http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Thailand , South-West Thailand , Ko Tao en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 05:52:20 +0000 Wed, 22 May 2013 05:52:20 +0000 Hallo liebe Leser Endlich sind Sascha und ich am Strand angekommen in den Bergen und Stdten haben wir schon oft an das Meer und den endlosen Horizont gedacht also bin ich wirklich glcklich hier zu seinNachdem wir eigentlich nur 3 oder 4 Nchte in Bangkok bleiben wollten daraus aber 9 verrckte Nchte wurden bin ich sehr sehr erschpft Bangkok hat ja einen gewissen Ruf meiner Mein http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-786298.html Aboard a Katamaran we skim across the shimmering blue gulf towards the diving hotspot of Koh Tao. This is the start of our travel time and our first stops include the Islands of Koh Tao Koh Pha Nang and Koh Samui for sun sea and partying. Arriving we hustle our way through the catcalling taxi drivers for the Song Taew that would take us to Bans diving Resort. Its diving school is the one of the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-785481.html After some time in Bangkok we took a night bus long ride and lots of waiting at the pier from 2am to 6am... towards the south of Thailand to eventually reach Kho Tao a wonderful island near Koh Samui. Apparently Kho Tao is heaven for divers. We didn39t dive but we sure enjoyed the scenery the sunsets the clear water the food and the quiet beaches in the early morning. Kho Tao is extremely http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-781584.html We finally managed to get a boat off Koh Phangan but didnt get to Koh Tao until about 7.30pm and due to everyone heading to Koh Tao for a chill out after full moon the island was very busy and the hotel we had planned to check into was fully booked. After about an hour of walking around with our backpacks we finally checked into a way more expensive hotel. We had a quiet first night and saw lit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-779834.html While the overnight journey down south to the islands from Bangkok is always quite tiring and long this one to Koh Tao was particularly bad. First after waiting around for ages we finally boarded the bus over an hour later than we were supposed to. Worrying that it wouldnt make the 4am boat from Chumpon which we had been assured was running the driver must have had similar ideas and drove http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-774954.html We finally arrived in Koh Tao after our sea sickening boat ride and made our way to our hotel. We then headed down to the beach and saw the Sairee beach town then headed back and called it a day...boat ride took a lot out of us. The next day we got up and felt a lot more refreshed. Grabbed some breakfast and then found a kayak rental. We rented it for 2 hours and we departed Sairee beach and heade http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-773114.html Dear Gracie and MagsterI can39t believe this is my last entry from Thailand One month gone It has been the best month ever though and I am certainly not finished with Thailand I absolutely love it. I have been in Ko Tao for the past few days and leaving today to begin the journey to Australia. It39s very beautiful here. Most people come here to dive which I can imagine is amazing as I h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-773069.html So I finally made it out of Bangkok albeit without my visa for Vietnam. It seems that sleeping in til 4pm on the day I originally had planned to visit the embassy made no difference at all. The embassy was closed all week for Chinese new year the biggest holiday in Vietnam apparently and did not reopen until Tuesday the 19th. I had planned to get my visa sorted on Monday the 18th and in my has http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-772470.html Hi lovely readers well this is paradise here. Our wooden house overlooks the beach and sea just right for sundowner cocktails and Singhas. We have two verandas one with a lovely bed and even an al fresco bathroom so cool. We did however hear some strange pattering noises running over our rooftop at night you can imagine how I felt about that Finally tracked it down to a cheeky tree squ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-771482.html Since I last wrote things have improved a bit with my foot which is good I have been going back every morning to get it cleaved and everything and when we went back yesterday she said it was a lot better and seemed quite suprised at how much better it was just in 24 hours. She said that the stuff that she keeps sticking in it is so that it can heal from the inside out.We hired a moped the other d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-769433.html So when I last wrote my blog I was in a seriously bad mood and extremely annoyed that I had managed to lose so many pictures from the past few weeks... Im still annoyed but theres nothing that I can do about it so just have to enjoy the last part of the trip and try and get lots more.We got the ferry over to Koh Tao from Koh Phangan which took about 1 and a half hours and managed to sit on the dec http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-768946.html After Koh Phangan I headed up to Koh Tao about an hour and a half away by boat. The first thing I noticed about the island was how laid back it was. Koh Tao has a reputation for being chilled out and for good reason. I stayed near Sairee Beach which was a lot more crowded than Koh Phangan but somehow had a more relaxed atmosphere. The crowd was mostly young in their 20s or 30s and a much mor http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-768647.html Before explaining the title of today39s blog I will back peddle a bit and write what we39ve been up to. After hanging out in Tong Nai Pan Yai beach on Koh Phangan for a few days we took a songthaew which is a truck with seats in the back and a cover that most islands use as taxis to the other side of the island South West side. To a beach called Ban Tai. Stayed at a cool spot run by a Bri http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-767483.html Patience really is the name of the game when travelling in Asia. Here39s what you can expect from a typical journeyTHE PICK UP The only security you have that you are going to be picked up in the first place is the rushed phonecall from the person you booked it from and small sheet of paper with PAID stamped on it. Its all about having faith A piece of paper as a receipt is too much of a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-767094.html South East Asia Doggy Travels Part 1 Thailand With a belly full of dog food and chartreuse I had one last dance in Sidebar and bid adios to a year of fun hard work and the craic with the lads and headed off to the land of lady boys tuktuks and tailored suits.Once I landed in Bangkok I jumped on the first plane to Kho Phangan for the infamous Full Moon Party which was to take place the ne http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-766306.html So I39ve finally begun the travelling blog We39re 12 days in now currently relaxing on Koh Tao Thailand. Our first day was travelling in the literal sense After 3 planes and one pretty interesting taxi ride the first of many we arrived at our hotel in Koh Samui at midnight. We were only staying for one night so exhausted we set alarms and got straight into bed. I woke in the middle http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-765286.html The full moon party took it out of me a bit so a few days chilling on a beach were much needed we headed to Than Sadet on the east coast of Ko Pha Ngan it was lush Two days in a 2 storey hut on a hill by the beach jealous muchNext stop was Ko Tao to learn to dive we came on the 4th and still here now on the 9th its that good. We arrived at Big Blue Diving Resort and signed up for the Ope http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-765275.html After arriving in Koh Tao Tom was looking a little worse for wear which in most cases while travelling may be as a result of excessive alcohol but its safe to say this was not normalExcessive sweating severe headache and an aching body not good... But in Toms case a lack of appetite is when alarm bells start ringing as that really is a cause for concernEnough was enough after 5 hours sweating http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-764542.html ltpre stylewhitespace normal color 2a2a2a fontsize 13pxgt6.30am Half asleep we jumped aboard the long tail out to the diving boat. The first stop was White Rock depth 17m bottom time 36 mins and a much better selection of fish and better visibility than the previous dive. Today we had a videographer filming our dives prepare for the photo slide show and video evening upon o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-763732.html SCUBA school was out for Christmas Day leaving us with a well earned break and a chance to enjoy the beach without the SCUBA kit on We had a nice breakfast on the sea front and spent most of the day in the sea. The water was lovely and warm but a little shallow and you felt like you were half way out in the ocean to get the water above your waistline We had prebooked Christmas dinner at a sw http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-763728.html