Koh Tao is a relaxing, youth filled island that is mainly obsessed with open water diving. The beaches are all a beautiful powdery pure white with about the consistency of the flour used for baking.
On Sairee Beach where we stayed, this powdery sand stretched into the ocean at such shallow of angles that the aqua water radiated heavenly crystal clear blue-green, especially in the mornings when the tide was just right.
We ended up staying in Coral Grand Resort that offered up free accommodation in this top end resort with purchase of a PADI open water diving certification course. The course cost about $300.00 USD for the four days of training. The resort had nice little bungalows secluded by the jungle-like atmosphere of the surrounding gardens. Unfortunately, we free loaders were only offered basic hotel-room-like accommodation at the back of the property but we both agreed we were getting a hell of a deal.
The diving was good with Moray Eels, Large Groupers, schools of Barracuda, and even territorial Trigger Fish frequently spotted by our group out in the water. We even saw a Sea Turtle in the distance, the amphibians for which this island was named. Okay, actually Matthew was the only one in the group that didn't see it.
If you don't want to dive, don't get turned off this cool island. We both agree that the beach would be perfect for a young family because the beach is so shallow allowing for great visibility. We saw a few families with there toddlers enjoying the rockless beach along with some friendly beach dogs. There is also an awesome yoga studio, borrowing elements of Thai traditional houses, it is a shimmering beacon of peace on this beach during the day. Perhaps the nicest part of being a non-diver on Koh Tao is that you get large swaths of the beach to yourself throughout the day. This is especially true during the mid-morning and afternoons when most divers are out in the water. Alissa enjoyed her time here cat-posing the beautiful days away on this beach.
At night the vibe is ratcheted up a notch as hypnotic beach tunes spill out along with BBQs, firedancers, and laid back crowds (but not so many backpacker losers) lounging about with the moon reflecting off the waters.
No comments:
Post a Comment