Well we made it back to Bangkok to complete the classic “circuit” of Thailand, to Laos, to Vietnam, to Cambodia and back. We’ve now jumped south starting our loop through Southern Thailand, Malaysia, and heading towards our resting point of Bali, Indonesia. This will take about 25 days to reach Bali and then we plan on staying there for 30 days and renting a apartment to gear down and experience some local living in one place (or so we think for now).
First stop on this next leg of the journey is Koh Tao (or “Turtle Island”). Koh Tao is world famous for its pristine classic Asian Beach Views, dive centers and crystal turquoise waters. The journey here was not enjoyable as it required a departure of 7pm bus from Bangkok through the night to a roadside drop at 3am, where we waited for a weird truck that loaded about 20 of us in the back with packs for a 30 minute drive to a pier. There we slept on wooden benches outside at the dock and waited 3 hours for the boat to arrive, then loaded into the boat for about a 3 hour ride to the island. Whewwww. But we made it and were greeted at the docks by at least 1 haggling/taxi/tout per 2 tourists. We were bombarded by offers. Christina finally got fed up and asked one guy to just “back off” while we got ourselves oriented and tried to figure out the next step. Which we did by stopping for a nice Veggie Breakfast and got our bearings.
30 minutes later, we found a fair guesthouse (the island prices are a bit higher than usual), and we settled in for a 3 day stay.
We planned a full day snorkeling and boat tour all around the island and a special stop at another smaller island nearby (famous for it’s amazing lagoons). Gotta check out the slideshow, these island were the stuff you see in the magazines and movies. We had a truly great time snorkeling and enjoyed the warm waters, no waves, sunshine, and amazing underwater visibility, along with abundant colorful fish galore. . We considered scuba, but to get a proper license it really takes 4 days and we were needing to move a bit faster unfortunately. Snorkeling is now a favorite for us though, it’s a ton of fun. We even got in a couple 2nd story jumps into the water off the top deck of the boat.
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| hard to believe just how blue and clear the water was, really amazing |
We met a wonderful couple, Nitzan and Liron, newlyweds on their honeymoon, from Israel. They were along on our snorkeling adventure and we had dinner together two evenings and even found a putt-putt golf place for a little night-time fun. It was a treat to be there for Nitzan’s first round of putt-putt ever, he did quite well actually. We divided into teams and Christina and Nitzan beat Liron and myself by only 2 stinking shots, combined score. It was a real treat to learn and listen to them and about their home and life. It’s one of the best things about travel. We plan to visit them in September this year as we head to Europe. We are super excited about spending time with them in Israel and seeing the country through their eyes.
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| New friends: Nitzan and Liron from Israel (honeymooners) |
Ok- we’re off to Penang, an Island and capital city in northern Malaysia. Our visas are expiring in Thailand and we don’t have time to do a border run for another visa renewal/budget. But we’ve had our beach time fulfilled and are sure to see more real soon.
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| island hopping for snorkeling around Koh Tao Island |
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