Tue 5th Feb to Wed 13th Feb - Koh Tao

To get to Koh Tau we caught a VIP bus from Hua Hin to the port at Chumporn. We then boarded a catamaran for the 2 hr trip on the gulf of Thailand to the island of Koh Tao which means turtle island. On arrival at the pier we were faced with a million tuk tuk drivers all wanting to take us to our hotel! We jumped in the back of a pick up and ten minutes later we were in the next village and at our hotel. Koh Tao is a small island approx ten miles long and four miles wide and a very laid back place with lots of backpackers and divers. Most of the hotels and villages are on the west side where there are the most beautiful white soft beaches and bright blue water. The east coast has little development as there are high rocky cliffs with difficult access to the sea and few beaches.

 Our hotel was on the main road which was fine and was only a ten minute walk from the beach.

The first afternoon we walked round to explore then went down to the beach for a swim. The sand was so white and soft and the water was really warm and refreshing with hardly any waves. After our swim we sat on the beach and had a pineapple shake. We then spotted a little man carrying a load up the beach on his shoulders. As he got nearer we realised that he was a mobile sweet corn BBQ! Of course we couldn't resist ordering two and watched as he wafted his BBQ to get the coals glowing, grilled our corn, smeared them in butter, sprinkled them with salt and then Handed them to us on a skewer. Ingenious entrepreneur!

That evening we wandered down on to the beach where all the bars and restaurants spilled down onto the sand where they had low tables with cushions to lounge on, candles in the sand and coloured lanterns hanging from all the trees. It was magical sitting there looking out at the sea, drinking cocktails and watching the fire show by local lads who wander up and down the beach entertaining everyone.

The next day we hired a motorbike as we wanted to explore the island and check out other accommodation as we decided to spend more than a couple of days there. We had a lovely day driving through the little towns and seeing the rest of the island and on the southern end of the Island we found the most amazing place to stay. The little bungalows were built on stilts and led straight on to the beach and then into the water. The hotel was in a small bay with lovely views across to the few resorts dotted around.

The next day we checked out of our other hotel and moved down to Freedom Beach resort. We booked in initially for another three nights but loved it so much we ended up staying there for six nights, a total of eight nights on Ko Tau.

The resort had a little wooden walkway which led to some of the other bungalows dotted about on the rocks. We followed the walkway one evening and it led up and over the rocks and cliff and then down again to a tiny little beach. This beach was quiet and shady as trees were growing right up to the waters edge. Hanging in the trees were mobiles which people had made out of fishing wire, shells and bits of coral and they tinkled in the breeze.

There was also a tiny little bar built up on stilts where we sat and watched the sun going down with a cold beer. On the way back round on the walkway we heard rustling and were lucky to see a huge, bright purple crab which was scuttling up the rocks as the tide was coming in.

One of the days Chris booked a sea fishing trip while I opted to have a lazy day. He set off early and came back sunburnt but happy after a day when he managed to catch a large fish but an even bigger one got away! Of course!

I clambered over the rocks, walked around the bay to the next beach and went into the little town. after wandering around the few little shops I decided it was too hot to walk back so opted to go and chill out in an air conditioned massage spa and have a pedicure and a foot scrub. I don't think the poor girl looked at my feet before she quoted me the £5. It took her an hour and a half to scrape all the dead skin and restore my feet and nails into something presentable! I came out feeling cool and relaxed and was lucky to flag down the hotel shuttle pickup for a lift back to the hotel, saving me a walk in 35 degree sun for twenty minutes - not to mention ruining my feet! I then spent the rest of the afternoon lying in our air conditioned bungalow reading a book in peace!

The rest of our time was spent exploring the rest of the island on our bikes, eating meals in various little local restaurants and drinking cocktails while looking out at the beautiful views with the most amazing sunsets over the bay. It was a lovely little island to spend time on as it was quite small but not too developed, prices were very reasonable and the people were so friendly and kind.






Eventually we decided that as we could not stay there forever it was it to move on and continue our Thailand journey.

 

We booked another ferry and bus, this time taking us back to the mainland then over the peninsular to the western side of Thailand and the andaman sea. The trip took most of the day but there was lots to see, first of all on the ferry which stopped at other islands and then the bus which travelled overland through banana, citrus, rubber and coconut plantations

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