Off to the Islands

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Hello trusted fans.

After Rob received some rather unfortunate news regarding his short-term hospital incarceration, I decided to venture down to the famous Thai islands in the gulf.

As I don't have time to do them all, I opted to stay on Koh Tao which is the most relaxed/un-developed of the main islands in the central gulf (Koh Samui / Koh Tao / Koh Phangnan) and also has the best diving in Thailand (apparently).

I booked my ticket on the Khao San road - 850Baht for overnight coach & "High Speed Catamalan" - sweet. The journey was as expected for a country like Thailand - bumpy roads and crazy driving, but on the whole pretty good. The problem was that on the coach, which is billed as a "sleeper" coach (overnight), for the first 3 hours the driver was playing rediculously cheesy music through the 17 boom-box style speakers in the roof of the coach! I could barerly hear myself think over the "Cheeky Girls", also "Touch my Bum, This is Fun" made for some slightly worrying looks from the Thai fellow sat across from me....

Another annoying thing is that the coach is "Velly Quick" as promissed, but this just means you have to wait at the port (used in the loosest possible manner) for 4 hours from 3am. Brilliant! Once on the "Catamalan" is was easy going - arrived in Kho Toa within an hour, and its paradise!

The guesthouse I'm staying in is really a back-to-basics affair (no A/C, no locks no anything really), but it's built on a cliff face overlooking a littel cove - from my room the veiw is very much like any of the scenes from "The Beach", if not better!

It's SO relaxed - the main restaurant / reception is manned by a couple, who you have to wake up if you want something - they just kip on the floor in there! Also it takes about 20mins at least to get a drink and 40mins for food, but it doesn't matter!! No one could ever complain because the whole place is just 100% chilled out, the restaurant is open on all sides built out over the cliff overlooking the sea and all you can hear is the sound of the waves lapping the shore! I think "Stress" or "Hurry" are completely unknown concepts to these people!

I hit a couple of bars in the evening - pure heaven! From reggae rasta-man to trance, it's all here, and it's all located right on the beach!

Next up, after some maximum relaxing, I decided to head to Koh Phangnan for .... yep... a FULL MOON PARTY!!!

Loving

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Photos

Sunrise at Chumporn
The 4 hour wait from 3am was worth it for the series of beautiful shots I managed to get of the sunrise. The jeti made for an excellent composition!

Sunrise at Chumporn 2
Absolutely stunning

Arriving on Koh Tao
Fell asleep on the top deck of the Catamaran, but luckily woke up just in time

Walk to my guesthouse
You need to walk across a mountain pass thing (most vehicles won't take you up it, and there's a reason for it...)

My guest house
Back-To-Basics ;)
A bed, with "toilet" and "shower" -all you need!

View from my Guesthouse
You can see this from my bed! It's called "Freedom Beach" and its fantastic

Sunset from Freedom Bar
This picture was taken from Freedom bar, a reggae bar. Its all on stilts over water, its incredible. I was the only guest at the time and was just lying there chatting to the barman/DJ/thai rasta-man!
The picture is awesome - much better than i had anticipated!

Nightime at Freedom Bar
This is another cool picture of the view along the coast from Freedom bar.
You have to picture the scene - Bob Marley playing in the background, sipping a pina colada over crystal clear waters... heaven!

Lotus Bar - Sairee Beach
After Freedom bar I headed up in Sairee - the more developed (only slightly) area which has a more lively vibe to it.
This time I was lying on the beach, maybe 12 feet from teh water, sipping a singapore sling, watching the fire show and discussing politics with an Israeli group I met!

More of the fire show
I like long-exposure images :)

Another paradise view
Does this really need a caption?