Thailand - Koh Tao

The overnight bus down to Surat Thani and ensuing ferry boat trip to Koh Tao wasn't too nightmarish, although Sam had a seriously sour bout of sea sickness despite the boat trip only being an hour or so in duration. Poor Sammy pie. Al is doing his 4 day Open Water PADi course here in Koh Tao so we get free accommodation here which is cool! Was considering doing the PADI here as it is cheap but Sam and I decided to wait until Aus and do it at the Barrier Reef plus the visibility on KOh Tao isnt that great at the moment owing to it being the low season. Our bungalows are centrally located and have a pool (see the photos) for the divers to practice in - perfect hunting ground for professional loafers like me and Sam! The island has a really cool and chilled out ambience. Most people are simply here to dive and each evening when a PADI course has finished, everyone congregates in the bar to watch the video of the course before going out and getting battered. Thailand is certainly proving the partying zone of our trip. Getting very keen on my CHang beer although it is pretty strong stuff and gives you a pretty large hangover (or "Changover") the next day, to one's detriment. Had quite a big night out with Steve (al's diving instructor) and a few others from the dive resort.

Have been working on the tan a treat. Our penultimate day was spent on a snorkelling trip where we had the opportunity to check out the rest of the island. Koh Tao is really rather small, only about 15km end to end. That night was Al's finishing night so we promptly went to Choppers with the rest of the divers and got thoroughly on it. Lotus Bar is the main hang out, its a great bar right on the beach with candles and cushions to relax! Obviously drinking games were mandatorily introduced and the night became rather messy but lots of fun! The next day we packed up to head off to Koh Pha Ngan for the full moon that weekend. We left Al behind as he decided to do his advanced course which means doing a night dive and underwater photography - am really jealous of not diving now!