Hi All,
Having travelled south on a 9 hour sleeper train, we are now on some of Thailand’s most beautiful islands. We were super impressed with the comfort of the Thai train (the best we’ve been in so far). At 9pm a worker came and made each bed with a mattress and fresh bedding - certainly much better than Lao sleeper buses! Had we not had it on our minds that we needed to disembark at 4:30am to catch a ferry, we’re sure we would have had a great nights sleep.
First stop was two nights in Koh Tao. This is the smallest and most remote of the three islands in the Koh Samui region, known best for deep sea diving and snorkelling. Our little wooden bungalow was just metres from the soft sandy beach of Ao Tanote, our view of the sea blocked by only palm trees. Giving up on ‘goggling’, we bought snorkels to see the beautiful array of colourful fish. As we watched coral opening and closing like a clam and tiny fish swimming in and out of an anemone, we felt like we had swam our way into ‘Finding Nemo’! The following day we rented a bike so we could get to ‘shark bay’, aptly named after the black tipped reef sharks that live there. We had spent over an hour looking without luck so were very excited when one about a metre and a half long swam past! We tried to catch up with it but obviously its swimming skills were a tad better than ours. A few minutes later we saw another slightly smaller one and a barracuda but unfortunately neither stuck around to pose for a photo. We stopped off at another bay on our way back and were again, for the second time that day, told we had to pay a entry fee to the beach. So for the second time, we politely turned around and found another entrance to the beach; one which involved climbing a lot of steps and wading 20m through the sea with our bags above our heads. We now have this traveller saving money thing down to a tee.
Next we caught the ferry to Koh Phangan, renowned for its full moon parties. We had planned our trip as not to coincide with the lunar calendar so we could relax on the white sandy beaches oppose to drinking the night away with buckets of booze. We are aware we’re getting old with this and buying household souvenirs for a house we don’t yet own! The town centre of Hadd Rin felt oddly deserted, bars closed up due to the lack of party goers, yet local restaurants still served up a delicious fair. Ross is determined to become a connoisseur of the famous noodle dish ‘Pad Thai’ and can’t get enough of the peanut topping. The three beaches walking distance from our bungalow were all very different. The closest absolutely beautiful at sunset but the sharp, coarse sand not so enjoyable to lay on. The second offering incredible soft powdery sand and waves for Ross to swim in. Just behind us on the beach, a trained monkey was climbing the palm trees and knocking down the ripe coconuts so they don’t fall on tourists’ heads! Then the final, Leela beach was our favourite; a calm bay with clear water and a palm tree shaded sandy beach. It felt like true paradise. We had to take a minute to think about how amazing it is to be here.
A day trip to Angthong National Marine Park was an absolute highlight. Travelling by speedboat we visited a few of the 42 islands that make up this stunning archipelago. A hot sweaty hike up to 500m gave us breathtaking views of the turquoise water and limestone islands. There wasn’t time for sunbathing or relaxing, just a quick dip to cool off before heading onto the next spot. Stopping to a snorkel over a coral reef, hiking to an inland emerald lagoon and kayaking around the bays were all incredible.
We are now heading to Phuket where we will be meeting Ross’ friend Sean. They are both planning a trip to a suit shop, Ross already deciding what colour he would like to add to his growing collection. Drop us an email from home to let us know what you’ve all been up to.
Love R and D xxx
The sunset looks amazing! 🌅 xx