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TONY T's 4th THAILAND TRAVELS
KOH TAO (cont'd) and back to BANGKOK
Page 8
Sunday 26th:
Time for some more searching for decent snorkelling. I popped into one of the, seemingly, hundreds of Dive Schools all over the island; the nearest and longest running, so called Big Bubble. Here I chatted about info for a potential dive trip for the dive group back in UK. I also got some info on what site was good for snorkelling. The recommendation was a site in the east of the island called Tanote Bay.
Tanote Bay is a very pretty bay with enormous rocks and boulders sticking out of the sand. There's plenty of broad leaved trees to offer shade in the blistering heat.
Out in the middle of the bay is a huge rock formation (almost a tiny island). This rock drops off underwater to about 18-20 metres with lots of big corals and hundreds of different coloured fish; excellent snorkelling.
Pity I cannot spend too long snorkelling as even with 30SPF suncream on my back and neck gets burnt in the tropical sun.
Aom very adventurous on the bike wanting to explore every side road, sometimes with potential disastrous effects as the concrete surface can give way to a rocks and rubble track without warning.
However, on our way back from Tanote Bay, Aom decided on branching off on a narrow concrete road which terminated in Aow Leuk Bay. There was a large beach bar/restaurant here so lunch was taken here overlooking the beach and bay. Didn't like the look of the snorkelling potential here (too sandy) in spite of the fact there were about ten dive boats anchored in the bay.
In the evening we finally decided to continue our "holiday" a bit longer. We're due to leave Koh Tao on Tuesday afternoon, flying back from Chumphon to Bangkok where we were due to spend two nights before catching the overnight bus to Prasat.
The original plan was to get back to Phanom Dong Rak and our son, Jack, but by all accounts he was living the high-life with his Grandparents.
Before we left UK, the plan was to visit several places in Thailand. One, of course, was Koh Tao, the others were to be PiPi Island and Chiang Mai in the north. However, with the 'complications' over the car purchase, time was fast running short.
In spite of this, we decided on heading up to Chiang Mai for a 4-5 day stint. The evening thus was spent organising and booking flights and accommodation in Chiang Mai. Flight on Air Asia leaving Don Muang to get to Chiang Mai mid afternoon on the 30th march was all done online.
TOP LEFT: Typical 'mountain' road. Shark Island in near background. Koh Pha Ngan just be seen on the horizon
TOP RIGHT: Beach at Tanote Bay. The big rock which we snorkelled around can be seen on the left.
SECOND ROW: Beach again at Tanote Bay.
THIRD LEFT: Aow Leuk Bay.
THIRD RIGHT: Beach restaurant at Aow Leuk.
BOTTOM LEFT: Aom dining at said restaurant.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Restaurant on sticks seemingly glued to the rocks.
Monday 27th.:
Last full day on Koh Tao.
Day started with the first rain we'd experienced since arriving. Not quite a tropical storm rather than than quite windy outbrekas with the occasional heavy rain. Numerous power cuts, but the resort has its own generator, obviously a regular occurance.
To kill a bit of time, we opted for our second foot-massage of the trip; quite a good one too. But, after the hour long session Aom's desire for Pappaya Salad (one of her addictions) sent us further away from our base and the showery rain turned into a torrential downpour, flooding roads. We had to sit out the worst of it before biking it through the remnants of the downpour.
By 2pm it was still overcast and rainy and we were essentially room-bound. By 2pm I was beginning to get bored with being stuck indoors. The rain had stopped but little sign of any sunshine appearing.
I bullied Aom into going up on an exploration to the north east edge of the island. We were aware the roads around there were very very poor and mostly bare earth.
Up and up we went and got to the place where I had to get off the bike last Friday. After the heavy rain the route eas even more hazardous and I frequently had to dismount and walk up the steep tracks.
Eventually, we both had to leave the bike and walk the last 500metres to the top and an excellent viewpoint. We were up amongst the mist here so visibility was poor making photo taking a disappointment. Quite windy up there too.
Further along the rough track we branched off and eventually arrived at a half-built restaurant perched right on top of one of the highest point on Koh Tao. Here we paid 100Baht to get to the viewpoint but that included a drink; I opted for an iced coffee.
Going back down was nearly as hairy as going up, but we made it safely.
TOP ROW & SECOND LEFT: The state of the roads (tracks) can clearly be seen.
SECOND RIGHT: The top. One of the highest viewpoints on Koh Tao. Away in the mist is the western coast with Sairee and Mae Haad villages and beyond.
BOTTOM LEFT: Iced drinks at the half finished restaurant on the peak.
BOTTOM RIGHT: The eastern coastline with the Koh Tao lighthouse just about visible on the left (the white speck!).
