Beach Time on Koh Tao

Thailand was supposed to be the centerpiece of our time in Southeast Asia, but the Red Shirts changed that.  Even though we were told by other travelers coming from Thailand that the areas outside of Bangkok were safe, we just did not want to take the risk that the demonstrations and fighting would erupt into a more widespread problem.  Thus, Thailand was taken off the itinerary and we decided to focus on Cambodia and Vietnam.  However, three weeks, two countries and two bouts of dengue fever later, we both decided that we needed some time on a beach, and Thailand had calmed down enough that we opted to get our sand fix there instead of in Vietnam.
Thailand has a dizzying number of island and beach options.  After a fair bit of arguing discussion, we settled on Koh Tao, an island in the Gulf of Thailand that we felt would give us the best combination of weather, diving and seclusion.  Making the decision was the easy part, as getting from Hanoi to Koh Tao was an exhausting thirty hour trip:  early morning flight from Hanoi to Bangkok, killed the afternoon seeing a couple of temples, night train to Chumphon (a train that was less comfortable and air conditioned than the one we took in Vietnam), bus to the pier, boat to Koh Tao, car ride to our accommodations.  Once arrived, though, we had seven days with little to do but to relax.

 Lunch time view

Our guesthouse was one of only two places to stay on an isolated bay facing the Koh Pha-Ngan, an island famous for its "Full Moon" parties, where white college aged kids spend their parents' money doing the same kind of things they do while they're in school.  I might be less cynical (not much less) if the party were rooted in some aspect of Thai culture, but the reality is much more banal.  A group of tourists in the late 80s threw a party for someone's birthday that happened to coincide with a full moon.  They had so much fun that they decided to have another party at the next full moon, and now it's a full blown tourist magnet, drawing thousands each month.  This doesn't really have much to do with the rest of this post, but I found it at once interesting and off-putting. 

Ko Pha-Ngan sans full moon

We did not do all that much during our time on the island.  Most of our time was spent lounging under the shade provided by the trees, with Magge getting in some quality iPod game time.  We went snorkeling a few times; the fish weren't as colorful or varied as some of the other locations we've visited, but it was still solid.  Koh Tao is known for its diving, and we thought we would do a few days underwater, but the visibility was abnormally bad so we only did two dives.  Magge was right to wonder whether Sipadan would spoil us.

Conquering the world... again... and again

Snorkeling shots

It was good to slow down for a few days, but I started to get somewhat bored and ready to move on.  This trip has stoked the restless spirit in me, which I'm going to need, because the next five weeks are going to be hectic.