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Published: August 28th 2008
June 23 - July 6
I know, I know, we're home ... we should be done with these blogs, right? Unfortunately, we fell a little bit behind with the entries so we still have a couple to write to wrap it all up. Sorry if we have already told you these stories in person.
After returning to Bangkok from Vietnam, we wasted no time in heading south to Koh Tao - billed as a diver's paradise on the southeast coast of Thailand. Although Thailand has more great islands and beaches than you can shake a stick at, we decided on Koh Tao because many of our friends (new and old) were converging there all at the same time - Sam, Wills and Ried from Victoria, the Irish, who we met in Nepal, and Sean, an excellent guy we met on our camel safari in India. With this crew on the island, it was shaping up to be quite a time!
Our days on Koh Tao consisted of some variation of diving, lounging on the beach, swimming, drinking banana shakes, dining with friends and drinking buckets at the Loutus Bar. Let me tell you - life could get worse.
Some of the Gang
Gavin, Wills, Sean, Me and Bex in the front row.Becky and I ended up staying 9 days, which I think is the longest we stayed anywhere. On July 1, we had a small Canada Day celebration with a few other Canucks who we met along the way (Natalie, Shea, Nick and Jonny) ... in fact I think it lasted for two nights. One highlight of our stay would have to have been seeing the Lady Boy Drag Show, a very ammateur and VERY funny caberet. Wills was a little shocked when one of the "girls" pulled up her skirt to show off her enormous ... ahhh maybe this is too much for the travel blog ...
The party lifestyle on Koh Tao (not to mention a deadly energy drink called M-150, which will keep you awake for days) was a little too much for my old body to handle so we decided to head to Koh Phangan. As we were a little tired out, we decided to head to an isolated little beach in the Northwest of the island (Ao Thong Nai Pan Noi) for some peace and quiet. It was a bit of a hassle getting there and the taxi driver who took us definitely got the
better of the bargain, but was worth it. We spent a couple days drinking cocktails on the gorgeous beach, swimming, practicing our poi, and eating THE BEST green curry we've had in all of Thailand.
We decided that before we left Koh Phangan, we wanted to stop for a night in Had Rin, home of the legendary and infamous "Full Moon" parties. Although at one time in the distant past these parties may have been something special, now they are just another in a constant stream of 'moon' parties - Half Moon, Quarter Moon, Black Moon, Shiva Moon, etc. As a result, this town seemed a little worn out, and the beach itself, which must have been beautiful at one point, was now a little on the scummy side. We stayed one night here and then made a break for the mainland, where we took an overnight train to the Malaysian border.
Malaysia, here we come!
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Sally McMahon
non-member comment
Thank you
I have so enjoyed your blog. I'm sorry that its over. If you make a hard copy that includes more pictures, I would feel honoured to see it. Again, thank you. xSally