Koh Tao

Ø-paradiset Koh Tao

Dag 17: 23.03.2023

Rejsedagen til Koh Tao fra Koh Samui
Jeg blev vækket omkring kl. 07 af naboerne der larmede fra det nye værelse. Her efter kunne jeg ikke sove mere, og gik så ned og fandt noget lækker morgenmad. Jeg gik på samme sted som dagen før, en lækker restaurant tilhørende et hotel kaldet “The Page” som lå helt ned til vandet. Her var den lækreste morgenmad, og de åbnede før så mange andre steder.
Læs min anmeldelse af stedet, og se billederne af morgenmaden ved at klikke her.

Nathon Pier

Vi skulle hver især tjekke ud omkring kl.11, og med færgen videre til Koh Tao kl.12.15. Uheldigvis havde vi ikke booket billet inden, da jeg sidst jeg rejste i området, bare købte den på billetkontoret ved havnen. Det skulle vi nok ha gjort, for der var fuldt booket og først en færge igen kl.15.30.

Vi fandt derfor en cafe og fik noget koldt at drikke. Dog var den ikke så indbydende så vi valgte at gå hen og spise på en anden cafe, som så super hyggelig ud. Den hed “The Road Less Travelled – Cafe & Bar”. Pigerne fik en slags smørrebrød, som på menukortet så ret små ud, men viste sig at være KÆMPE store da de ankom. De havde bestilt to hver, og måtte levne ligesom mig. Jeg fik en Cæsarsalat med kylling, som også kom i en kæmpe portion. Vi vil alle anbefale stedet både for maden, men især også for den suveræne service og den flotte og indbydende indretning af stedet. 5 ud af 5 stjerner.

Færgen fra helvede

Da vi endelig kom med færgen, virkede airconditionanlægget ikke, og færgen endte med at være næsten 1 time forsinket. Det var en ulækkert varm og ukomfortabel tur, men overståes skulles den jo.
Det kan anbefales ikke at have de store forventninger til færgerne i Thailand. Nogle er top lækre og andre – knap så meget.

Smart i en fart

Da vi ankom blev vi tilbudt en taxa til hotellet. Jeg ville så lige vise pigerne hvordan man skulle komme op på ladet af truck’en men det gik usansynligt dårligt, og jeg hang bare og lignede en abe der klyngede sig til siden af bilen, imens jeg langsomt drejede rundt. Som pigerne beskrev det, lignede jeg en bildør der blev svinget op. Vi døde fuldstændig af grin af min “se nu bare her” demonstration, og vi har grint af det lige siden. 

Frem til hotellet kom vi hurtigt og fik tjekket ind.
Vi gik på stranden og fik en drink imens vi så solnedgang og hørte noget hyggeligt musik. Herefter gik vi på en restaurant jeg huskede fra sidst, og fik aftensmad. Vi var ret trætte efter den lange rejsedag, og gik derefter på hotellet. Stedet vi boede hedder Wind Beach Resort, og er super fint og vigtigst af alt rent. Vi havde hver især en lille balkon, og værelserne var store og fine. Hotellet ligger meget centralt. Det betød også at der var en del larm fra gaden, vi endte derfor med at falde lidt sent i søvn. Det kan selvfølgelig godt være vi er lidt sarte, men for unge mennesker der gerne vil feste, er stedet og placeringen perfekt.

Day 18: 24.03.2023

Booking af 2 x dyk

Dagen startede med af vi blev vækket af byggearbejde. Vi gik ned og fandt et sted til morgenmad og lagde os på stranden. Vi fandt ingen strandsole, og jeg fik hurtigt et flip, af svede i øjnene og sand der sad fast over alt, af at ligge direkte på sandet. Så jeg gik derfor i stedet op i byen, for at finde et sted jeg kunne melde mig til dykning dagen efter. Det blev ved Sairee diving, og ville bestå af 2 dyk, den efterfølgende dag. Jeg har glædet mig enormt meget til, endelig at få brugt mit Open Water dykkercertifikat, jeg tog på Phi Phi sidste år.

Afslapning og lækker mad

Her efter mødtes jeg med pigerne og fik noget middagsmad. Vi var ikke rigtigt  sultne i varmen, så vi delte lidt pommes og thai-hotwings. Efter og ha siddet lidt mere i solen, gik vi hvert til sit for at slappe lidt af med aircondition og et bad. 

Om aftenen fandt vi et super lækkert sted at spise, hvor de lavede det meste over en stor grill. Jeg fik nogle sqrewers med oksekød inkl en nam jim jaew thai chili dip, salat og stegte grøntsager. Pigerne fik en burger hver. Vi fik et længe ventet glas vin, og hyggede os gevaldigt.
Vi sad under et palmetræ som tabte nogle underlige kugler og små gerne ned på os, som vi sad der og spiste. Hele restauranten fik derfor også en god omgang underholdning, som vi hvinede og skreg, hver gang noget faldt ned på os. Det KU jo ha været et kryb, vi er trods alt i Thailand.