Tuesday 28th.:
The weather has certainly taken a turn for the worst, glad we're not just arriving instead of leaving. The thunder and lightning made its presence just before dawn followed by the torrential rain of a tropical storm. We got a soaking by just walking a very short distance down for breakfast. The run-off from the land has ruined any underwater viz so anyone wanting to go snorkelling or diving from the shore is in for a disappointment.
The one thing I left back in Surin was our waterproof ponchos. The bike has to be returned this morning rain or not, so that's going to be a pain as is hauling our baggage around the ferry terminal at Mae Haad.
10:30, rain has eased off a touch, so poor Aom can return our bike
The heavens opened up again witha vengeance just before we were due to vacate Chintakiri but it reduced a bit by the time the pick-up truck dropped us off at the terminal.
The 2+ hour long trip back to Chumphron was OK on the catamaran cattle-truck. Once there we were picked up immediately by the transfer mini-bus to the airport. All going well so far...... but
At the airport it rapidly became clear there was going to be a delay. In a way this was to be expected due to the appalling weather around the region. The delay ended up by just over 2 hours and we were back in our apartment in Bangkok by 11pm after an impressive "GT" run from the airport by a very dynamic taxi driver.
No messing about, straight out into Soi 8 and after a few drinks we took some street food, which, as ever, was cheap and tasty.
Wednesday 29th.:
Decent breakfast but not a lot more happening today.
Rainy late morning in Bangkok, went for a 90 minute foot massage. Aom met up with a friend in the early afternoon.
Took the skytrain (BTS), then underground (MRT), then a tuk-tuk ride to Kowsan Road, a scruffy, back-packer road full of bars and side stalls. Had a quick drink here but to be honest, I found it a bit of a bore so after a quick wander about got a taxi back to Nana which was 20-time quicker and cheaper than the route my dear wife chose to get to this place!
Thursday 30th:
Up at 06:00, breakfast at 07:00 and in the taxi to Don Mueng Airport by 08:00 for our Air Asia flight to Chiang Mai.
Soft lad a bit dozy this morning and my hand luggage failed security check-in as I'd left a bottle of water in the bag as well as a bottle opener; which survived undetected or more likely overlooked for what it was; a bottle opener. What damage could be done with this defeats me; my finger nails present a bigger threat!!
Taxi made record time through the Bangkok traffic so we were left hanging about way too early; better than late though.
Flight on time, so it'll be "Hello Chiang Mai" in a few hours.
Next or Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - 9 10 11 12
KOH TAO (cont'd) and back to BANGKOK
Page 8
Sunday 26th:
TOP LEFT: Typical 'mountain' road. Shark Island in near background. Koh Pha Ngan just be seen on the horizon TOP RIGHT: Beach at Tanote Bay. The big rock which we snorkelled around can be seen on the left. SECOND ROW: Beach again at Tanote Bay. THIRD LEFT: Aow Leuk Bay. THIRD RIGHT: Beach restaurant at Aow Leuk. BOTTOM LEFT: Aom dining at said restaurant. BOTTOM RIGHT: Restaurant on sticks seemingly glued to the rocks.
Monday 27th.: TOP ROW & SECOND LEFT: The state of the roads (tracks) can clearly be seen. SECOND RIGHT: The top. One of the highest viewpoints on Koh Tao. Away in the mist is the western coast with Sairee and Mae Haad villages and beyond. BOTTOM LEFT: Iced drinks at the half finished restaurant on the peak. BOTTOM RIGHT: The eastern coastline with the Koh Tao lighthouse just about visible on the left (the white speck!).
Tuesday 28th.:
Wednesday 29th.:
Thursday 30th:
Time for some more searching for decent snorkelling. I popped into one of the, seemingly, hundreds of Dive Schools all over the island; the nearest and longest running, so called Big Bubble. Here I chatted about info for a potential dive trip for the dive group back in UK. I also got some info on what site was good for snorkelling. The recommendation was a site in the east of the island called Tanote Bay.
Tanote Bay is a very pretty bay with enormous rocks and boulders sticking out of the sand. There's plenty of broad leaved trees to offer shade in the blistering heat.
Out in the middle of the bay is a huge rock formation (almost a tiny island). This rock drops off underwater to about 18-20 metres with lots of big corals and hundreds of different coloured fish; excellent snorkelling.
Pity I cannot spend too long snorkelling as even with 30SPF suncream on my back and neck gets burnt in the tropical sun.
Aom very adventurous on the bike wanting to explore every side road, sometimes with potential disastrous effects as the concrete surface can give way to a rocks and rubble track without warning.
However, on our way back from Tanote Bay, Aom decided on branching off on a narrow concrete road which terminated in Aow Leuk Bay. There was a large beach bar/restaurant here so lunch was taken here overlooking the beach and bay. Didn't like the look of the snorkelling potential here (too sandy) in spite of the fact there were about ten dive boats anchored in the bay.
