Oct
18

15 days in the paradise island of Koh Tao in photos.

“IN PHOTOS” is a series I will use to share many of the hundreds of photos I have taken during my travels. It is a series I have thought about for a while now, but did not want to start until I got back home from my trip. However after spending a week in Chefchaouen, Morocco I couldn’t wait any longer. “IN PHOTOS” will not have a set schedule like my “MUSIC MONDAY” or “PHOTO ROUND UP” series. “IN PHOTOS” will be a post with several photos with no limit. The only restriction this series will have is that it must be about a certain subject or theme. I will write a brief paragraph or sentence describing the subject or theme of the photos and then post the photos. I will not caption the photos like I do on my “PHOTO ROUND UP” with my thoughts. I want to use “IN PHOTOS” to share my photos and let you come up with your own thoughts about the images and hope you share them with me. I have also numbered them in case you want to leave a comment about a specific photo.

I spent 15 days in Koh Tao… that is 10 more than I actually planed. My friend and I had planned to do some serious island hopping around Thailand, but that never happened. We found paradise on our first try and got stuck there and never felt guilty. My plan was to write about what I did on the island, but instead thought I’d rather show some photos, because I took over 600 of them and tell you briefly what I did for 15 days in paradise.

We arrived in Koh Tao and weren’t sure what to expect, but after the 1st full day there we knew we were in for some amazing days to come. Basically what we did the first 9 days was explore different beaches around the island by day and party hard by night. Oh yes I was one of those tourist… you know the ones that get crazy drunk and stumble back home in the morning. Okay not every morning, but a few. It was here in Koh Tao that for the first time in over 7 months I could party like I hadn’t partied in so long. Keep in mind I spent the last 7 months in India and Egypt, both a bit conservative and hard to find this type of party. So I enjoyed myself to the max. What I loved most about Koh Tao was that if you were staying on Sairee Beach (the main beach) it felt like you were at home, because everyone had basically the same night out. We would bump into each other night after night by going to Lotus Bar until around midnight or 1am then heading over to the Fishbowl until around 3am and then stumble back to one of the other bars that was open until dawn. You made friends quickly and the next morning see each other and just crack up laughing at the hot mess we all were that night. Oh I loved it… I made many friends and made even more amazing memories. After 9 days of partying I retreated to the other side of the island to my own private bungalow for a lot of relaxing and experienced a more calm side of Koh Tao that I also loved. During my time on the other side I wasn’t really alone, I ended up spending a lot of time with Tran & Matt from Backpack Forever. I normally number my photos, but in this case have something to say about all of them so wrote a line about each photo!

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Found this sign at a lonely beach and just loved it.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Meri & I one of the best friends I have made on the road. I’ve known her for over a year now.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The iconic Thai long tail boat.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Sairre Beach. Where we spent a few days sleeping off the hangovers.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The clear waters of Sairee Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—My 1st bucket. Oh these things are dangerous and will be writing about them later.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Our bungalow for over a week that was only a few minutes from the beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—A lil kid at sea.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Sunset with a Thai man selling corn on the cob, pineapple and other goodies.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Sunset on Sairee Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Crazy night out with locals (okay not really locals, but they have been living there for a year).—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Disco Ball. I love taking photos of these, they remind me of the mini one I had in my car at home…lol!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Oh yeah FIRE.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—I loved watching the fire show just about every night… while having a few beers.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Heading to the Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Forgot the name of this beach, but was one of the many I visited while in Koh Tao.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Beautiful seashells and coral on shore.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Mae Head Bay.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Tanote Bay from above. Loved this bay, crystal clear green water with tons of fishes.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Nangyuan Island—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—This was only a 15 min boat ride from Sairee Beach and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—My footprints in the sand!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Still Nangyuan Island. The water was unbelievable here… I mean really just sick.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yup Sairee Beach again.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—A quote I read and wrote in the sand because I can relate to it so much.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Sunset at Saire Beach. I loved that it had several palm trees shaped like this.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Oh yes I’m in love with the bucket.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yet another good night out in Koh Tao.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—One of the many roads we road our motorbike on through the island.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Hin Wong Bay from above. We walked all the way down there because it was a steep dirt road and weren’t willing to risk it.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—I love taking photos of hanging clothes… they just make me smile.—Koh Tao, Thailand

—Hin Wong Bay… this is by far one of the best snorkeling spots I have ever been at in my life. It was full of life.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Some of our friends left and when they did they let us have their snorkel gear.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yup more friends… and another night out!!!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—First we party at Lotus Bar for a while and then make our way to this club. By the time we get here we are all buzzing hard or a bit drunk.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yeah we are all pretty drunk at this point & I have no clue where or how I got my fabulous orange wig.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yup still drunk and now dancing with a ladyboy.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Freedom Beach from above.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Freedom Beach—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—So many beaches in Koh Tao. I love it!!!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Weeeeeeee, riding around Koh Tao!!!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Meri & I riding around the island.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Love this sign… as if we couldn’t tell!!!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—We had a few gray days during our time there and  luckily this storm didn’t get us.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Random purple flowers.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The road to Aow Leuk Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Another amazing sunset in Sairee Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—This is where the fun begins Lotus Bar. We would buy drinks at the market across and bring them in here, cus they were half the price.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—See even though I partied like crazy I managed to read 2 books. The book about BANKSY is an interesting look at one of the best street artist in the world and gives you an inside look at him and the street art world. Since I love street art I found it very interesting. The 2nd book I read FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER is based on a true story of a 7 year old girl who survived the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge regime. This book is so damn good and recommend everyone to read it. This book is very sad and made me not just cry, but bawl with pain. It’s a story that needs to be read and shared. —

