Surprise, I DO like kayaking

Trip Start Jun 11, 2008

Trip End Aug 07, 2008

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Flag of Thailand Ko Tao, Thailand
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

My sister just moved to Seattle last week with her own kayak on the top of her car. Me, I tried it once in Australia in '04. The ocean was super rough, it was a whole day trip, I had a hard time of it and got super tired/probably burnt, knowing me. But I tried it Tuesday morning, on a whim and Abby's suggestion, and I thought it was wonderful. I rented one from Ban's, the dive resort Abby works out, and then paddled out into the sea. I tried to make it near-ish to the 3 tiny islands on the end of the island, and I did. Took some pictures. Got a little burnt, but whatever. Saw some beautiful coral and fish beneath me--I would have liked to have a snorkel! Next time.

That morning was sort of funny--I went to a bakery and had breakfast with Beyonce. They were blasting her live music videos. It's not necessarily what you'd expect from a tiny island in Thailand, but there it was. Another thing that's struck me as funny about Koh Tao is the amount of reggae: the posters, the music, the reggae bars, the dreadlocks, the red yellow and green all around. I mean, I know it's an island, but an island in Asia, right?...

The rest of the day I mainly did little bits of shopping and postcards. I attempted to rent a bike (real bike, not motor bike) to ride around the island, but didn't have my passport on me. One lovely part of the morning was drinking a cold shake in the shade, under an umbrella, sitting on a beanbag chair, looking out on the sea, reading one of my books. Oh, holiday.

I went back to Abby's house for mid-day internet usage and rest with the fan blowing on me, and then walked back to town that evening. I met everyone, had some drinks at Ban's, then dinner at Hippo. We found a few more friends/new travelers and chatted with them for a while. I just really enjoy how easy it is to chat with people and make friendly acquaintances, as everyone is usually in the same traveling boat.

Tues night, back to Abby's and packed up again... as my big trek to Chiang Mai was to happen in the morning!