Efter det gik jeg op på værelset for at refreshe mit dykkerkursus, da det er lidt tid siden jeg sidst har dykket, så der var godt styr på alting. Selvfølgelig som altid, tidligt i seng, til den sidste oplevelses-dag på denne tur.

Day 19: 25.03.2023

Årets Dykkertur

Jeg startede dagen med en lækker morgenmad, samme sted som dagen før, og lidt afslapning på stranden. Jeg gik derefter op til Sairee cottage i god tid, for at mødes med min dykker instruktør og alle de andre. Der var mange der skulle med på turen. Enten for at tage deres Open Water, eller for at udvide med et Advanced kursus. Vi var omkring 10 mennesker der skulle på en free dive tur, hvor certifikatet er i hus. Jeg snakkede med en masse søde mennesker, fra mange steder rundt i verden. Det er noget af det jeg elsker mest ved at rejse i Thailand. Her mødes så mange forskellige kulture, og mennesker fra nær og fjern. Det altid en fornøjelse og hører om andres historier og deres liv. 

Twin Rock & White Rock

Afsted det gik. Vi bar hver især, alt vores udstyr ud til en lidt mindre båd. Den sejlede af to omgange, ud til det større skib, hvorfra vi skulle dykke. De to dyk kostede mig 2500 baht som svare til ca. 498kr. Det var inkl alt i udstyr, iltflasker og en let forplejning der bestod af frisk frugt, kage og vand. 

Begge dyk lå forholdsvis tæt på hinanden og varede ca 45 minutter pr dyk. Vi var nede på en max dybde af 16 meter. Jeg så en masse smukke fisk og andet undervandsliv, og fik for første gang svømmet igennem en lille hule (ikke særlig stor eller avanceret) men stadig en bedrift. Dog så jeg ikke nær så meget som jeg gjorde da jeg i sin tid tog mine første dyk på Phi Phi. Det kan blandt andet skyldes at stedet på Koh Tao er et meget kendt dykkersted, med mange turister om året. Da jeg rejste sidste år var Thailand knap ved at genåbne efter nedlukning i 2 år pga corona. Derfor havde undervandslivet nok også fået et velfortjent hvil. 

Sidste Pad Krapow

Da vi kom tilbage hjalp vi alle hinanden med at rengøre udstyret grundigt for saltvand, og fik logget vores dyk. Man er utrolig sulten efter sådan et par dyk, da man tydeligvis brugere flere kræfter end man regner med ved at ligge og dykke rundt på bunden af havet. Jeg gik derfor hen og fik mig en velfortjent og sidste, omgang Pad Krapow. Tjenerne synes altid det sjovt når jeg bestiller mit mad på Thai. Jeg elsker at øve mig og lærer en masse om kulturen og sproget. Mange Thai indbyggere lærer ikke Engelsk, derfor kan det være en fordel at lærer enkelte sætninger og ord, især indenfor mad området. 

Queens Cabaret

Om aftenen skulle Cilles 23-års fødseldag fejres. Hun havde bestemt sig for en Italiensk restaurant og hefter et meget omtalt Cabaret show. Det var et super flot og underholdende show, og samtidig meget anderledes. Artisterne var utroligt flot udsmykket og havde flere forskellige numre hvor de dansede og imiterede sange. Det var næsten ikke til at se at “Damerne” ikke var født sådan, indtil der pludselig opstod en tissepause. En af artisterne kom frem på scenen og sagde at nu ville det være 30 minutters pause, for en af pigerne skulle på toilettet og det ville tage mindst 15 minutter, og yderligere 15 at pakke hendes “sager” sammen igen. Det grinte vi meget af, og det var så mit que til at gå hjem, da det allerede var blevet sent. Jeg fik sagt farvel til pigerne, og tak for en hyggelig tur. Jeg skulle meget tidligt op, og have en lang lang lang rejsedag foran mig den kommende dag.

– Josie 

Dag 20: 26.03.2023

Hjemturen: Rejsedagen man helst vil glemme

Jeg stod op kl.6.30, fik pakket og hentet noget morgenmad. Kl.8.20 blev jeg kørt ud til færgen fra Koh Tao til Koh Samui. Jeg ankom på Koh Samui kl.13, hvor jeg havde booket et hotel for nogle timer indtil jeg skulle være i lufthavnen. Jeg skulle med flyet 19.15, videre til Bangkok. Der skulle jeg så ha nogle timer til og gå, til jeg skulle rejse videre mod København kl.01.20. Rejsen fra Bangkok ville tage omkring 13 timer, men vi blev forsinket og turen tog derfor lidt over 14. Det resulterede i at jeg ikke kunne nå videre med flyet fra København, og måtte vente 3,5 time før næste fly. Her sad jeg ved siden af Lotte Heise, til jeg ramte Aalborg omkring kl.14. 

