses of the bay through the jungle canopy and a real sense of relief !!

Laem-Thian certainly does not dissapoint. The bay is small, yet perfectly formed, with a compact beach and stunning waters surrounded by enormous rocks which are in turn engulfed by the dense, mountainous jungle. The accomodation consists of a small handful of basic yet comfy bungalows, my bungalow "seaview" certainly lived up to its name and was priced at a very reasonable 300 Baht per night. Amenities at Laem-Thian are also simple, but satisfactory. Electricity is provided by a generator and as such is only available between the hours of 6pm and 7am. The restaurant is virtually open air and is again basic, but the menu comprehensive and the food delicious! The arrangement here is that you just order food and help yourself to drinks out of the fridge, and keep note in a book that corresponds to your bungalow, paying as you like or just settling the bill when you check out.

Words cannot describe how beautiful the waters are here, after one refreshing dip in the bay I knew immediately why Koh Tao is so popular as a diving destination. The entire island is surrounded by incredible coral reefs, visible from the surface of the shallower, crystal clear waters. The reef supports an abundance of marine life. The bay at Laem-Thian alone had fish of every description packed within, and six or seven blacktip sharks (the locals claim these do not bite!) with which you can get right up close to whilst snorkelling. With hindsight, I should have brought a disposable underwater camera with me, but seeing the fish here as I spent my days lazily snorkelling around is not something that I shall soon forget.

One of the real highlights of the trip was a night-fishing excursion to the nearby Hin Wong Bay. I was picked up from Laem-Thian and paddled out on a tiny rowboat to meet the compact fishing vessel. It was already dark but the waters were mercifully calm despite sheet lightning on the horizon. There were only two others braving a nights fishing on the boat, both more seasoned fishermen than myself! After a quick demonstration of how to use the rod properly, I lowered my bait into the water, full of anticipation. Before I had even lowered it to the bottom, the line was tugging violently and an epic fight ensued! The local boatmen crowded round as I battled with whatever leviathan I had ensnared, clearly impressed with such a struggle and shouting emphatically at me in Thai! When the beast finally surfaced, we hauled up the line and to everyones astonishment, it was an extremely impressively sized Angel fish. Mutterings of "beginners luck" and such from the other two more experienced fishers, who had both failed to catch anything yet and were rather visibly jealous of my catch !! After tossing the monster into an icebox, I put on another chunk of bait and lowered my hook again. Once more, before even hitting bottom, I was on again! The result, a tasty looking Sea Bass. The other two are now clearly pissed off at being beaten by a novice and begin frantically checking their baits..

The results of the night, I have a box of tasty looking fish! One massive Angel fish, a decent sized Sea Bass, a beautiful Red Snapper, and a handful of small ones that I tossed back into the waters. What of the other two fishermen you ask?? Well, they both walked away with nothing! They caught a few tiny ones between them which were thrown back in infuriation !!

Anyway, my smugness was shortlived. As we returned to Laem-Thian the tropical storms moved in and the water became increasingly choppy. Any attempt to get myself back to shore would have been too dangerous for my liking (especially as there were no lifejackets on board!). Instead I stayed aboard as the tiny boat was buffeted by the winds and rain, struggling its way around the island to the pier. We did finally make it, and it felt good to get my feet back on terra firma. I was at a bit of a loss as to how to get back to Laem-Thian at 2am with no money in my pocket, so after a brief "debate" with the owner of the fishing boat, he agreed to pay for a taxi.

The ride in the taxi was frankly terrifying !! The mountain track was slippery as hell because of the driving rain and the driver clearly had no idea how to negotiate the four-wheel drive over the ridiculous boulders. A forty-five minute, slippy, slidy, wheel-spinning, white-knuckle ride later, my nerves were shot but I was back in Laem-Thian with a bag of fish in one hand, and a cigarette in my other, still-shaking hand! As I walked back I thought of the taxi driver, he had to turn around and do the whole thing again to get back! It really wouldn't surprise me if his truck was found lying at the bottom of a ravine in the morning...

After a good nights rest I was sufficiently recovered, and retrieved my fish from where I had stashed them in the bottom of the fridge to ask the cook what she could do with them. I left it to her better judgement and retired to my bungalow until it was time for my fish supper. What a feast she made !! The Angel fish was steamed to perfection with lemon and chilli. The Bass and Red Snapper were barbecued and served with a spicy Thai sauce. I also had a combination of prawns and fried cashews in a sweet and sour sauce and some plain rice. Truly some of the best seafood I have ever had, delicious and also all the more satisfying that I had caught the fish myself! This made the previous nights discomfort seem entirely worthwhile. It is well worth risking life and limb for a meal that damned tasty !!

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