In the evening we finally decided to continue our "holiday" a bit longer. We're due to leave Koh Tao on Tuesday afternoon, flying back from Chumphon to Bangkok where we were due to spend two nights before catching the overnight bus to Prasat.
The original plan was to get back to Phanom Dong Rak and our son, Jack, but by all accounts he was living the high-life with his Grandparents.
Before we left UK, the plan was to visit several places in Thailand. One, of course, was Koh Tao, the others were to be PiPi Island and Chiang Mai in the north. However, with the 'complications' over the car purchase, time was fast running short.
In spite of this, we decided on heading up to Chiang Mai for a 4-5 day stint. The evening thus was spent organising and booking flights and accommodation in Chiang Mai. Flight on Air Asia leaving Don Muang to get to Chiang Mai mid afternoon on the 30th march was all done online.
Last full day on Koh Tao.
Day started with the first rain we'd experienced since arriving. Not quite a tropical storm rather than than quite windy outbrekas with the occasional heavy rain. Numerous power cuts, but the resort has its own generator, obviously a regular occurance.
To kill a bit of time, we opted for our second foot-massage of the trip; quite a good one too. But, after the hour long session Aom's desire for Pappaya Salad (one of her addictions) sent us further away from our base and the showery rain turned into a torrential downpour, flooding roads. We had to sit out the worst of it before biking it through the remnants of the downpour.
By 2pm it was still overcast and rainy and we were essentially room-bound. By 2pm I was beginning to get bored with being stuck indoors. The rain had stopped but little sign of any sunshine appearing.
I bullied Aom into going up on an exploration to the north east edge of the island. We were aware the roads around there were very very poor and mostly bare earth.
Up and up we went and got to the place where I had to get off the bike last Friday. After the heavy rain the route eas even more hazardous and I frequently had to dismount and walk up the steep tracks.
Eventually, we both had to leave the bike and walk the last 500metres to the top and an excellent viewpoint. We were up amongst the mist here so visibility was poor making photo taking a disappointment. Quite windy up there too.
Further along the rough track we branched off and eventually arrived at a half-built restaurant perched right on top of one of the highest point on Koh Tao. Here we paid 100Baht to get to the viewpoint but that included a drink; I opted for an iced coffee.
Going back down was nearly as hairy as going up, but we made it safely.
The weather has certainly taken a turn for the worst, glad we're not just arriving instead of leaving. The thunder and lightning made its presence just before dawn followed by the torrential rain of a tropical storm. We got a soaking by just walking a very short distance down for breakfast. The run-off from the land has ruined any underwater viz so anyone wanting to go snorkelling or diving from the shore is in for a disappointment.
The one thing I left back in Surin was our waterproof ponchos. The bike has to be returned this morning rain or not, so that's going to be a pain as is hauling our baggage around the ferry terminal at Mae Haad.
10:30, rain has eased off a touch, so poor Aom can return our bike
The heavens opened up again witha vengeance just before we were due to vacate Chintakiri but it reduced a bit by the time the pick-up truck dropped us off at the terminal.
The 2+ hour long trip back to Chumphron was OK on the catamaran cattle-truck. Once there we were picked up immediately by the transfer mini-bus to the airport. All going well so far...... but
At the airport it rapidly became clear there was going to be a delay. In a way this was to be expected due to the appalling weather around the region. The delay ended up by just over 2 hours and we were back in our apartment in Bangkok by 11pm after an impressive "GT" run from the airport by a very dynamic taxi driver.
No messing about, straight out into Soi 8 and after a few drinks we took some street food, which, as ever, was cheap and tasty.
Decent breakfast but not a lot more happening today.
Rainy late morning in Bangkok, went for a 90 minute foot massage. Aom met up with a friend in the early afternoon.
Took the skytrain (BTS), then underground (MRT), then a tuk-tuk ride to Kowsan Road, a scruffy, back-packer road full of bars and side stalls. Had a quick drink here but to be honest, I found it a bit of a bore so after a quick wander about got a taxi back to Nana which was 20-time quicker and cheaper than the route my dear wife chose to get to this place!
Up at 06:00, breakfast at 07:00 and in the taxi to Don Mueng Airport by 08:00 for our Air Asia flight to Chiang Mai.
Soft lad a bit dozy this morning and my hand luggage failed security check-in as I'd left a bottle of water in the bag as well as a bottle opener; which survived undetected or more likely overlooked for what it was; a bottle opener. What damage could be done with this defeats me; my finger nails present a bigger threat!!
Taxi made record time through the Bangkok traffic so we were left hanging about way too early; better than late though.
Flight on time, so it'll be "Hello Chiang Mai" in a few hours.
Next or Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - 9 10 11 12