Koh Tao (Finally)

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We were up before daybreak and the mini-van we'd ordered collected us (to our relief) just before 0530. We changed onto one of two double-deckers at the train station in Chumphon and were at the wharf an hour later.

The boat that would take us to Koh Tao was a huge catamaran that held around 300 passengers and their backpacks (no first-class luggage on this vessel!) and although we left late and travelled via the pier at Ko Nang Yuan we arrived at Ban Mae Hat Pier around 0930.

There were somewhere in the vicinity of 100 touts gathered by the small exit from the pier where it links with a narrow street lined with shops and restaurants. Getting through the crowds with our backpack was a mission in itself but once through the bulk of it we headed to RPM - a motorbike rental shop that the tourists from our hotel the previous night had recommended.

Unfortunately, as we were about to sign the forms the bloke who served us demanded our passports as a bond. Up until this point on the trip we had not had to leave a passport with anyone. We'd both been using our Papua New Guinea drivers licenses figuring that if there were any issues we could happily walk away from them. Neither of us were too happy so we headed back down the hill towards the pier to regroup.

Gamberro Rosso was owned by a couple of Italian blokes who seemed good sorts. I ordered the bruschetta - pronouncing it as it is spelt.

"No, no" I was informed, "It's bruuuce - keeeetttaa"

"OK - I'll have the bruuuce - keeeetttaa please"

It was good.

Jo and I chatted about whether it was a good idea to leave our passports but after our transport hassles in Chumphon we figured we couldn't always get things done the way we wanted them to be so agreed to try and negotiate keeping my passport and leaving only Jo's as a deposit. Our man at RPM was almost apologetic for taking the passport but explained that he'd had to collect damaged bikes in the past from wherever they were crashed and had only a collection of foreign drivers licences to show for it.

After the disappointment of missing out on our bungalow at Pinnacle Dive Resort, we found that they had a good deal going online for apartments and booked ourselves in for three nights. The ride there seemed easy to navigate but the map suggested a dirt track after we were to veer off the main road. I kept an eye on Jo in my mirrors and she didn't look too pleased. The roads were nowhere near as bad as we expected (I spend half my life in Pothole City - Lae, PNG) but the sand would have caused issues if we needed to apply the brakes at the wrong time. I managed to get us lost so the three minute ride turned out to be a 15 minute ordeal. The dirt road was rutted and bumpy but Jo managed to get through it OK. The climb and descent were very steep and she struggled a bit getting down the hill but made it to the hotel in one piece - albeit a little shaken up.

The drama was well worth it.

Pinnacle Dive Resort is located on a steep mountain on the south western tip of Kho Tao and has one of the most magnificent sea views I have seen. The bloke on the front desk couldn't have been more helpful and even negotiated us an upgrade to the bungalows for THB500 (NZD20) per night. We were given all the info on the facilities - a pool, restaurant, general store and dive shop, and then led to our rooms by a golf cart. We were halfway up the hill - high enough to get a perfect view down to the water and the bungalow was exactly as lovely as we'd hoped it would be.

We hit the pool fairly quickly then booked six dives from the onsite office - THB7500 each - around NZD50 per person per dive. It was a little more than some of the places on the island but we were to find out in the coming days that the extra was well worth it. Rental of a GoPro was going to cost THB1500 (NZD60) per day. I'd seen them for sale in Bangkok at 15,000 and figured that rather than spend a third of the price to rent one for three days, I'd be better off buying one. Within an hour I'd ridden to Sairee Beach and bought one.

Shark Bay lies at the south of Koh Tao and we borrowed Pinnacle's snorkelling gear to take a look at it. Unfortunately we missed any sharks but the water was warm and we spotted some colourful fish and prawns just metres from the sand.

We had the special dinner in the restaurant at our resort - THB375 (NZD15) for two thai dishes each and a drink. We both had entrees of prawn in coconut while Jo went with chicken and cashew for her mains and I had chicken red curry.

We had an early night and prepared for our diving the following afternoon.

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