Since we left Borneo we have been basically been chilling out on one of the Thai islands - Koh Tao. We arrived about 3.5 weeks ago after an overnight journey on the chosp bus and then set about working hard on our tans and not a lot else. The first two days we got eaten by mosquitos at the Sairee View resort - 10 huts up a hill with lovely views - and Charlotte was particularly excited by the realistic foot long gecko on the bathroom wall. She was even more impressed when it moved by itself to the bedroom. The resort then hosted a great party on 
the second night.Charlotte was introduced to the Thai traditional drink of a Samsung bucket. This seemed like a great idea at the time and both Si and Charl drank like fishes all night (see how our heads even started to look like a fish - bom bom).
The next day we moved to the south of the island to a beach called Ao Thian Og and a resort called Rocky Resort.(In the middle of the picture there are 4 wooden huts in a row. Ours was second from the right)
There weren't so many mosquitos and the view was stunning. Right over the sea and at a bargain price since the resort was mostly falling down - it was also practically empty. Charlotte worried about the sea coming and washing the hut away for a while but then didn't worry any more because she was too chilled out in the hammock reading her book in the sun.
Simon unfortunately had been poisoned by the evil Thai drink and got a fever and then Toncillitis. Charlotte tried to be sympathetic and kind but gave up after while. However the sun was shining, the beach was nearly empty, the sea was hot and clear and we couldn't really complain. So the first week or so passed in a bit of a haze but then Simon got better, the holiday actually started properly and we hired a quad bike for the day to visit some different bays and did some fantastic snorkelling, (the roads in the interior of the island are pretty 
rough - take on with a moped at your peril).
We then started to do some diving with a company Charlotte had already been doing some yoga with - New Heaven. Predominantly staffed by Les Francais, they where a good crowd and we went on to do quite a few dives with them. Quite a few of the operations on Koh Tao have got a bit of a factory line feel to them, doing two trips/ four dives a day and basically trying to get as many people through as poss. New Heaven are pretty chilled they only do one trip a day and keep diving for as long as poss - we were down for 70 mins on the last dive. If anyone's out this way and looking for a relaxed dive centre we'd definitely recommend these guys.The first dive was to an amazing sight called Chumporn Pinnacle where Simon had a close encounter with a Silvertip shark while Charlotte watched the sharks circling below. The next day we did two more dives and saw a huge old turtle just chilling around the reef. He was very cool. We saw all sorts of other big, small, beautiful and colourful fish and coral and generally enjoyed getting to see all the vast variety of life that was down there.
Charl then got an ear infection so we stopped diving and decided to rent a kayak and go round the island (about 8 hours with stops). This was a great mission and apart from capsizing in some rather choppy water towards the end of the day (mostly due to Simon trying to rapidly exit the kayak as he was busting for a slash) it was great fun and felt like a big achivement.We did get back to the diving and went back to Chumporn where Charl got her own close encounter with a shark whilst Si paid no attention and was more interested in a grouper fish only to turn around to spot his fiancee 3 ft from an oncoming Jaws-esque creature. No worries - all alive and well!
We had a couple of nights out in the main town Sairee, as the bay we were staying in was pretty quiet in the evenings. We read books and did some more snorkelling accompanied this one time by this crazy local dog. As the dogs tend to do on Koh Tao it attached itself to us for a walk & when we reached the rocks it just launched itself out into deep open sea. Simon was swimming alongside it worried that it was going to run out of energy and drown. 
After 3 weeks of the beach we were ready to leave but could very easily see how so many people arrive for a holiday and are still there a few years later. We'll be back.
We're now in Bangkok sorting out a few things and are shortly off to Laos. Apologies if it hasn't been quite as entertaining as previous blog entries - there's only so much you can make out of lying on a beach.
Cheers all,
Simon & Charlotte
