Day sixteen: Koh Tao

After two truck rides and two ferry boats, we arrived to our final destination. Apparently, Koh Tao is home to only about 700 people (the majority of those being scuba instructors!) and what seems like twice as many tourists. The beach is as scenic as it gets and the water is luke warm- perfect for sitting in to watch the purple sunset. We decided to hit the bars on the first night and a select few found ourselves dancing in the ocean into the early hours while sipping on an array of cocktails. We couldn't have had a better welcome! After only a handful of hours of sleep we went on an all day snorkeling trip around Koh Tao. First stop: Shark Bay. I had a good day and got to see two sharks (about 1.5m long), fish and coral that could easily audition for Finding Nemo and, right before the end of my last dive, a baracuda, which scared the shit out of me! Our final stop was a "private island" (owned by the same guy that owns Singha beer- the best and most popular brand of beer in thailand, also the most expensive local brand). This guy most obviously knows his stuff, or he has people that work for him that do because it was seriously impressive. Now, when you're already on a tropical island, you think it cant get any better. Well, it did! It was basically two islands joined by a (natural) sand bridge and has clear, turquoise blue water. While everybody else went for an overpriced drink at the bar, I trekked it up to the view point which turned out to be worth it as the picture proves. Mr. Singha is also quite 21st century and has banned all plastic bottles and bags from his island, along with fins, as live (and I assume terribly sensitive, vulnerable) coral surround the island.

Although I applied 30+ sunscreen after every dive and kept to the shade, the underwater world kept me distracted enough to allow the sun to burn my back a little bit. Again, I lucked out and its already turning into a tan today :)

Couldn't sleep last night and found myself walking around the streets and beach in my pajamas! Maybe it's jet lag kicking in about seventeen days late...

Today is our last full day here and as we aren't counting tomorrow's overnight train, our last night with the group. We've decided to start early and are going for dinner somewhere scenic to watch the sun set infront of us and then hopefully take it from there into the night :)

THANK YOU for the many messages- they really make a difference and I don't feel as much of an idiot writing this thing! Hope you enjoy the new pictures!

Kaja xx