Thailand - Koh Tao Rocks!

I liked Koh Samui, but I loved Koh Tao. Koh Tao is a much more lazy island then Koh Samui. The roads are less developed, the tourists fewer, the pace slower, the beaches more beautiful, and the scuba diving killer. Koh Tao is really a divers island. It's one of the cheapest places in the world to get your various diving certifications and many people choose Koh Tao to do it at. Thus, I chose Koh Tao as the place to get my Advanced Diver certification. I already had my Open Water certification and I completed a few advanced dives in Cairns so now it was time to finish it.

Your typical Koh Tao beach front restaurant

Life is difficult for these backpackers

One of my favorite beach bars in Koh Tao. Note the beer pong table.

I chose Scuba Junction as the place to get it done at. Scuba Junction has a great reputation, new equipment, and your dive groups are no bigger than 4 people which is great. I had three dives to complete along with some course work. The dives were Perfect Buoyancy, Wreck Dive, and Underwater Navigation. My dive master is this crazy, foul mouthed, vulgar, anti-establishment guy from London whom I will call John. My dive mates were these two equally foul-mouthed and vulgar British girls. Needless to say it was fun to hang with this crew of misfits. The girls would fill time between the dives with "F this John, F that John, John I need a new wetsuit cause I peed in this one" John's responses were equally funny, "Come on you hussies it just air you're breathing, Get me my coffee and cigarettes!" They were all chain smokers.

The diving place

As for the dives the coral was clean, the fish abundant, and the wreck dive was super cool. The only problem with Koh Tao is because it is such a diver island the dive sites themselves are packed with a lot of divers from various dive companies. It can get a little crowded down there so you never really felt like you were diving alone.

At night I went to the usual after diving watering holes. The beach bars on Koh Tao are way more laid back. They are filled with hamocks, bean bags, pillows, right on the beach. And people just lounge and have a few drinks sharing stories from their dives. This one bar I went to had a giant four foot tall oversized Jenga game with 2X4s as Jenga blocks. Of course being a Sotelo I can never pass up a good game of Jenga so I joined in with a group of travelers from Peru and a spit fire American Dina from the NYC. Dina founded a successful internet startup company and left it to travel. We bond over our experiences in the IT industry and our guilt for choosing nicer accomodations then our fellow backpackers every once and awhile. Thank God Dina was playing Jenga with us because she definitely kept causing the blocks to fall and buying everyone more drinks as was the penalty for losing. We also met these 2 super drunk Japanese students who were infatuated with Dina and kept saying "So pretty, So pretty". "Your girlfriend, Your girlfriend?" No bro she is available. "Oh so handsome, so handsome!" Hey man do you like Dina or me? Make up your mind. These guys were draped all over us and definitely provided entertainment.

Fire shows at the Beach bar in Koh Tao

The next day included more diving and that night I met up with Dina and her traveling buddies from Germany and the Netherlands for sunset pictures. Koh Tao has amazing sunsets check them out!

Traditional Thai Longboats at sunset

Taking it all in!

Dina performing Yoga maneuvers at sunset

My last day on Koh Tao I spent time renting a motorscooter and exploring other areas of the island. As I said before the roads are less developed in Koh Tao and there were some pretty scary moments trying to navigate a scooter up and down steep mountain dirt roads. The payoff was well worth it as I found this lookout spot overlooking the island. When I got up there I met a couple from Germany and another single German guy who was scouting out the area as a place he planned to propose to his girlfiend tomorrow. I bought the guy a beer and wished him luck! I then headed to another spot that over looks the smaller "Nang Yuan Island" off the coast of Koh Tao.

View of Koh Tao from the lookout spot

Nang Yuan Island in the distance from restaurant bar

Boulder Lookout

Pic from boulder lookout with Nang Yuan in background

One more shot

Sunset before our night dive

Getting ready to board our diving boat

A moment of Nirvana

Secluded beach area on my scooter tour of Koh Tao

Stopping in Chalok Habour for an afternoon siesta!

Everyone should try sunbathing with their socks on. I know this picture looks ridiculous!

The next morning I caught the Ferry back to Koh Samui and then caught a flight to Bangkok to start my 3 week Gap Adventure tour through Cambodia and Vietnam. Koh Tao is really a beautiful place and if you love diving, being lazy, and less crowds definitely visit this island. Overall Thailand continues to be a favorite place of mine due to it's low cost, beautiful beaches, friendly people, and breathtaking Islands.