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 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:08:24 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:08:24 +0000 Christmas this year was spent sitting on the idyllic island paradise of Koh Tao. There the sun and the water are warm the drinks are cool and the men hot. Still I find myself relieved to be going home. Even if it is only for three days I crave the comfort of normalcy and my 2040 baht 33baht 1 meals. Still it felt like a vacation through and through. The white sand beaches are littered with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-463215.html Hello Everyone just a quick update to let you know whats been happening over here and to wish you all a merry christmas I done my first freediving course the other week had so much fun I got to the maximun allowed 20 meters on the second day it was absolutely amazing feeling so relaxed in the water I learnt some yoga and other relaxation techniques in the course as well which helps with http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-462062.html After departing the Asia's party capital we headed to another Thai island Koh Tao English translation turtle island. Almost immdiately as we arrived at the Big Blue diving resort we met up with the Koh PhaNgan gang Banksy Wozza Ray Andrea and Charlotte. We could't get rid of these stalkers Walking down towards the sea I heard an 'Oi' from a nearby beach hut's hamock it was my dad... u http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-461850.html Okey dokey then... following on from the Bangkok and terriblejourneysouth blog the following shall deal with our experience on Koh Tao.As said previously we stayed in a little bungalow on the southern coast of the island. We had a beautiful crescent shaped beach approximately 2 football pitches in length literally on our doorstep. We had almost unbroken sunshine for 7 days and spent our tim http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-460735.html Hi Everyone We finished our massive journey this morning After some 37hours of commuting and waiting around to get from Chiang Mai to Koh Tao. So we are still pretty tired. After we got off the train yesterday we ended up at a tourist information centre. This place sent us to a place nearby called lsquofarang barrsquo where farang means foreigner in Thai. We bought tickets and ende http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-460348.html Homework done and to the classroom for 0900. Get most of the reviews out the way and then its our first Open Water Dives this afternoon.Dive number 1 at TwinsKoh Tao entered water at 1327. Went to depth of 12 metres and was there for 28 minutes. Had a brief exploration with some mask clearing and buoyancy stuff. exit the water at 1355 with Pressure Group E.Dive number 2 at Sairee BeachKoh Ta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-459314.html Now...every traveller is supposed to have at least one nightmare journey story. I'm not sure if this counts as once I got past the incredibly strong conviction that I was going to meet my end in the seas off Koh Phangan it was actually quite the adrenalin rush. But anyway...As I think I mentioned last time we had been stranded on Koh Phangan for an extra night due to bad weather conditions. As http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-457977.html Day 5A Day to RecoverI guess it was the toxicity of the Thai red bull or tonic that I realize it was fatal to get a sound sleep and that I am awake or that my eyes are merely open and I could walk around in hangover but paralyzed as much to think or do any work. I was blank And all that I hear is Madonna singing loudly nonstop the song ldquoGive it to merdquo Sometime under warm shower some http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-456253.html On Ko Tao I went to the Big Blue resort which is nicely located at the beach and is combined with a dive school where I could do my Advanced Open Water course. This course is done in 2 days with 5 dives. With a small group of 4 people and our dive instructor we did a navigation a buoyancy and a night dive on the first day. The night dive was great. There were many more divers in the water and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-455434.html Hallo zaemeNun bin ich schon eine ganze Weile auf Ko Tao und eigentlich weiss ich gar nicht so recht was schreiben. Ich meine Ko Tao ist ja ne ganz niedliche Insel aber ausser Touristen gibts hier nichts. Eine Tauchschule reiht sich an die andere und es wird mit lukrativen Tauchangeboten nur so um sich geworfen. Fun Dive hier Adventure da Rescue Master Scubaduu... Hm. Schoene Straende sucht http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-455274.html After the scariest boat journey of my life we arrive on Koh Tao and it looks like absolute heaven compared to the hedonism of Koh PhaNgan. We were on a fairly small ferry and the waves were huge and at times it did feel as though we were going to go over the edge. People were being sick into bags all around us and everyone had a slight look of fear that said 'maybe I won't get off this boat ali http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-455020.html Upon leaving Railay on October 27th we hopped a longboat a sweet minibus and a catamaran style ferry an 8 hour journey in all to Koh Tao a small island off the northeast corner of southern Thailand. The world knows Koh Tao as a magical diving Mecca and the laid back island lifestyle is an added bonus to say the least. Not really sure how long wersquod spend there we opted for 4 nights in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-450747.html Imagine your country was home to absolute perfection. Thousands of miles of white sand beaches vast jungles filled with animals and plants of all shapes and sizes. Imagine your you could eat gourmet meals breakfast lunch and dinner every day every evening see miraculous sunsets and every morning watch the sun rise over a sea of turquoise. Now imagine that you're too busy to enjoy any of these http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-449578.html After our day in Ayuthaya we took the train back to Bangkok then took an exciting cab ride through the city to get to the Southern Bus Terminal. This cabbie must have driven F1. He weaved in and out of traffic like it wasn't moving and got us there in record time. After a little bit of a wait we took a VIP Air Conditioned bus a few hours south of the city to Chumphon. It was the jumping off http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-446400.html Yes indeedilly no word of a lie a swimming with sharks I have been Bull nosed sharks for those techies amongst you about 2.53m in length. Words simply cannot do justice to the feeling well not when I am the composer of said words alas breathtaking about sums it up. No photo's to prove it so I've pinched one of a very similar shark for you all to marvel at. I could almost boast of havin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-446259.html I really wasn't looking forward to heading back into China after the fun I had had in Hong Kong but was excited to be seeing the eclipse and meeting up with Sarah and Tim again.I flew back to Chengdu my original plans had been to overland it via Yangshuo but that changed with me staying longer in Hong Kong. It was an easy flight and then taxi back to Sims. I headed straight for the bar and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-442021.html Ko Tao didnrsquot really turn out the way we had planned. When we got there Liv was told that she couldnrsquot dive because of her back operation. To make it worse she had already been in the class room for 2 hours. This was really frustrating because when we booked the diving in Ko Phangan we spoke to the boss that we found out later was the boss of the tour operator not the dive centre wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-441442.html Well quick update on last few days in South East Asia. I spent around 5 days in Koh Tao an island in south east Thailand fitting in a few days diving before leaving. The island is mainly for diving and some nice dives are to be had there. I met some lovely people but unfortunately was not in time to befriend the whale shark that had been sighted there a few days previous. I flew straight to Koh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-441428.html Thailand The Land of Smiles.The locals really do seem a cheery bunch round here and for our part we found no trouble fitting right in as we appeared to have just stumbled on paradise.First stop was Koh Phi Phi a pictureperfect little islet of curving beaches and lush jungle. The view from the peak was pure travel brochure like stepping onto the set of an escapist movie which in fact you ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-440901.html Her er lidt blandede billeder fra Koh Tao OG Koh Pha Ngan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-440793.html