KOH-MA-TAO-SED

Day 65: Koh Tao

We arrived in the pitch black at Chumporn slightly after 5am to catch our catamaran to Koh Tao, but as it didn't leave until 7.30 we had a short lie down on the deck chairs and waited for the sun to rise.

Onboard it was a bumpy hour and a half journey, more like a ride at Universal Studios, but we both still managed to fall asleep, we were that tired.

We docked at Koh Tao shortly after 9am. We hadn't booked any accommodation, but we wanted to check out a resort called Charm Churee Spa as the photos from the brochure looked amazing. It looked a bit out of our price range to be fair, but you never know. There was a lot of hassle from car and boat taxi salesmen when we got off the catamaran so we dived into a tourist info shop to have a look at the map and try calling the hotel. It was a good 15 minute walk or £4 taxi ride so we wanted to be sure we could afford it. All the telephone lines on the island were down so we reluctantly got in a cab (actually in the back of the pick-up truck) and were taken most of the way to the hotel. 'Most of the way' because there had been some pretty big flooding due to rain fall, hence the telephone lines being down, so we had to trek the last bit. Luckily someone from the hotel was waiting for guests and they took our bags and lead the way.

When we arrived, the resort looked amazing and when we saw the prices we could tell why. But we were tired and in the grand scheme of things it wasn't that expensive - half the price of a London hotel and a damn bit nicer - so we booked in for two nights on the premise that we'd find somewhere cheaper for the rest of our stay. However, they were doing four nights for three, so it made sense to book four nights eventually, but we stuck with just the two for now.

The room itself is stunning. It's more like a suite on stilts, with master bedroom, ensuite, screened balcony/living area and a veranda. We're pretty high up on the jungle-like hillside, and the resort has its own private secluded bay and beach.

After we showered we fell asleep, comatosed for the next five hours. The weather was very overcast and it had rained, so we didn't feel like we'd missed out much. After a cup of tea I headed down to look at the beach which was lovely, although there was a lot of rain water flowing down from the hills. I tried crossing a stream and got my flip flop stuck in the sand which saw me fall in up to my waist. Just as well there were only about six people on the beach to watch me do that then. So another shower followed.

On my return we were handed a plate of freshly cut fruit courtesy of the resort. I'm liking this place more and more.

We then headed down to the restaurant which overlooks the water for dinner. I had a 'mild' Thai green curry which blew my head off, and Jen had a salmon and potato salad, washed down with a few drinks whilst chatting about the beachside guesthouse we'll have one day, when we win the lottery.