Life in the Gulf of Thailand

2/9/12:

For the first time in a week we had to set an alarm! Oh the horror!!!! But it was well worth it. Turned our extremely manly scooter in and then had a fantastic iced coffee! Grabbed a couple croissants before making our way to the ferry. While waiting in the posh 'au naturale' waiting area (i.e. A tent) we noticed a few people with neon paint still on and a couple younger kids sleeping on the sidewalk. I guess they didn't like the idea of an alarm clock either so they just slept at the pier.

The ferries are funny here ... Just a huge boat full of foreigners looking for a good time. I'm thinking the ferry operators make a killing (relatively speaking) with all the tourists running around.

Back up a bit ... We were a little worried about finding accommodation here in koh Tao so we booked a room ahead of time. Unfortunately the only thing I could find was a fan room for 600 baht. We booked one night hoping we'd get here and sort out our other night.

Ok back to the present. Off the ferry we were hit by the predictable mob pit of locals trying to get us to sign up for some tour or other and then the taxi people after that. Carolyn and I are pretty tough people so we trekked our way to the hotel. We already like this island more than koh phangan ... There's exponentially more shade and for some reason the temperature seems to have calmed down the fires of hell to just below boiling. Oh and guess who lucked out like a redneck hitting the lottery???? We did woot woot. Found a room with A/C for 700 baht/night!!!! So we'll be in our mountain room for tonight and then the glorious luxury of A/C tomorrow!!!!

Anyhow, we checked into the hotel and got a nasty snicker from the front desk lady. Apparently they require atleast 2 nights and we only booked one. Tough luck for them. We've got a mountain view room which means we get to watch a local Thai family wash some clothes and some sort of animal which resembles a dog but the jury is still out. Oh and the best part is we get to wade through a river to get to our front door. Well the hotel person said it's a river but I'm pretty sure it's a broken sewage pipe --- gross. Other fabulous amenities of this hotel include: cold showers, occasional running water (randomly shuts off as you're doing your business), no wifi, ridiculously linty towels and no top sheet (they gave us a blanket which is soooooo useful in 90 degree weather - thanks lotus hotel!).

So our itinerary for tomorrow will include sunshine, sunscreen, cold showers and a snorkeling tour!!!!!! Half day tour (which in Thailand mean 10 AM to 5 PM - weird right) around koh Tao with some super super wild life sightings hopefully.

Afterwards we're heading to Phuket on a ferry+bus ticket. Apparently Phuket is located on another F'ing continent cause the trip is going to take 12 hours!