Ko Tao - The Turtle Island

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The night before Ko Tao was an indicator of what the morning would be like, rain, rain, and more rain. While waiting in the hotel lobby for the mini-bus a group of us got to watch a "lady of the night" or that is what I took from what I saw. Her companion the night before had apparently stiffed the hotel, but not before cleaning out the stocked bar fridge. She was left "holding the bag"......night security, Chewang Police, hotel staff and 6 curious lookers, got to watch it all unfold. Too bad my minibus arrived. I had $20baht riding on her running from the police through the streets of Chewang.

I love any type of boat ride so a high speed ferry to Ko Tao, via a stop off in Ko Phangan had me all giddy, even 6:00am in the morning (although) I almost slept in, thank goodness for island time! The rain persisted throughout the morning which resulted in some rough waters. Only one person could be heard getting sick during the 1:45min cruise so perhaps it wasn't that bad. With a packed ferry, and what i had read of Ko Tao, a small island community, I was curious if there would be enough room on the island....no need to worry it is 21 sq km and they make the most of their space. Local population 5,000, tourist population 10,000 (best guess of which most appear to be german, danish). Decided to rent a scooter for the day and check out places to stay. At only 200 baht ($6) I couldn't pass it up, besides I was hoping for something off the beaten path, away from the loud music....Ko Samui still ringing in my head from the night before!

Found me home for the next two nights at Freedom Beach Resort, tucked away down a steep hill overlooking a beautiful bay. With my very own cabin on brick stilts, it was time to unpack.....after all I am there for 2 nights! Next on the list, eat and then check out dive shops in hopes of getting in some diving...with the delay in luggage on the flight from Calgary, I only had 1 day in which to do all the diving I could. Luck would have it a very helpful Auzzie who said she knew of one other canadian on the island who also worked at the dive shop....She asked me if I knew her....pretty sure she was being sarcastic... found my dive shop, which has some of the most stringent rules I have come across in my years of diving, they made me do a refresher even after nailing their 2page quiz. Luck was on my side...they had a dive master available to give me a quik refresher right there and then. Not being prepared but not wanting to miss out, I agreed and jumped in the pool with my street clothes! Passed refresher with flying colors and now am allowed to dive.....so with 4 dives on the schedule for tomorrow, tonight will be a quiet and early one for me...no half moon pre party, no rave, no lounging on the beach listening to 2-4 different DJ's trying to outblast the next. Too bad my time on Ko Tao is so limited...so much to see and do on such a small island with such a Kool vibe!

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Comments

[Tonya]

Good Blog
Hi there, I am also from Calgary and I plan on travelling SE asia for 6 weeks starting Jan 19. Your blog has been helpful. Good luck with the rest of your travels!