Kate on Koh Tao

So, after Koh Samui came Koh Tao. We decided to skip the infamous Koh Pha-Ngan where the crazy full moon parties are held, and just head straight to Koh Tao. We are getting to old for drinking 250 baht buckets of red bull and cheap rum (or maybe we just overdosed in Samui).

We landed on our feet yet again, finding some great accommodation not far from the beach for only 250 baht (just over $8) a night for the room.


Koh Tao is a funny kind of island. In many ways it reminded of us of Tioman and Perenthian islands in Malaysia. It is essentially a tourist island with only a very small Thai population that remain on the island all year round. Unfortunately that means that the food is generally pretty expensive and very westernised. We managed to find a few exceptions to that rule but you had to dig a bit deeper than normal. It also means that other than scuba diving, swimming and drinking, there isn't a whole lot more to the island (yes...i know that it sounds like heaven...I'm not complaining...just trying to paint a picture here).

So, with that in mind, we pretty much just swam, ate, and drank our way through the last week or so on Koh Tao. Unfortunately, by the time we got off our butts to do some diving, the weather had turned pretty bad, so we missed out on doing any diving. A shame, but at least our bank balance is a little happier.

We also met Katie and Julian, a nice German couple who were staying in the Bungalow next to ours. We had a couple of nice nights out, and they were nice enough to provide us with refuge and entertainment on the night we waited for our 11pm overnight boat to take us back to mainland Thailand. Talking of which - I never ever ever recommend anyone do that trip. Whilst we saved ourselves a nights accommodation and a couple of hundred baht, we also spent a sleepless night on bed rolls on the floor of a boat that shook and creaked every time a wave came even close to it. I was genuinely surprised when we finally made it to shore the next morning at 5am...I didn't kiss the ground, but the thought ran through my mind.

We arrived in Chumphon on a rainy morning and quickly jumped on a north bound bus to head to Hua Hin. After 6 or so hours, we finally arrived in Hua Hin....mmmm...what can I say about this place. Well, it has a semi decent night market, cheap internet access (hence why I am spamming you with multiple blog entries), and....that's about it. Oh, and it also has the biggest OGG population we have seen since Phuket. This place is pretty seedy. Needless to say, we won't be here for long. We are hoping to jump on a train or bus and head to Bangkok tomorrow sometime.

Well, I think that is enough from me right now. I have put a whole bunch of photos in the Thailand album so make sure you check them out. Hope you are all happy and well. Until next time...

//Kate