Ude godt, men hjemme bedst

Jeg kan aldrig nogensinde anbefale så lang en hjemrejse med så mange skift. Det var mega stressende, og da jeg ikke nåede flyet fra Kbh tabte jeg da os sutten. Men hjem kom jeg, og mor stod som altid klar i lufthavnen med flag og en meget savnet krammer! Hun havde også gjort rent, sat blomster og chokolade og handlet ind til de næste par dage så jeg ikke skulle tænke på noget. Min mor er altid så betænksom. Det betyder så meget og jeg elsker hende for det. 

Tak fordi du har læst med!

Det var denne omgang – næste gang tager jeg, som jeg ellers plejer, en dag eller to i Bangkok før jeg tager hjem igen. Det kan jeg også kun anbefale alle andre at gøre. Jeg håber mine post har inspireret, givet indblik og måske hjulpet med at få planlagt en tur. Tøv ikke med at smide en kommentar, stille spørgsmål eller andet. Jeg vil altid hjælpe alt hvad jeg kan.
Har du lyst til at læse mere om årets tur, kan du se alle mine opslag ved at klikke her.

Og til Thailand, tak for denne gang,

– Josie 

ENGLISH

The island paradise of Koh Tao

Day 17: 23.03.2023

Travel day to Koh Tao from Koh Samui

I was woken up around 07 of the neighbors making noise from the new room. After this I couldn’t sleep any more, so I went downstairs and found some delicious breakfast. I went to the same place as the day before, a delicious restaurant belonging to a hotel called “The Page” which was right down to the water. Here was the most delicious breakfast and they opened before so many other places.

Read my review of the place and see the pictures of the breakfast by clicking here.

Nathon Pier

We each had to check out around 11am, and on the ferry to Koh Tao at 12.15pm. Unfortunately, we hadn’t booked a ticket beforehand, as the last time I traveled in the area, I just bought it at the ticket office by the harbour. We probably should have done that, because it was fully booked and the first ferry again at 3.30pm.

We therefore found a cafe and got something cold to drink. However, it wasn’t that inviting, so we chose to go and eat at another cafe, which looked super cozy. It was called “The Road Less Traveled – Cafe & Bar”. The girls got some kind of smørrebrød, which looked quite small on the menu, but turned out to be HUGE when they arrived. They had ordered two each, and had to live like me. I got a Caesar salad with chicken, which also came in a huge portion. We would all recommend the place both for the food, but especially also for the excellent service and the beautiful and inviting interior of the place. 5 out of 5 stars.

The ferry from hell

When we finally got the ferry, the air conditioner didn’t work and the ferry ended up being almost 1 hour late. It was a disgustingly hot and uncomfortable trip, but it had to be over. It is recommended not to have too high expectations for the ferries in Thailand. Some are super delicious and others – not so much.

Smart in a hurry

When we arrived we were offered a taxi to the hotel. I wanted to show the girls how to get onto the bed of the truck, but it went incredibly badly, and I just hung there looking like a monkey clinging to the side of the car, while I slowly turned around. As the girls described it, as looking like a car door being slowly swung open. We absolutely died laughing at my “just look here” demonstration, and we’ve been laughing about it ever since.

Wind Beach Resort

We got to the hotel quickly and checked in. We went to the beach and had a drink while watching the sunset and listening to some nice music. Afterwards we went to a restaurant I remembered from last time i was here, and had dinner. We were quite tired after the long day of travel, and then went to the hotel. The place we stayed is called Wind Beach Resort, and is super nice and most importantly clean. We each had a small balcony, and the rooms were large and nice. The hotel is very centrally located. It also meant that there was a lot of noise from the street, so we ended up falling asleep a little late. It may well be that we are a bit picky, but for young people who want to party, the place and the location are perfect.
– Josie

Day 18: 24.03.2023

Booking of 2 x dives

The day started with us being woken up by construction work. We went down and found a place for breakfast and laid down on the beach. We didn’t find any sunbeds, and I quickly got a flip, from sweat in my eyes and sand stuck all over, from lying directly on the sand. So I therefore went into town instead, to find a place where I could sign up for diving the next day. It was at Sairee diving, and would consist of 2 dives, the following day. I’ve been really looking forward to finally getting to use my Open Water diving certificate I did on Phi Phi last year.

Relaxation and delicious food

After this I met up with the girls and had some dinner. We weren’t really  hungry in the heat, so we shared some fries and Thai hot wings. After sitting a little more in the sun, we went our separate ways to relax a bit with air conditioning and a bath. In the evening we found a super delicious place to eat, where they cooked most of the food over a large grill. I got some sqrewers with beef including a nam jim jaew thai chili dip, salad and fried vegetables. The girls got a burger each. We got a long-awaited glass of wine and had a great time.

