Koh Tao - Thailand

We left Koh Phangan for Koh Tao on Friday 8th January and arrived after a 2 hour ferry. Koh Tao is another stunning island in this part of the world, with the perfect balance between having the peace and quiet of a tropical island, but also with enough of a life to really enjoy oneself. We quickly made our way to our hotel to unload our bags before heading to the beach. The beach here was stunning, with crystal clear waters and absolutely no waves. Never mind the fact the temperature was nice and warm so Greg and I were able to play Frisbee for hours at a time in the till our fingers turned to wrinkles. After a nice relaxing afternoon on the beach we made our way back to our hotel to shower and get ready for a big Friday night. Our friends Geoff and Shev had arrived from London for a 2 week holiday so we made our way to the Vibe Bar to meet up with them and enjoy the sunset over a few beers.

The Vibe Bar was a perfect location to enjoy the sunset over the water. We got to lay about on bean bags with the rest of the patrons and enjoy a spectacular sunset as the sky filled up with beautiful colours. After this we took a stroll along the beach and finally Geoff and Shev arrived. From there we made our way for dinner which was great as always in this part of the world. Then it was time for a party and after some investigation we found the right bar (they are lined up one after the other with music blaring). We settled on The Lotus Bar and managed to find a spot to sit on right on the beach with the water lapping just a few feet away. We tucked into “buckets”, which are a local whisky mixed with either Coke, Sprite, Red Bull, Tropical juice or whatever your preference. We ordered 3 to get started and they were potent.

The Lotus Bar was packed, and at one stage we had a group of Swedish girls join our circle just to chat with us, something we were quick to rub in with the single guys back in London who would have loved it here. During all of this there are locals who do fire shows right on the beach, so close you can feel the heat – they were brilliant and were well tipped for their efforts! At one stage an Irish guy so drunk he stumbled past us and fell into the sea. Shandy quickly went in to rescue him as every time he tried to walk out of the water he would stumble into a full circle and fall back in. Well done Shandy for saving a life, his hangover the next day would have been huge but at least he was still alive! After a couple more buckets we were well on our way and hit the dance floor to enjoy the music and attempt a dance. After a great time it was finally time to call it a night around 2am and enjoy a short walk along the beach with the stars in full glow – we were already totally in love with Koh Tao!

We woke up on Saturday morning and after a quick breakfast it was time to hit that beach yet again. After spending several hours lapping up the hot sun and throwing the Frisbee for several hours in the water we headed back in for a late afternoon rest. Greg and Shandy went off to explore with Geoff and Shev and then came back to pick V and I up. We hired a scooter and off we set, 3 couples whizzing around the island on our scooters. We made our way to a beautiful restaurant called the New Heaven Restaurant right on the beach on the other side of the island and tucked into amazing curries, seafood and deserts while enjoying the peace of our surroundings. Then it was another enjoyable ride back through parts of the island to get a decent night sleep before our dive the next day.

Sunday was another sunny day and we jumped on our scooters and made our way to meet up with Geoff and Shev who were doing their discovery courses before our afternoon dive together. We relaxed on the beach and then it was time to sign those indemnity forms and hit the ocean for our dive. We had 2 dives that afternoon at Japanese Gardens and the Twin Peaks (which are actually 3 peaks but there you go!). The boat was packed with divers but we had a great time out there and the marine life and corals were beautiful. We then made our way back to shore as the sun was setting which was a treat, and then hit a great pizzeria to tuck into some large pizzas – they were awesome! The diving had taken it out of us by this stage but we managed to all stop into the pub and play cards over a few beers and tequilas before bed.

Monday morning was our final morning on this stunning island, our favourite in Thailand for sure. We rode our bikes for the final time to meet up with Geoff and Shev. We enjoyed a bit of a western breakfast which was really good, and then bid our farewells to our friends who we would soon be seeing in Laos. Then it was a quick ride back to our hotel to check out and have a quick massage for V and I – at £5 for an hour you can’t miss out! We quickly packed and then made our way to the harbour for our 2 hour ferry to the mainland. We arrived on the mainland at sunset and jumped on a minivan taxi to Champion Station for our overnight train to Bangkok. The train was an adventure in itself as we crammed into our small bunks for the 9 hour journey.

On this journey I had a serious attack of the stomach cramps, which was not fun on the train toilet which was a long drop straight onto the tracks – no western luxury here! After a rough sleep I was rudely awoken at 4am by the conductor who opened my curtain and screamed in my face to wake up, I almost whacked my head on the roof I jumped so high. We were hustled out of our beds so they could be converted into seats before we arrived at Bangkok station. We arrived at 5am and then began our bartering for a taxi to the airport, a task we had become expert at by this stage of our travels. We got to the airport and had several hours to kill so made ourselves at home at Starbucks, where I had quick access to the toilet for a heavy throwing up session. It was not a great morning for me but finally we got to check into our flight and make our way to Luang Prabang in Laos to meet up with lots of our friends, a part of our trip we had been so looking forward to!

And so after a fantastic few days in Koh Toa here are our highlights and lowlights:
- Our favourite island in Thailand by far, a perfect blend of peace and stunning beaches with a great party atmosphere
- The Lotus Bar, a fantastic night out right on the beach with great fire shows
- Our scooter trips which were a great way to see some of the island
- 2 great dives which were amazing
- No lowlights here could easily have stayed here for 2 weeks alone!