The islands in the Gulf of Thailand

I had always planned to visit the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, however I had never did I imagine that this would be as an escape from the aftermath of the tsunami. 

But that’s exactly what happened, we all needed a break from everything that was happening in Khao Lak and as we could not all decide on where to go, some of us left for Phuket while others, including Alex, Adam, Fiona, and myself, chose Koh Tao. We started our morning by grabbing a few beers each from the cooler and caught our first bus to Takua Pa (about 30 km to the north). Here we got tickets for the next bus to Chumphon where we would catch the night ferry to Koh Tao.

We had about an hour or so before the departure of the bus so we caught some food and a few more beers for lunch. The bus journey, lasting about five hours, had frequent stops which was a perfect opportunity for us to grab a few more cold ones which we did. I lost track of the number of stops, but we sure managed to grab a few beers at each stop. Not wanting to stop after we reached our destination, we walked into a 7-Eleven for a few more beers and then caught a motorbike taxi to a restaurant near the pier where we had dinner, grabbed tickets for the ferry and made our way to the ferry. 

As we boarded the boat, we saw that all sleeping areas inside had been taken. Basically you all sleep next to each other on a very small mattress. We just grabbed a few blankets and went to the roof where we sat and were joined by three other travellers.

We managed to get some sleep and woke up the next morning as we arrived at Koh Tao around 5am, not really an ideal time to arrive when you are tired, nursing a hangover and nothing is open. However, Adam knew people that worked there so we managed to get into their office where we had some coffee and waited for the day to start. 

About 10 that morning, we checked into our bungalows where we had a nap, catching up on lost sleep. Later we explored the beach and had breakfast/lunch/early dinner next to the ocean. Later that night we explored the islands nightlife, sitting on cushions along the beach before getting up and walking along the beach, along different pubs/clubs until 5.30 that morning when we went to sleep. This is basically how we spent the next three days on the island before we returned back to the mainland and Khao Lak. 

A few weeks later, Fiona, myself and a few others from a recent dive trip travelled back to Koh Tao, with a stopover in the Khao Sok national park. Once on Koh Tao, I was supposed to work as a guide with iPower Snorkelling, a.mix between diving and snorkelling. You have a regulator connected to the surface giving you access to dive to about 5 metres. I sounded like fun, however I got a bad cold upon arrival and was out for a couple of days and ended up just sitting down and relaxing by the sea instead.

For a friend’s 30th birthday, we travelled to Koh Phangan for the famous Full Moon Party, where we enjoyed ourselves amongst many partygoers until dawn, listening to Rave, Trance, Drum n Bass, House and other music being played from large speakers directly on the beach.

I had a blast and partied through the night until 6.30 the following morning where I returned to the bungalow, had a shower, quick change of clothes and headed down to the pier where I caught the next ferry to the mainland for a trip to Hua Hin to meet up with friends there for another party. I arrived at Hua Hin around 17 that same afternoon and stayed out until 23. By then I had been up for about 39 hours straight and was completely exhausted so I found my hotel and after a quick shower I basically fell into a coma.

I stayed in Hua Hin for about three nights, catching up with friends that had arrived from Dublin (Anders and Bernt) and also Olof who was there with another one of his friends Nisse who was turning 50 and who the party was for. After we finished up, most left for Khao Lak, however I had to return to Koh Tao as I had left all my belongings there (including my passport) and Bernt ended up tagging along. 

After spending the next few months working again out of Khao Lak, we were getting to the end of the season and decided to travel as a group to Koh Samui. We drove to Chumphon and caught a fast ferry across to Koh Samui, arriving on the island in the middle of the Songkran Water Festival.

This is an annual festival which is known for its water fights, all in a joyful and festive manner. Walking up and down the main street we got soaked from not only locals but also tourists that were getting involved in the fun. All had large water blasters and the smart ones were standing next to large buckets of water where they could do a quick refill. And the really smart ones had large pieces of ice in their bucket, meaning that the water they were shooting was freezing cold. 

After checking into our hotel by the beach, we spent the next day or two by the pool, enjoying the company and quite a few cold beers. 

I ended up spending a few weeks in Koh Tao and absolutely loved my time on the island. It’s a small island, very into diving and with a very relaxed vibe to it, I’ll always be keen on a return here. The other two islands I only touched briefly and would be keen on returning to at some point.