Amazing Koh Tao

After having been to the crap place in Koh Pangan (with 5 nights pre-booked and pre-paid) with Jo, Sheniz and JJ, I decided to go with them and Barry to see Koh Tao...I'd have done everything to leave that place, really!

Arrived in Koh Tao, Barry and I where looking for a bungalow to share and we bumped into his friends on the beach! David and another girl were chatting on the beach while waiting for the sun to set, just on the sea! We also, while we were talking, met Darren...a lone traveller from England...

Photo by Maria Teresa Salvati

I liked the island straight away! Really chilled out, low chairs facing the sea, bars showing movies all day where to relax, eat great food and meet new people! On the way out for the evening, I bumped into Darren and we went for dinner where we started long, interesting conversations about life, socialism, free markets, Vietnam, relationships and food (of course!).

Since that night, Darren became my traveller companion across Koh Tao and around, and Phi Phi...

Of course, I had only taken clothes for two days, so as my usual I had to buy some clothes: I managed to buy a really cool dress from the supermarket for only 200BTH. I's been used as a dress in the day and a long skirt in the evening - apparently I looked a "hippy princess", and of course I liked the definition :)
Darren and I decided to rent a motorbike, a manual and automatic motorbile, and he decided to rent the cheapest, the manual! Now, apparently he had done it before and the motorbike was crap, but the times we stopped and started again probably lasted more that actual journey!
Renting the bike was great to see the other side of the island: great jungle trees and palms, great sightseeing, and we bumped into an amazing bar with the view on the sea at the sunset, where we enjoyed litres on Chang beer :)

We also decided to see an apparently great island close by: NangYuan, or also called Japanese Gardens! Well, a real paradise, it kept the promise far more than the expected: a protected national park, just amazing! The kinds of sands, seas and beaches you see on postcards!

Photo taken by Darren

After 3 days in Koh Tao, I actually had to leave to go back to Pangan and pick up my clothes from the terrible place I had stayed for one night. I did it and joined Jo and Sheniz for two nights, pondering if joining the girls and the Ibiza boys for the Full Moon Party for New Year's Eve, or go back to Koh Tao and have a fun, but chilled out party!

I opted for the second one, so I went back to Koh Tao and spend there the New Year's Eve!
It was like the Full Moon party, but on a smaller scale!

Photo my Maria Teresa Salvati

For my last week in Thailand and desperately looking for great weather (yes, I didn't mention the fact the weather wasn't that great all the days I spent in the South of Thailand), we decided to move to the Southern islands, Koh Phi Phi.

The 1st January night we left Koh Tao for a very long journey to Phi Phi...quite an adventure, but fun at the same time..the less fun part was me carrying that huge and heavy ruck sack!