Koh Tao

After visiting the northern part of Thailand, we were excited to finally meet up with the sand and sea of the southern islands!

Koh Tao, in Thai, means Turtle Island... but we didn't see any haha!

We stayed at a beachfront bungalow  at the Big Fish Resort. After a v-e-r-y l-o-o-n-g travel (plane from Chiang Mia in the morning yesterday, waiting around in Bangkok all day to finally take a night bus at 11pm to Chumpung, arriving at the pier at 4 am and waiting for the speed boat departing at 8am, and a taxi to the resort) we were relieved to cool off in the beautiful turquoise waters just a step away from our bungalow.

The resident dog is a golden retriever, she reminded us of Jabaw! She spent her day pacing in the water fishing...and had that same "intellegent" look that Jabaw has :)

Feeling refreshed, we got ready to head out in search of a quick lunch. Luckily for us, we saw that a few people were sitting out in the garden having what looked like really good sandwiches. They were happy to share with us the location of the sandwich lady. They not only looked good, they were delicious and we went back several times for more! Our favorite was the Hawaiian fried chicken with pineapple sandwich! Dad also enjoyed the more spicy chicken sandwich.

We layed back and enjoyed the beach for the rest of the day. The next day we set out to explore the island. The neighboring cove hosted a small secluded beach that we were recommended to visit. However, we had to pay 50 baht (2$) per person to access to the beach... so we decided it was a better idea to swim over instead! It was only a 15 minute swim and we used the small passageway to the beach from there. We landed on a lovely beach that was quiet and there were only a few people to share it with. We spent the day snorkeling and playing card games together at the small restaurant that had both a fabulous view and the best Pad Thai we have had so far!

We headed back to our bungalow and enjoyed some drinks on the beach as we watched the sun set. What a peaceful moment!

We rented motorbikes for a few days and headed out to eat in town. We quickly found what we were looking for... a small place filled with locals! Mama Tam's restaurant was just what we like: great food, decent portions and cheap-cheap price!  

The next day we explored some more. One of the beaches we visited was Aow Leuk. Here there is a pinacle in the ocean that you can climb and then jump off into the water. Dad and I could not resist! It's a long way up, and so when you look down it's a bit scary, but I counted to 3 and didn't think too much before jumping. It was thrilling!!

We also took some time for some school work... I have to say the classroom was somewhat distracting!