No whale sharks, but marine life everywhere

So, we did not see any whale sharks, however, had a great time in the turtle island of Koh Tao. (ended up staying 11 days:)). I think it is time the locals change the name of the island to more of a dog island as every night at about 4am or so, the hauling and barking was crazy, it'll wake you up. (nothing a set of ear plugs won't fix though). Now seriously, if you love diving as I do and I think Jenni after her OW cert does as well (even though she got a nasty sting by a jelly fish - took it like a trooper - I did offer to pee on it) :), Koh Tao is the place to be. Come here for a month or so, rent a cottage and a motorbike and dive and dine away :).

During the stay, we were contemplating where to go next, either Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, straight to Kuala Lumpur or stick around here. Finally, we decided to go to a near by bigger island called Koh Samui (only about 2 hrs on a boat from Koh Tao) as Ko Phi Phi was a bit too expensive for us and Krabi was probably full of tourists during this time. After a long search and a few phone calls to expensive or disconnected phone numbers, we found the Green Villa bungalows. It is actually quite nice area about 100 m from beach and for a great price (400 baht). It is a bit weird as it is owned by French folks, so TV5 Monde station is on all day long :).

Koh Samui is a much larger and more touristy than Koh Tao, however, it does have its beauties as well. If you are not sunbathing at your hotel's pool, you can explore the inner jungle of the island on a motorbike. Start with a refreshing swim in plentiful waterfalls (very nice), or go elephant trekking (did not do, so sad to see the animals tied up), or go mini golfing (did do, good fun) or drive to a deserted beach south of Lamai beach and relax with the local fisherman and eat some great seafood.

Our next destination is Kuala Lumpur, so we are boarding a 24 hr VIP bus (as they call it here) tomorrow bright and early at 5:30. Next news from a brand new country.