swimming to koh tao

hi everybody!

i just had a fun little adventure this weekend.  our teachers organized a snorkeling trip for us on friday to the nearby island of koh tao.  i had heard such wonderful things about the island and wanted to spend some time there to check it out.  i thought maybe the boat could just drop some of us off before coming back but unfortunately there would be no dock available where we were snorkeling.  i didnt let this stop me though.  a couple other students let my friend julie and i borrow dry bags so that we could just hop off the boat with our weekend stuff and swim to shore!  the last photo i have posted is our victory shot of us making it all the way to shore.  it felt like we were castaways in a shipwreck or something.  the captain was really nice and took us as far in as he could so the swim wasn't too bad, just a little tedious with bags.  everyone got a real hoot from seeing us just bobbing in the water as the boat took off and we turned into specks on the horizon.  it was fun to get to a new island the old fashioned way and also to be traveling so light.  the beach we arrived at was very tiny yet extremely beautiful and idyllic.  just a few bungalows and a restaurant.  we decided we wanted a bit more action and so we started walking up this crazy road that only little ottava things could navigate and found the main road.  to our surprise we reached the other side of the island in about twenty minutes.  koh tao is much smaller than koh phangan.  the coastline is surrounded by very dramatic and quite large boulders everywhere as well as clear blue water and coral reef.  the day of snorkeling was fantastic and great fun to hang out with all the other students outside of the pyramid where we are always in class.  koh tao is a divers mecca as we found when we arrived in the happening sairee beach.  we found a bungalow right on the beach and started exploring.  there is a cute little path that follows the long beach the whole way with lots of shops and restaurants.  we had some really yummy mexican food and then headed home to bed since we were exhausted from spending all day in the sun and water.  it was a splendid sleep.  the next day when i woke up i could just stay in bed with the door open and see the blue water, white sand, and palm trees.  it was a dream way to wake up.  julie and i went out onto the sand to practice our yoga classes on each other that we will be doing in front of everybody in a couple weeks.  and luckily there was a resident mango lady on the beach for our breakfasts.  we spent the whole day on the beach and in the water.  as it got dark we headed to a japanese spa place that someone had recommended to us.  it was nice but way overpriced.  then we went for a feast of indian food which was delicious.  koh tao is known for having a better selection of food rather than the standard thai guest house fare that is mostly what you get around koh phangan (except haad rin has some good places).  after more yoga on the beach the next day, i got an aloe vera wrap to ease my much sunned body from our snorkeling day and then we caught the ferry back home today.  i just couldn't let myself go all the way to koh tao and not get off the boat to check it out and i am glad i did because every island has such a different feel.  it was fun to get away for the weekend but always nice to come home.  and so fun to have a home in thailand...

take care all,

melissa