Kickin' it on Koh Tao

After 8 hours on a night ferry, we arrived in Koh Tao, bleary eyed, at 7am. Upon arriving we discovered that Chelsea's bag had been rifled through in the night, but we had kept all our valuables with us and so nothing was missing except the $5 pair of sunglasses she had bought. A very close call indeed. Our spirits improved once we completed the hour-long walk to Hin Wong bay on the opposite end of the island. For just $10 per night, we had a private bamboo hut with a hammock and a bathroom with a view of the beautiful secluded bay. The hotel served large portions of tasty thai food at cheap prices. We were very happy with our choice of accommodation as we were far from the crowded, busy streets on the other side of the island, jammed packed with hotels and dive shops.

The view over Hin Wong was excellent, and we soon discovered that the snorkelling here was some of the best to be had on the whole island. Although we couldn't photograph it, the reefs here were amazing. In the warm clear waters we saw giant sea turtles, sea anemones, and fluorescent coloured giant clams, more than a meter wide. There were fish of every colour of the rainbow, ranging from the size of a finger to the size of a dog. Blue-spotted stingrays and 2m reef sharks patrolled the waters. Giant dome corals, up to 8m across, shelter this miraculous ecosystem from the rough seas and provide a home for many interesting invertebrates including small delicate-looking filter-feeders. Everything on land paled in comparison to the sights below the water.

Late one night we noticed the largest gecko we had ever seen, in our bathroom. His body was the size of a man's forearm, and he was almost 2 feet long. The beam behind him in these photos is a 2x4, to give some notion of his absurd size.

Here is a smaller one of the same species (about 30cm long).

A praying mantis in the trees next to our bungalow.

Here is a cashew tree growing at our hotel. The red  fruit is a tasty edible cashew apple, but the nut is poisonous if it isn't plucked and dried before eating

We rented a motorbike for a few days to explore the island, as it was a little too large for walking. We snorkelled at many of the different bays, each containing a slightly different array of colourful marine life.
Here is the view over Tanote Bay.

Koh Tao was a wonderful conclusion to our south Thailand adventure...now it was time for a little change of pace, and after 5 days here we headed back to Bangkok.