Koh Tao, Thailand
Thursday, April 1, 2010
We left Koh Pangers along with two boat loads full of backpackers, all craving the detox that lay ahead on Koh Tao. The thai's certainly know how to pack public transport, the boats were full to the rafters, luckily we were blesed with good weather and calm sea's this time round! We chose to stay south in Chalok Ban Kao, where we were met by a horrendously picturesque sandy bay, surrounded by stilt bungalows nestled between the giant boulders which looked as though they had been placed around the waters edge purely to improve the view! On closer investigation we discovered a cluster of beachside bars, lit by fairy lights, where hammocks and pillows were substituted for seating, and the sea lapped at your toes whilst you sipped your mojito! Babaloo bar was the most amazing of all, with hammocks strung up over the incoming tide, and rasta owners who liked to share their laid back attitudes and knowledge with new comers. On our first couple of nights we stayed in Taraporin, a selection of bamboo framed stilt bungalows nestled on the cliff face, which sported an amazing seafood BBQ restaurant which we made good use of on each night
. After spending our first night chilling in Easy bar, me Joe and Tucker decided to get in some excercise and hired push bikes to explore the island, leaving Hannah, Nicole and a rubber glove handed Sam to explore by foot. We spent the day sweating our ases off as we rode around taking in the amazing surroundings. As the island was so small we were able to cycle right up to the north where we discovered an amazingly plush resort, the friendly staff of which pointed us in the direction of the sea to cool ourselves down. We scrambled over the rocky walkway and met a scandanavian couple who introduced us to the joys of snorkelling with fruit! The fish litereally swarmed round you to eat the mangos, and you could feel some of them nipping at your legs and flicking with their tails! After the dip we continued up some ridiculously steep hills, getting off to push the bikes as they either didn't have enough gears or were simply to old to function on hills, Joe was riding a ladies road bike with a basket! We arrived sweating profusely to an impressive viewpoint where the map informed us we could see a whale skeleton (not sure how it managed to situate itself on the top of a mountain but I guess that's another story!), but unfortunately it was a less than impressive site, and had oddly come to it's final resting place in what appeared to be a restaurant kitchen! We freewheeled down the hill wondering why on earth it had made it onto the island tourist map!
Our final stop before sunset was a small and beautiful cove where the otherwise flat sea was producing some waves, which proved to be an excellent spot for some snorkelling
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The next day we were joined by Mandy, Sarah, Louise and Amanda (affectionately known as Brucie) and we moved to their cheaper Sunshine 2 resort just behind Easy bar on the beach. After a day on the beach and introductions to their new english friend Ryan (who's resistance to trying thai food had us in stitches) we bought some cheap vodka and started the night on the balconys before heading to the well advertised Blue moon party ready for a good night. The scene we arrived to was a strange one, on top of a mountain we found ourselves surrounded by huge UV flowers and crazy patterned posters hanging from trees, but no party goers except us, and Brucies new Canadian lover and friends...where were all the people? We didnt let this fase us, and kept on drinking and dancing amoungst the UV, alone! We found out on the way home via the 7 eleven that everyonbe else on the island had attended the more poplular castle party down the hill, it had been an odd but funny night!
The day before leaving we all went on another snorkelling trip around the island, seeing some amazing swarms of fish and feeding them bits of mango. Sam's hand was still in a bad state and so he ingeniously taped a ruber glove to it in order to join the trip! Inevitably this lead to a conversation being started with a girl and we soon had two new recruits for the night ahead, Briana and Kara.
The last night on Koh Tao was more succesfull, we ventured to the beach party on Sairee beach where hundreds of people milled around the bar and on the shoreline dancing and drinking. We all bought a lantern and wrote our names, symbolising the end of our time with the girls who we had once again become close to.
