Here are the details!
1/31 - Night Train and Ferry from Bangkok to Koh Tao Island
We arrived in Bangkok on the train in the morning. We checked our big bags into the storage room at the train station. We headed out to explore the city a little more. We headed to Khao San Road. I did a little shopping which included a new swimsuit, a leather purse and two new tank tops. We went to watch the movie Zero Dark Thirty. And got a haircut and wash at the salon (both only six bucks)! We got a taxi back to the train station where our night train left around 7:30 pm. The train was a little older than most and lots of locals that stayed up pretty late. Hard to sleep when you just have a piece of cloth blocking you from the rest of the people.
2/1 - Koh Tao
We arrived at the train station around 4:30 am in Chumphon City. We bought ferry tickets and waited until 7 am for the transfer bus to the dock. We watched the sun rise as we got on the ferry. We got to Koh Tao in the morning around 10 am. We had read good things about Big Blue Diving Resort so we got their free transfer. They had one room left in their sister hotel down the road. We signed up for two afternoon dives and a full day diving trip. We walked around Sairee Beach. It was a cute, little area with lots of tourist. The streets are narrow but that does not stop cars and motorbikes from zooming through the tourist. We had drinks on the beach and watch the guys twirl fire on ropes and bars. It was pretty impressive!
2/2 - Koh Tao
We sleep in until like 9 am, wonderful! Our room ended up having AC and the beds were super nice! We headed to the dive shop to prepare our equipment and headed out for the two afternoon dives. The first dive was a place with caves. The dive included a lot of swimming to and from the boat. It was not very fun because the water was so rough that the waves were white capping. The second dive was at White Rock. It was beautiful and the fish were everywhere. At the safety stop, I was just taken away by all the fish. We came up right by the boat which was another good thing. Right before the second dive, I grabbed a cookie out of the cookie jar. When I was eating the cookie, I noticed blood everywhere. Yes, I cut the tips of three of my fingers on the cookie jar. It bleed a lot. Luckily, a dive master (ex nurse) was right there and cleaned it and put band aids all on three of my figures. And luckily, no sharks were around on the second dive. We headed back, had dinner and called it a night!
2/3 - Koh Tao
We were up at 5:30 am for an all day dive trip. The trip included three dives. The first two were at Sail Rock. It is suppose to be the best spot to dive in the Gulf of Thailand and the best chance at seeing whale sharks. Unfortunately, the visibility was no good. We could still see the coral and got to see an eel swimming out of his hole. It was cool to see him swim. I had and still have horrible blisters on the back of my feet from the day before. I wore my smart wool socks in hope to stop the sting. The second dive was at Sail Rock also. We got to see a very large eel but he was in his hole. We also saw some of the largest colorful fish that I have ever seen. Overall, I would not say the best dive spot but I think the visibility was the issue for us. The last dive was at the South West Pinnacle. And it was my favorite. The visibility was great, tons of fish everywhere and the coral was beautiful. I really enjoyed the last dive. For dinner, we got a whole fish and potatoes..yum! We hung out with some of the dive masters at night and we had a really fun night! Everyones life's are so different and people are on these crazy journeys!
2/4 - Night Ferry and bus to Koh Lanta
We checked out of the hotel and headed to the beach. My bag was completely empty and all over the hotel floor. It will be nice to have a closet again! We went to Koh Nangyuan Beach. The two tops of the mountains are connected with a white sand bar (wait until you see the photo). We hung out for about two hours and got our water taxi back to Koh Tao. On the boat ride back, the weather changed and it was pouring. We were soaked by the time we got back. We had lunch at the dive shop and then the sun was back. We laid out on the pillows at the dive shop for a few hours. We paid and had a shower at one of the massage places, dinner and border the night boat. The boat was pretty hilarious. There are not beds, just mats laid right next to each other. I think there were 37 mats on one side. Thank goodness, I am a little person and that the girl next to me was too!
2/5 - Koh Lanta
We arrived at 5 am in Thathong. We loaded on in a van for a 2.5 hour drive . Then, waited 2 hours and had an 1.5 hour drive in another van to Koh Lanta. We are stayed at a resort on the south end of the island away from everything. The tour company we used forgot to call the hotel when we got there and we waited at a 7 Eleven for 40 minutes and then had to pay for a taxi. The hotel reimbursed us for half the cab ride. Made for a long day but we finally made it to a low key, beautiful beach! I laid out for a few hours and watched the crabs and hermit crabs walking around the beach. Our place is alright but the bathroom has a horrible odor to it. Really every bathroom smells here. The septic systems and sewer pipes are poorly designed. Sometimes you are walking and it is just smelly. You have to walk faster and hold your breathe. I am looking forward to clean bathrooms and sewer pipes at are buried under ground!
2/6 - Koh Lanta
Jordan had two blisters on her toes and they were not looking good. Her foot was red and hurting so we headed to the clinic to have them looked at. They ended up being infected and she got an antibiotic and cannot swim until they are better. I think she is allergic to the beach....anyone remember the Nicaragua stitches story. We headed back home and laid on the beach for the afternoon. I have a fresh juice or shake everyday. I am going to have to start making them back home because they are so amazing (Melissa F. - it reminds me of your shakes and how you put spinach in them!). We had dinner right on the beach and watched the sunset. I absolutely love sunsets! And my camera takes amazing sunset photos!
2/7 - Koh Phi Phi
We were up at 6:30 am to take the morning ferry over to Koh Phi Phi. Just google images of this island! We found a room behind a massage place for the night. We dropped off our bag and spent the entire day on the beach! Wow, what an amazing beach! The tide rolled out and rolled in all while we sat in layout chairs! It was a GREAT day! I took an hour nap, listened to some old jams on my iPod and laughed at the old memories that came with the old songs (Lauren - California Here We Come!). Alright, I will stop bragging about my wondering day. We went out to some pretty cool bars on the island for the night!
2/8 - Phuket
We woke up and had to get a ferry ticket to Phuket as we have a flight out the next day. We took the 11:30 ferry and then had a short van ride over to Patong Beach. We are staying at a hostel and headed to the beach. It was very nice but not as great as the surrounding islands. The city has a ton of bars lining on of the streets. It looks pretty crazy! We have a flight that we have to leave for the airport at 7 am so it will be a chill night for us.
Singapore is the next country and next stop on my adventure!
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