Koh Tao, Thailand

I arrived on Koh Tao on the 18th.  I got a nice hotel on the beach for about 25$usd a night, I am splitting it with my mom so it is only costing me about 13$ a night, not bad for a 30 sec walk to the water.  I also Signed up for and completed my Scuba Diving lessons at a local shop.  There are tons of shops on this island, but this one was right next to my hotel.  It is called Pimp My Dive.  They were excellent, very professional and patient.  I highly recommend them!  They speak English and French for sure, but maybe some other languages as well.  So now I am a certified open water diver, which means I can dive to 18m (60ft).  I learned a lot!  I can't believe how much there is to learn and practice to be able to dive, but once you actually do it you realize it is pretty serious.  One little error while far underwater could be very disastrous.  I am really happy I did the course, it was the last goal I had set for myself for this trip.  I may go out and do one more free dive before I leave.

We took the night bus from Bangkok to Chumpon and then connected with a 6am ferry.  This was the moon at about 3am when we arrived to Chumpon.

As the moon went away the sun rose as well, it was beautiful as well.

I had red curry today for lunch.  Prices on the island are a little higher than mainland, but still not too bad.  This was 110 baht I think.

This is the view from the beach at our hotel :)

My morning boat going out to the dive sites.

I had some green curry as well, delicious!

I also love Thai Rotee or Roti.  It is like a fried banana pancake with a variety of other fillings and toppings as well.

Just took a few pics while snorkeling next to the hotel.

These are Parrot Fish, they are really pretty and can be seen everywhere.  Size is about 30cm.

My mom and I had a beer here tonight, it was her birthday today.  Happy Birthday mom!