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Published: March 12th 2008
After the calm serenity of Cambodia we decided we needed a bit of hustle and bustle back in Thailand so we headed back to good ol' Bangkok. This feeling lasted about a day before we got fed up and wanted more beach action so we booked the train the following day to Chumphon - the gateway to the Thai Gulf islands. After a rather turbulent catamaran crossing from Chumphon we got to our first Thai beach on the island of Koh Tao - and what an island it was. You know that picture that forms in your head when someone mentions "Tropical Island"? Well that's pretty much Koh Tao - azure blue sea, white sand, palm trees and lots and lots of sunshine. Ross and I wasted no time in booking ourselves in for our Open Water scuba diving course as we were both eager to explore the clear ocean depths. Our instructor Deano took us through the theory for the first couple of days (homework included!) and then, after a brief exam (which we both bossed by the way, 98% apiece!), we were off diving with our new Auzzie dive buddies Scott and Jess. Frankly put, the diving was awesome.
Easy Riders
Managed to avoid any crashes too!We saw an absolute myriad of fish and coral on the first few dives and a moray eel and stingray later on to boot. Ross even claims he saw a shark on the bottom on our last dive but I reckon he's full of pap 'cos frankly I couldn't see jack down there. All-in-all the diving experience went down really well for all four of us and we celebrated passing our SSI Open Water course (that allows us to scuba dive anywhere in the world) in the usual fashion; getting totally hammered....
After a day or so of beach recovery we realised we'd really been bitten by the diving bug and decided to head down to the south of the island to do some snorkelling, again with Scott and Jess. We all hired a moped and went to two of the beaches down south; Freedom beach (pretty good snorkelling all round) and the notorious Shark Bay. This time we really did see some sharks, about 250 metres out, at 9 in the morning we came across three or four Reef Sharks. Between 1 and 2 metres long these graceful creatures moved through the water like they owned it. And
Sariee Beach - Koh Tao
That tropical beach I mentioned to be honest they did, I've never seen an animal move like a shark does; so confident and at ease, it was a sight to behold. I was certainly glad that we were a bit on the big side to be considered lunch!
After a few more days on the beaches of Koh Tao we thought it'd be a good idea to visit Koh Phangan, probably the best known party island of Thailand. Unfortunately we'd missed the full moon party already so we had to make our own entertainment for the duration of our stay. After some serious chill time we decided to begin our return to Bangkok for Ross' flight to Manila and for me to meet Heather. On the way back I took full day's 'visa run' (you only get one month at a time in Thailand) to Burma, which was nowhere near as exciting as it sounds (a quick ferry over the border and a few stamps and I was done - no monk bashing or anything!), but at least it (technically) meant Ross didn't get an extra Asian country on me while I stayed in Thailand and he went Pilipino, woo! We got back to
Bangkok a day before Ross' flight and said our tearful goodbyes the following evening. Then I had about four days to kill all by myself before Heather came out. It was a strange experience after being a twosome for so long but I managed to get by babbling away to pretty much every European I came across. When Heather's flight did finally come in we headed down to our favourite island of Koh Tao where we spent a fantastic couple of weeks enjoying the beach, sea, and sunshine (when it wasn't raining that is - damn you global warming!). Heather's flight left for London yesterday and I'm now sitting writing this in Bangkok awaiting Ross' return so he can fill me in on all his (mis)deeds in the Philippines. I'm sure he was a credit to the Lads Abroad franchise...
Adios Amigos,
Sean
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Scott
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ASHES2008
Obviously the winner of the ashes were the spectacular AUSSIES! Good times, especially trying to bargin with the mad brazilians to not kill Ross! Hope to see you boys in melbourne soon! Scotty and Jess