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In paradise (literally)
Entry 47 of 53 | show all | print this entry |
We are now staying in the main town on Koh Tao. Although it is sleepy, it is not quite as sleepy as the smaller village near our previous "resort". We switched resorts on Koh Tao after becoming dissatisfied with our bungalow at the first resort. (If this seems familiar we note that some of you may have read the next couple of paragraphs as they were originally located under the previous entry - we decided to move these paragraphs to here - but there is also some new material below).
We had originally planned to stay at our previous accomodation for several more days but changed our mind when we discovered that we had fallen for a common "bait and switch" hotel booking scam. The web site through which we had reserved had user reviews describing how nice the Sea View Bungalows and that was what we reserved. The site also listed the bungalow numbers by category (Sea View, Garden View, etc.). After a couple of days at the resort we became suspicious that our Sea View Bungalow, with more of a peak-a-boo view of the water, was not what people had described in the reviews, so we went back to the internet and found that indeed it was not. It turns out the resort is under new management that as raised the room rates by reclassifying the rooms. What was a Garden View is now a Sea View, and the Sea View rooms we thought we had reserved are now Sea View Romantics. In Canada this would have been a clear case of misleading advertising, but in Thailand it was just our bad luck. We checked out and moved to another resort much closer to the main town. Here we are paying less for a nicer room in a much more upscale resort. We now have a nice beach right in front, far better landscaping, and a beautiful restaurant. We should note that all accomodation on Koh Tao is labelled "resort" from very rustic bungalow to upscale digs. Our current resort is called the Sensi Paradise, and paradise it is indeed with a waterfront restaurant and wonderful sitting areas right on the beach. It feels closer to a resort according to western terminology, but fortunately with some rustic cabins as well as more upscale ones. We are in a rustic cabin taking advantage of the lovely facilities at backpacker prices. On an additional happy note we are also saving money because everything from food to laundry is much cheaper in town.
We like it on Koh Tao. It is a small, hilly island with beaches hidden in small coves between rocky outcroppings. We are now staying very near the largest of three small sleepy towns. The main town is about twice the size of the other two towns combined, and since the previous resort was at the end of the road past one of the other towns it felt fairly remote. This other resort is still quiet, yet it is much more convenient to shops, internet and restaurants.
One interesting cultural note: We had noticed the number of pets, especially dogs, throughout Southeast Asia but there seem to be more here than elsewhere. Unlike the communally owned dogs in some places that all look vaguely alike, these dogs span the range of breeds and sizes, and they are owned and cared for by individuals. The dogs are well fed and many dogs, and some cats, have collars (a cat with a collar visited us during dinner). Families often have several dogs, and the locals fuss over and play with the animals. We first noticed the dog trend in Vietnam. Once in Ho CHi Minh we watched a woman across the street from where we were eating supper bring out three small pampered dogs with haircuts and collars. She brought them out one by one, waiting until each dog pooped, then scooped up the poop and returned to get the next dog. Even in Cambodia where the people are so poor the animals are clearly cared for and the stores stock pet food.
Here it is hard to walk down the street without having dogs running out smiling and wagging and wanting attention. The dogs get so much positive attention that they pretty much all seem to expect it. Sometimes this is a bit much for the Japanese and Korean tourists who aren't as comfortable with animals.
The Thai woman running the spa at our current resort has a very cute young puppy that runs around the beach with near boundless clumsy energy. The woman bathes the puppy daily and spoils it with treats. She drives it to and from work on her motercycle with the puppy riding in the front basket. A Korean woman, who was clearly delighted by the puppy, tried to play with it but ended up screaming and running when the tiny bundle of excitement came bouncing towards her. Today the puppy got itself stuck in a covered drainage ditch. This led to the puppy's owner and most of the tourists on the beach gathered round the entrance and exit to the short ditch trying, and eventually succeeding, to coax it out. It spent the rest of the day tied up near the spa. Apparently its owner had had enough mischief for one day.
One dog seems to have adopted us. Our first night at the resort, three midsized dogs followed us back to our bungalow where all three fell asleep at our feet on the porch. The next day we moved to a different bungalow (from a twin to a double) and the largest of the three, an old fellow who is part german shepherd, followed us again, and again fell asleep at our feet on the porch. Then today the same shepherd dug a spot in the sand under Joan's beach chair and spent the afternoon with us. When we left to go back to our room he followed us again and once more fell asleep at our feet. This is without anything more from us than a few kind words and a little petting.
Koh Tao is a very relaxing place. It has cheap diving courses (some of the cheapest in the world) and the entire lifestyle is very relaxing with small coffee shops and cafes where a person can sit and read forever without raising much concern from the proprietor. It is also inexpensive - for example dinner entrees (Thai food) cost around $1.50. This is the kind of place that tourists come for a few days and end up staying weeks, months, and even years. Most tourists end up taking diving courses at some point (those who stay for months take a succession of diving courses). We have now succumbed, at least partially, to the trend. We decided to take this opportunity to take our Rescue Diver Training Course. For those of you who are not divers, this is a course that can be taken after your initial Open Water and Advanced Open Water Training Courses. You learn how to deal with most of the common emergencies that can arise when diving. A basic First Aid Course is the prerequisite, so today we spent time learning CPR and first aid, complete with practice exercises. Tommorrow we begin the Rescue Diver Course and will be doing that for three full days. However, we are saved from any temptation to remain here much beyond that by the fact that we have made accomodation reservations elsewhere later this month.
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