Koh Tao - Thailand

It has been six days now that we have been in Thailand and I have not seen Woody this relaxed in months. When we started exploring options of places to go in Thailand we knew we didn't have that much time (only 10 days) and so we decided to pick only one place and stay there.  Woody was adamant that he wanted to do Yoga every day and I of course wanted to dive and hike.And after traveling for four months now, we have realized how nice it is to settle into a spot and enjoy it for a while. So we decided to make our home in Koh Tao for a week.

We landed in Bangkok on the 1st of may and on the 2nd we were on a bus to Chumphon Harbor and then a ferry to the Island of Koh Tao.  The community is a mix of foreigners who have settled here and opened up shops, local Thais running businesses and Burmese working for the Thais and the foreigners. The place is touristy yet very laid back. Resorts, restaurants and shops line the streets. You can get a massage or take classes on Thai massage or Thai cooking, or you can go cliff jumping (if you';re into that sort of thing.)  The SCUBA outfitters on Koh Tao certify more open water divers than anywhere else in the world (after Cairns, Australia), so during the day when all the divers are on the water, the white sand beaches are left empty for those not diving to enjoy.

Above is a photo of New Heaven, the SCUBA outfitter we have gone diving with. In addition, it has the most beautiful, open air Yoga studio on the top floor with a view out to the ocean.

All of the people we have met are wonderful, including our Yoga instructor, dive masters and the owner of the Dive shop. All foreigners who have come here to live and work - some have been here twenty years and some only a few months. It is very much like Hawaii to me (Giovannina writing), a beautiful tropical paradise that when people come they get sucked in and don't want to leave - a mixing pot of different cultures on our small Island in the Gulf of Thailand. I now understand why so many people have come to Thailand and have so many good things to say about it.

While Woody is more relaxed than I have seen him in months I am feeling a strange sense of anxiety that I can not quite put my finger on.  I love the small community we have immersed ourselves in, but I feel strangely like we are not in Thailand and that we are missing something important.  It all seems too easy and set up for us (visitors) - we see more French, Italian and British people as we walk down the streets than Thais. I went for a run yesterday morning and after getting myself thoroughly lost in the mountains behind our resort I started to feet better. We are also planning on spending a few days in Bangkok before we leave Thailand so I hope to get more of the cultural experience there.

To see more images from Koh Tao, check out our Web Album.