August 3rd, 2019
Brendan finished his course this morning and is now a certified rescue diver! We checked out of our hotel and had one last lunch at our favorite spot Mama’s. We went to the ferry terminal where the boat was delayed by two hours but being late seems kind of normal. Koh Tao was okay, but I actually think I preferred Koh Phangan. I thought this would be opposite since Koh Phangan has the reputation of being such a party island because of the Full Moon parties. Since we were not there for full moon we found it to be really pretty quiet. I thought the beaches were better on Koh Phangan so if I did it again, I would have probably done it opposite where we spend a week on Phangan and only a couple days on Tao. My opinion might be different if we were there around full moon though. Since we were not, we actually found Koh Tao to be way more of a party place.
Brendan and I had a conversation about how much of our opinion can be shaped by those we meet. If you are lucky enough to meet some amazing locals, that can totally change the way you feel about a place. I was kind of turned off by everyone asking for money in Koh Tao whether it was for a beach, a parking spot, or a view point. I also wasn’t super impressed with the owner of the dive shop we went through. Between the two of us we spent 15 thousand baht at his shop so I thought he could have been a little more helpful, but I think he was only interested in the moolah. This is unusual because all the other people at dive shops we have met have been really cool and a pleasure to hang out with. Brendan did like his dive instructor though so that was good. The instructor said B. was the calmest person he had ever met. LOL! He certainly nailed that one. He also said B. was the easiest person he had ever taught. So as in most things Brendan attempts, I think he was really good at what he learned. Hopefully we never have to, but now B. can rescue me in the water, and I can save him on land 😊
We also really enjoyed the couple from the UK we hung out with for a couple days on Koh Tao. They also had the same opinion about Koh Phangan that I did and thought it was a little better. It was fun swapping travel tips and stories with them as they are now headed to South America where we have already been, and we are going on the Banana Pancake trail which they just came from.
It was cool when we stopped at this little Rasta bar in Koh Phangan and Brendan had too many buckets and when it was time to pay our bill we realized we didn’t have enough cash. The guy was so nice and was like “No worries! You can pay me later…tomorrow or something”. Quite different than the ‘you pay now’ for everything on Koh Tao. Again, this was just our own experience and might be different for others as I do think it is influenced greatly by those you meet.
The ferry ride was about 3.5 hours and took us to Chumphon which is mostly known as just a transit hub from the islands to Bangkok. I found a few blogs though that said it is kind of a hidden gem because most tourists skip over it and the beaches are really nice and preserved. Since we arrived late I booked a couple of nights so we can get a scooter and check out this area tomorrow and see if we agree about it being a cool spot to stay.
Love this post! Congrats to B for being such a calm, quick study of a rescue diver! You both have such impressive skills! When you said B had too many buckets all I could think of was the little pink bucket from a previous post. Im wondering now if he’s acquired a penchant for little pink buckets with shovel since youve been away… good idea for a stocking stuffer:)