Koh Tao (Turtle Island), lies 45km north of Koh Phangan. It’s known for diving and snorkeling because of its water visibility and abundant coral and marine life. Poch, Shervin and I headed to Koh Tao the day after the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan.
Our Couchsurfing host Sameer (who’s from El Salvador and was then looking for a job as dive instructor) picked us up from the pier (ferry from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao, 350 THB) one by one with his motorbike, and took us to his apartment which has a balcony with a great view of the water.
Though a bit exhausted from the ferry trip (not to mention partying the night before), we agreed to Sameer’s suggestion to watch the sunset at Freedom Beach later that day. He helped Shervin and Poch haggle for their respective motorbikes, and also taught them how to drive in less than half an hour so it would be easier for us to go around town.
First day on the island lunch: Best Thai Catfish Lab Salad we had… roll it together with sticky rice in a basil leaf = Yummm!
Our trip to Freedom Beach didn’t push through. Instead, we went to Wil’s (another Couchsurfer from France, who works as a dive instructor) house for a barbecue get-together. Earlier that day, we saw his girlfriend Julie at the supermarket, and she invited us to come over their place for dinner.
Little did we know we will also be burning the coal and grilling the barbecue at the party because no one else knows how – even Julie who organized the whole thing.
Julie by the way got into a motorbike accident prior dinner, so everyone insisted she get some rest. The mishap didn’t stop her from going to Buddha Bar’s 80s night though, where we all headed for the after-party.
Our second day on the island was more of a slack day, and we were finally able to watch the sunset at Freedom Beach.
In the evening, a few foreign divers (who were then looking for jobs as dive instructors in Thailand) came to Sameer’s house for a few drinks. Poch, Shervin and I were not feeling too social (though we did drink with them for a while) so we stayed in bed and surfed the internet until we dozed off.
[This blog is part of the South East Asia in Six Weeks series which took place May-June 2009. Price of goods, transportation and so forth may already be different.]