We sat under a palm tree which dropped some strange balls and small ones on us as we sat there eating. The whole restaurant therefore also got a good round of entertainment, as we squealed and screamed every time something fell on us. That KU was a creep, after all we are in Thailand. After that I went up to the room to refresh my diving course, as it’s been a while since I last dived, so everything was well under control. Of course, as always, early to bed, for the last experience day of this trip.
– Josie

Day 19: 25.03.2023

Diving trip of the year

I started the day with a delicious breakfast, in the same place as the day before, and a little relaxation on the beach. I then went up to Sairee cottage in good time to meet up with my dive instructor and everyone else. There were many people who were going on the trip. Either to take their Open Water, or to expand with an Advanced course. Koh Tao is a very popular diving destination. We were about 10 people who were going on a free dive trip, where the certificate is in house. I talked to a lot of nice people, from many places around the world. This is one of the things I love most about traveling in Thailand. So many different cultures and people from near and far meet here. It’s always a pleasure to hear about other people’s stories and their lives.

Twin Rock & White Rock

Off it went. We each carried all our equipment out to a slightly smaller boat. It sailed in two turns, out to the larger ship from which we were to dive. The two dives cost me 2500 baht, which corresponds to approx. DKK 498 It included everything in equipment, oxygen bottles and a light meal consisting of fresh fruit, cake and water.

Both dives were relatively close to each other and lasted about 45 minutes per dive. We were down to a maximum depth of 16 metres. I saw a lot of beautiful fish and other underwater life, and got to swim through a small cave for the first time (not very big or advanced) but still an achievement. However, I didn’t see nearly as much here on Koh Tao as I did when I did my first dives on Phi Phi back in the day. This may be due, among other things, to the fact that the place on Koh Tao is a very well-known diving spot, with many tourists a year. When I traveled last year, Thailand was just about to reopen after being shut down for 2 years due to corona. Therefore, the underwater life had probably also had a well-deserved rest.

Last Pad Krapow in Koh Tao

When we got back we all helped each other to thoroughly clean the equipment of salt water, and had our dives logged. You are incredibly hungry after such a few dives, as you clearly use more energy than you expect by lying and diving around on the bottom of the sea. I therefore went and got myself a well-deserved and final round of Pad Krapow. The waiters always find it funny when I order my food in Thai. I love to practice and learn a lot about the culture and the language. Many Thai residents do not learn English, so it can be an advantage to learn a few phrases and words, especially in the food area.

Queens Cabaret

In the evening, Cille’s 23rd birthday was to be celebrated. She had decided on an Italian restaurant and is booking a much talked about Cabaret show. It was a super nice and entertaining show, and at the same time very different. The artists were incredibly well decorated and had several different numbers where they danced and imitated songs. It was almost impossible to see that the “Ladies” were not born that way, until there was a sudden pee break. One of the artists came on stage and said that now it would be a 30 minute break, because one of the girls had to go to the toilet and it would take at least 15 minutes, and another 15 to pack her “things” back together. We laughed a lot about that, and it was then my turn to go home, as it was already getting late. I got to say goodbye to the girls and thank you for a nice trip. I had to get up very early, and had a long long long day of travel ahead of me the next day.

– Josie

Day 20: 26.03.2023

The journey home: A day I’d rather forget

I got up at 6.30, got packed and got some breakfast. At 8.20 I was driven out to the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Samui. I arrived on Koh Samui at 1pm, where I had booked a hotel for a few hours until I had to be at the airport. I had to take the 19.15 flight to Bangkok. I would then have a few more hours to go before I had to travel on to Copenhagen at 01.20. The journey from Bangkok would take around 13 hours, but we were delayed and the trip therefore took a little over 14. This resulted in me not being able to continue with the flight from Copenhagen, and had to wait 3.5 hours before the next flight. Here I sat next to Lotte Heise until I hit Aalborg around 2pm.

Out is good, but home is better

I can never ever recommend such a long journey home with so many changes. It was very stressful, and when I didn’t make it to the flight from Kbh, I lost our pacifier. But I came home and mother was ready as always at the airport with a flag and a much missed hug! She had also cleaned, put flowers and chocolates and shopped for the next few days so I wouldn’t have to think about anything. My mother is always so thoughtful. It means so much and I love her for it.

Thanks for reading along!

That was it – next time I will, as usual, spend a day or two in Bangkok before returning home. I can only recommend that everyone else do as well. I hope my posts have inspired, given insight and perhaps helped to plan a trip. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment, ask a question or anything else. I will always help all I can. I recommend Koh Tao to everyone who is down for some a more relaxed scenarie.

And to Thailand, thank you for another lovely visit.

– Josie

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