We took the short boat ride to Koh Tao on an incredibly packed catamaran and were particularily annoyed by 2 old Thai ladies who would stand in our way (refusing to move) and actually pushed Sarah out of the way when we were disembarking.

We got a taxi to the nice beach and were instantly inundated with people trying to sign us up to diving courses but managed to fend them off and got a cheap bungalow on the beach front, the view was incredible, it was like a postcard.

Our first two days in Koh Tao were incredibly lazy and we did nothing but sit on the beach (or in the sea as it was like Koh Phangan and very shallow) or in bars. Although on the first night we saw some brothers fire juggling and the youngest one (6/7 years old) was amazing. At one point he was using 3 ropes with fire at the end! After a bit though we decided to leave as every so often you would be hit by a bit of burning oil (health and safety??!!).

That same night I made the mistake of drinking Sang Som buckets which for some reason sends me a little loopy. It is like switching on the drunk button in my head after 2 sips. I should really stay away from the stuff but after 1 drink it seems to call me.

Our final full day in Koh Tao we bought a couple of snorkels and took a boat across to a small island called Koh Nanguan which is a nature reserve with coral just off the beach. The boat across was an experience itself as it was quite rickerty and every wave that you encountered sent a shiver up your spine as you came down with force. Once out snorkelling it was unbelievable how close the fish got and how big they were! We were both mesmerised and before we knew it we had been out there for an hour. I did cut open all my toes on my right foot trying to tread water whilst I tried to sort out my snorkel (a battle I never quite won and took in plenty of salt water) and kicked some coral. I thought they were just scratches until we got out and they started oozing blood. On the way back the boat can't get all the way up to the beach so we had to jump out 10 feet from shore ao I'm sure you can imagine how that stung my toes.

We did find a bar in Koh Tao which was showing recent movies so went to see 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Wolverine' on consecutive nights. The copy of 'Wolverine' was the version that had been released illegally 2 weeks early and most of the CGI hadn't been filled in yet. You could also see the wires for most of the stunts which made us laugh.

During our last night in Koh Tao somebody stole our shoes off of our porch which was annoying to say the least but I consoled myself with the fact that mine absolutely stank! (which is why they were outside anyway) and whoever woke up with them in there room was probably rueing there choice!

I don't think Koh Tao was even clsoe to being our favorite place, especially as we felt old as the average age was only just 18. It also didn't help that somebody stole our shoes though!