I'm at a Tropical paradise!
Trip Start
Mar 04, 2006
1
27
32
Trip End
Nov 04, 2006
Koh Tao,
Thailand
Sunday, October 1, 2006
I am now in official paradise!
People who have seen the photos of Moorea, Tahiti, this is just like it.
Destination: Koh Tao, island in the Thailand golf, east of the country.
I am staying in this great wooden hut on stelts, ocean view and a hammock (hangmat) to chill out in. Warm clear water, palmtrees and great thai food! Nothing to complain about ;-)
But first, how I got here:
In Bangkok I arrived at the new international airport. Not completely ready for the busloads of people yet (see photo)! And it supposed to open for all international flights 2 days later!!! Bangkok is a millions-of-people city. Buzzing with street life and lots of traffic (cars, busses and taxis in all sizes: cars, motor-taxis, tuk-tuks)....At first I planned to stay here until A came back from Holland, but as soon as someone told me about a tropical island, cheap and easy to get to, I changed my plans. The next day I extended my visa (40 euro for 10 days!!!) and booked my train ticket to Chumporn. Traveling with a Finnish couple from the hostel we made it just-in-time to catch the train. Soaking wet we finally squeezed into a tuk-tuk as no taxis were available as every person in Bangkok wanted to travel by taxi because the MONSOON (huge rainstorm) was falling from the sky! Then the guy brings us to another (!!) train station....WHAATTT? Luckily for us we had a clever driver as he took us to the next station, so we have 15 minutes more before our train would come.
01_Bangkok new airport_nearly ready ahum
Ohhhh, Ehhhhh Thank you!This time traveling in a Thai train, air-conditioning on board, bunk beds with curtains and reading lights! No this is not 1st class. Train journey 9 hours. From Chumporn it took 2 more hours with the ferry to the tropical island Koh Tao. Pekka and Hela already arranged their accommodation in Bangkok. I want to see and decide there.
Koh Tao is your typical honeymoon destination! Palm trees, azure blue sea, white beaches and lots of snorkeling/diving spots. The good thing is that this little island (only 21sqm) is not spoiled by mass tourism yet. The atmosphere is very relaxed, backpacker-style! After looking around I found my perfect accommodation: A wooden bungalow with hammock, surrounded by coconut trees and with sea view. And only for 8 euro per night!
Koh Tao is (apparently) known for its diving. Hence the diving schools everywhere on the island! As I already took my PADI Open Water course in Australia I could do some fun diving here. So after my support team back home (mum and dad) send me the correct details of the PADI-card I could go for it! Never thought I would be diving when starting my travels in Moscow... As it had been 6 years since my last dive, the school felt I needed a review before fun diving. Good thing cos I could not remember much. The fun dives (did two) were great! Still had trouble with clearing my ears when descending but once down there underwater life is a beautiful thing!
Also went snorkeling for a morning and saw 2 reef sharks nearby. Great sight, but I had to remind myself to keep breathing: He is not going to eat you! Awesome creatures!
After spending a great week at this lovely little island it is time to leave and make my way to Phi Mai (4 hours drive north-east of Bangkok), where A lives to start doing some teaching work!
Big hug and peaceful mind,
Liekie
