KRABI: From Bangkok, I took the short flight to southern Thailand to see the town of Krabi. It’s a cute town with some neat stone peaks covered with greenery that make the landscape unique. I stayed in a really great hostel called Pak-Up Hostel. It was clean, modern, and had many events going on so you could meet people. I was hanging out in the lobby, and I look outside to see an elephant peering at me through the window. Some locals were walking their pet elephant up and down the street trying to get tourists to pay to feed it. I ate at one of Trip Advisor’s recommended restaurants called Chalita (owned by a Thai lady and a French man). It was so good, so I went back the next night. After exploring Krabi a bit, I booked a day tour to see some of the surrounding islands ((five islands tour (Poda Island, Chicken Island, Si Island, Tub Island, Phranang Cave) as well as Ko Phi Phi). The bus picked me up from my hostel, and dropped me off at the pier in Ao Nang. Some other tourists joined us there, and we boarding a flat bottom boat to explore the islands. After about 40 minutes on the boat, the boat captain came to the back of the boat and whispered to me that the waves were too big, and we’d have to cancel the trip. He gave me the option of hanging out at the nearby beach for half the day, but we wouldn’t get our money back. He was being kind of secretive telling me, so I said, “Do they know?” (referring to the seven other tourists on the boat). He shook his head “no” and had me tell them (which I have no idea why). The boat together decided we wanted our money back, so we headed back to the pier. Towards the end, the other tourists thought I was in charge because I made the announcement, so they started asking me if they could get their money back from me. We had a good laugh about it. The forecast for the wind over the next several days said that it’d continue to be strong, so I headed the next morning from the west coast to the east coast.

KOH TAO: After a four hour bus ride and a four hour ferry (stopping off in Ko Samui and Ko Phangan), I finally arrived at Koh Tao, one (if not the best) diving island in Thailand. I made my way to Big Blue Dive shop thinking I had reservations, but when I arrived they said they didn’t have them. It really didn’t surprise me because the website was having major issues when I tried to book it. Unfortunately they were sold out, and the majority of the island was as well because of the upcoming Full Moon Party in Ko Phangan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Moon_Party and http://bit.ly/1yLjjxn), so I settled on a hostel that was a little gross. I went back to the dive shop, and I set up my dives for the next several days. That evening, I had dinner at at Mexican restaurant that was probably the worst I’ve ever been to (and later noticed that the restaurant was empty each night). I made some friends in the hostel that night, and I was in my bed in my little sleeping bag sheet when I felt something in between my toes that felt kind of squishy. When I looked, it was a giant red centipede. I didn’t really react until all the girls in the room started freaking out and telling stories about red centipedes. I was a little squeamish the rest of the night, and I’m lucky that it didn’t bite me. The next day I dove four dives, the following day two dives, and then the next day two more dives. It had some really beautiful diving, and the dive shop had some incredibly nice people which makes a huge difference. Even though it was the off season, I lucked out with weather as we had some great conditions. I won’t go on and on about the diving, but if you’re interested in some of the Koh Tao diving greatness, check it out here: http://bit.ly/1p5NUSb. After one night in the hostel, they were sold out, so I packed my bags and found a different hostel (which ended up being cheaper and cleaner). I found a great restaurant called Su Chili, mmm. I tried to go there the next night, but they were under construction (which I heard throughout the night, and the Japanese guy in my room got into a yelling match out the window with the workers because it was so late). I enjoyed Koh Tao, the Sairee Beach town, and the beach. I stayed for four nights.

KO SAMUI: I took the ferry to Ko Samui in order to get a flight to Penang, Malaysia. Since I was there, I decided to stay a night, and I’m glad I did. I’d read that the island was too developed and touristy (which is was), but it was still very beautiful. On the ferry to Ko Samui, we docked in in Koh Phangan again, and the boat was swarmed with people that stayed up all night for the Full Moon Party. I had considered going since they are so popular and famous, but I decided against it (as it didn’t really interest me). Everyone that got on the boat looked miserable, and it was kind of funny. In Ko Samui, I spent the evening and next morning on the beach reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed (thanks for the recommendation Sherry).