We stayed in Koh Tao for three nights. Luckily we booked something online ahead of time because there were a ton of backpackers with no plan. I’m sure if there were only two of us, finding a place wouldn’t be so hard, but with four, it’s more difficult.

The ferry ride was a bit rough for ya girl
Han, having had a few alcoholic beverages the night before. Luckily the hour and a half trip was over quickly and we were thrust on the bed of a truck over to our hostel. It was the first time we’d ridden on the back of a truck with no roof over us like the ones in Koh Phangan, and it was fun! We could tell immediately that we were staying in a backpackers hotspot, the Kao San road of Koh Tao have you.

The place was pretty bad. Just four bunk beds in a dingy little room. It also had a gross smell, but luckily our brains forgot about it after a while. We met a really really awesome English girl named Ollie who was bunking with us and made her come explore. The island is hard to maneuver by foot so we really stayed in a concentrated area. We weren’t there long enough to get diving certified, and that seemed to be the only activity there.

We went on a nice little walk on the beach and were presently surprised to see how clean it was (someone had warned us otherwise). We found a really nice bar/restaurant on the beach called Big Blue and layed on the shore while sippin on some Chang.

That night we decided to go to a ladyboy show. It was recommended to us by some friends, and I personally have always wanted to see one. The “lady boys” are gorgeous, it’s really hard to believe some of them are men. It’s also a really large part of the culture here, once we started to pay attention, we saw ladyboys everywhere. I’m not sure what the thai word for ladyboy is, but that’s what everyone says for the most part. Anyway, the show was “free” after you buy a 200 baht shitty drink. The show itself was a riot. I loved it. I think Chand really loved it too but the others were slightly terrified a few times. I was a bit distracted by their inability to lip sync the correct words but I guess that’s just a language barrier. There was one dressed up as Nicki Minaj that KILLED it, it was amazing. I took about 50 pictures but only a few are good.

Unfortunately, Chandler and Glover were sick the next day. It was bound to happen eventually, we placed the blame on some tapas we had the night before. Spense and I explored a bit on our own. I bought a bathing suit because mine were all dirty. It was only $8! That is actually impossible to find at home. Spense got one too, he saved 50 baht by getting a short European one hahaha. He’s all self conscious about it but I think it’s important to tan the upper man thigh.

We walked around the neighboring streets about three times before we realized we had actually seen everything. We ran into Phil, our Australian friend we met in Koh Phangan, and shot the shit for a while.

Eventually, Chand joined us at the beach. We decided to go snorkeling the next day and made a plan with a Taxi Boat to take us. We decided to go to bed on the early side in order to be ready for our adventure. Unfortunately, one of our roommates didn’t care so much. We were all awoken at about 3 am by a loud banging and clapping sound. Yes, they were indeed doing the dirty. It was terrible. It lasted about an hour before Spense told them to shut up. It was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever encountered at a hostel. Usually people who travel this way have a certain etiquette that they share, this girl clearly missed the memo. We are still talking about it three days later. Ugh, who does that?!

Anyway, snorkeling was absolutely beautiful. It was a really crazy, rainy day so the waves were huge. Luckily, our boat driver was a pro and maneuvered the water effortlessly.

After hitting two snorkeling spots, our driver took us to a little island called Nangyuan. It’s a tiny little thing, right off the coast of Koh Tao. It is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. It looked just like a postcard. We took a little hike up to the viewpoint. The pictures speak for themselves.

Our day was tiring and we had an early boat/bus the next day so we kept it casual and had dinner on the beach.

Koh Tao, though it seems small, is really a gem. Everytime we may have felt overwhelmed by tourism a trip to the beach fixed it. Even the pier was gorgeous.

If you love to dive, Koh Tao is for you. If you want to really want to experience Thailand, I can’t say it’s the best place. However, compared to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, it’s incredibly relaxing. Thumbs up Koh Tao. One love.