Koh Tao Island, Thailand

Back in Thailand- Koh Tao Island


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.

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.

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.

island hopping for snorkeling around Koh Tao Island

Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat)

Major check on the list of things we wanted to see.  Probably the most fantastic site we've seen in our travels.  Indiana Jones style at it's finest.  My niece Grace would have been in heaven climbing up and over and around the massive temple grounds.  It will be hard to top Angkor Wat and it's immense ancient architecture and structures.  They are quite simply ---Massive in size and scope.  Intricate and overwhelming.  It was a civilization so well developed that its hard to imagine these were created so long along.  Angkor Wat is only 1 of many sites (although the largest) in the 45 km area. You can't go to Cambodia and not make it to Siem Reap and take a tuk tuk trip to Angkor Wat for 1-2 or even 3 days of exploration.  The slideshow really says it all.  We spent 2 full days exloring Angkor Wat Temples....man they are something to see, we even made it there to watch the sunrise one morning.

Siem Reap city is a great place to rest your weary walking legs after all day of trekking in the forrest and temple grounds.  Although I got sick here for about 1-2 days, it was likely due to the "road-side restaurant food" on the bus trip from Phonm Penh to Siem Reap, there's just no avoiding it sometimes. All things considered, a great time was had.   The "Pub Street" was only about 10 minutes walk from our hotel and about 3 city blocks had probably the best vibe of any town we've experienced.  Upscale looks and lighting and comfy chairs and restaurants mixed with reasonable price but good foods. Lots of choices line "Pub Street" and that area and its great for just people watching and walking around.  We even stopped to weirdly enjoy our first "fish foot massage", where the little fish nibble at your feet and ankles plucking dead skin off, leaving you with a silky smooth finish.  Honestly, it mostly tickled and it was like 40 minutes of tickle torture, but fun and a new experience none the less.

1st time fish massage

We must confess though, we pigged out on Pan Pizza, garlic cheese bread, bbq buffalo wings, "fill it up" salad bar and never ending ice filled Coke's at a great franchise pizza restaurant we found.  Deep dish pizza just kept calling our names :)

pile it as high as you can salad bar in Siem Reap

To make matters worse there was an incredible "American Old Fashion Style" icecream shop connected to the pizza place.  This place would have made even my sister Krista proud.  It was the best and unfortunately we partook at least 3 times in our 5 days in Siem Reap.  We even celebrated Christina's 31st Birthday with a special Ice Cream Birthday Sunday, complete with candle and all.

C's 31st Bday in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Oh and we did make it to a crocodile farm as well, where we snapped too many pictures of giant crocs, and crocs of all sizes, who ended up as hand-bags, belts, shoes and other trinkets that we watched Chinese tourist buy by the arm loads.

Siem Reap was great, our last stop in Cambodia.  Cambodia is a must visit for South-East Asia to me.  Combo the history, tribulations the people have endured, their friendly nature, Angkor Wat, Sihanoukville beaches and you've got a great 2-3 weeks easy to enjoy in this country.  We did.