Koh Tao and New Years Eve
This was a very quick stop back on Koh Tao to complete my Advanced PADI Qualification that I had been unable to complete on my first visit to Koh Tao at the beginning of my trip.
The bus ride was a lot longer than I’d hoped – The bus arrived in Surat Thani at around 7pm and I had to wait till 11pm to get the night boat to Koh Tao. I killed some time with a pizza and then jumped on to the ferry to find my mattress. The boat was packed with everything from huge bags of rice to Motorbikes and television; the night boat is also the cargo boat. The passengers are set out on mattresses on the floor along the length of the boat. The mattresses are about 2 foot wide and crammed in tightly meaning you have just enough room to complain about the lack of space – and it’s hot on there, really hot. But, I managed to get some sleep and at around 6am we pulled into the harbour on Koh Tao where I made my way to Big Blue – the company I was diving with.
I had a nap and then it was time to do my night dive. I wouldn’t say I’d forgotten everything – I still remembered how to put my fins (flippers) on. And so, mixed with the very bad visibility, and the fact it was night time, I was mostly just bouncing off the sea floor and off bits of coral. I hardly saw any fish for the first half an hour but suddenly our dive master pointed out some stingrays sifting the sea floor. So that alone made it worth while. The next day was new years eve so I decided to take it easy and save myself for the next day. I went to meet my friend Antony - who I met in Cambodia – who lives on Koh Tao. He’d been carrying my guitar that I’d left on a bus in Cambodia all the way back to Thailand and I was going to pick it up! We had a couple of drinks and a skype with Addy and Lisa who we also travelled with in Cambodia and then we both had an early night.
For new years eve I went out on Koh Tao with some people I’d met while diving – It was lots of drink and music on the beach. It was a great way to see in 2013, though I took it quite easy as I had to get a coach back to Bangkok the next day and so I didn’t want a big hangover to accompany me along the way.
The next day I got the boat and bus back to Bangkok – I ran in to a friend I’d met on Koh Phi Phi and we had a good catch up on the bus. When we got to Bangkok we said our goodbyes and I went to check in to a guesthouse on Khao San Road – the famous backpacker area of Bangkok. I spent a night there meeting up with a couple of friends who were in the area and I had met along the way in South East Asia.
It ended up being quite a late night and I was awoken by knocking at my door – I had missed my bus to the airport! So I jumped into a taxi and was on my way. I checked in and jumped on the plane without any problems – and then I fell asleep. I awoke to everyone leaving the plane and my first thought was that I’d slept through everything and I was in Singapore; We were still in Bangkok. There was a problem with the plane. We were herded back in to the waiting area where I again fell asleep. I awoke to everyone leaving the waiting area in a rush with a Thai security guard standing over me shouting and pointing in the direction of the exit. Groggily I followed the crowd with absolutely no idea what was going on. Eventually I found out that there was a rush to the service desk where they would put passengers on to a different flight – first come first serve…. and I definitely wasn’t first….
After quite a stressful hour of queuing I managed to get onto a flight that was only a couple of hours later so it wasn’t too bad but my plan of dropping in to work after landing in Singapore had to be adjusted. Eventually I was on a plane and in the air, saying goodbye to my backpacker life in South East Asia…. I will certainly be coming back!
The next day I got the boat and bus back to Bangkok – I ran in to a friend I’d met on Koh Phi Phi and we had a good catch up on the bus. When we got to Bangkok we said our goodbyes and I went to check in to a guesthouse on Khao San Road – the famous backpacker area of Bangkok. I spent a night there meeting up with a couple of friends who were in the area and I had met along the way in South East Asia.
It ended up being quite a late night and I was awoken by knocking at my door – I had missed my bus to the airport! So I jumped into a taxi and was on my way. I checked in and jumped on the plane without any problems – and then I fell asleep. I awoke to everyone leaving the plane and my first thought was that I’d slept through everything and I was in Singapore; We were still in Bangkok. There was a problem with the plane. We were herded back in to the waiting area where I again fell asleep. I awoke to everyone leaving the waiting area in a rush with a Thai security guard standing over me shouting and pointing in the direction of the exit. Groggily I followed the crowd with absolutely no idea what was going on. Eventually I found out that there was a rush to the service desk where they would put passengers on to a different flight – first come first serve…. and I definitely wasn’t first….
After quite a stressful hour of queuing I managed to get onto a flight that was only a couple of hours later so it wasn’t too bad but my plan of dropping in to work after landing in Singapore had to be adjusted. Eventually I was on a plane and in the air, saying goodbye to my backpacker life in South East Asia…. I will certainly be coming back!
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