Koh Tao, Thailand

—After 9 days of partying it was time for a change. So moved to the other side of the island into my own bungalow with this view.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Reception office of my new bungalow.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The beach directly infront of my bungalow, Sai Nuan Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The water was so damn clear.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The view from the restaurant I would have breakfast and lunch at or just write in my journal.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Sunset at Sai Naun Beach.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Another view from the restaurant. I just loved this place.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—A swing at the beach next to mine. I swang (is that a word) on it a few times.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—So staying on the other side of the island meant when I wanted to go into town I would have to either pay $12 round trip or walk 30 minutes to & 30 minutes back. I choose the walking and damn was it a work out, but an amazing work out walking along the edge of the island and through it.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Oh Thai food how I love thee.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—While I was on the other side of the island I wasn’t alone. I was hanging out with Tran & Matt from Backpack Forever & a few of their friends. All of us were from HOUSTON. Oh it was tons of fun hanging out with people from the same home city.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yet another amazing sunset in Koh Tao. We caught this one as we were walking back to our bungalow from town.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—One morning the water was so calm you could see the shadows of the palm trees perfectly on the water.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—One of the views I saw every time I walked into or from town.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Beautiful lilies.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—More  beautiful lilies.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Yet another one of the views as I walked along the trail into or from town.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Also during the walk to or from town. It was just an amazing walk. Yes it was a hard walk, but so worth it for these views.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—A taxi longtail boat parked at our beach everyday.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—My Houston peeps travel with hula hoops and well I spent some time Hula Hooping.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Learning how to use my regulator.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Being taught how to use and handle everything.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Swimming into the ocean to do my 1st dive.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—Going under… I panicked and didn’t wanna do it. I will be writing more about this soon.—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—The Houston gang after our dive. I had a blast with y’all and miss y’all already!!!—

Koh Tao, Thailand

—My last sunset in Koh Tao. The truth is I knew I could have spent longer in Koh Tao, but knew it was time to move along.—

Hope you enjoyed the photos & I hope you share your thoughts below.

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Comments

  1. Jaime,

    Some of these photos are seriously amazing, like, National Geographic material! It looks like you had an amazing time in paradise 🙂

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Oh wow thank you very much Tiffany, really means alot to me. I had such an amazing time there… I love Koh Tao so much!!!

  2. Wow, gorgeous photos, Jaime! You definitely succeeded in making me want to go there! Good for you for trying SCUBA — can’t wait to read more about that soon!
    The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..How we find time to travel (and how you can, too!)

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thanks Ellen so much. Glad I made you wanna go there… I hope you do. It really is an amazing island… I loved it tons!! Yeah I will be writing about my SCUBA experience soon.

  3. OMG it’s absolutely amazing there. I was thinking if I should visit and these pictures convince me! I’m going in January, but I just want to pack my bags now!!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Glad these photos convenced you Jo you will love it. Oh let me know when you go and I will give ya some tips!!!

  4. Love the one with the storm clouds coming in! Awesome!

    Can’t wait to read more about the dive too.

  5. Looks amazing and that you’ve found a different side to thailand that you enjoy after your bangkok post. Good post and will def be checking out Koh Tao soon when i’m in thailand. Keep up the partying!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Yeah Dom… I loved Koh Tao… it was amazing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when you visit. Let me know when you do & I’ll give ya tips.

  6. I cannot believe that we didn’t go to Koh Tao, I hate you right now 😉 I will make sure that this will be our first stop when we return to Thailand!! Great pictures and I like that everyone has a description like you do in your weekly round-ups.
    Dani recently posted..Polaroid of the week: Watching the sunset in Costa Rica

    • Jaime Davila says:

      I can’t believe y’all didn’t go to Koh Tao Dani… I mean seriously one of the best places I have ever visited, it’s a true paradise. I think I will start putting small descriptions under all my photos even in my in photos series.

  7. You went diving!!!!!!! I’m so proud! I can’t wait to hear how you liked(or didn’t like) it. Koh Tao is where I did my certification. I recognized more than a few places in your photos. I loved that island. Makes me a little sad that almost my entire time there was all business(getting certified). But doing homework on the beach was great. Gotta go back!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Yes I went diving Corey… ahh it was cool yet so fucking scary. I will be writing about it soon. So cool you got your certification here it’s an amazing island. I love it so much!!!

  8. These are some beautiful photos of Koh Tao. Didn’t think I could miss it more than I already did!

  9. Julia & I actually only spent a week in Thailand this year, but are already planning more for next year and have already talked about how your posts and tweets have put Koh Tao on our list!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Oh yes Scott, y’all must go back & visit Koh Tao for sure… it’s afuckingmazing. When y’all do make it there let me know and I’ll let y’all know where to stay.

  10. Oh wow! Your pics are amazing!
    Which camera did u use? ( im a photograpy freak lol) and… Is it cheap to stay there? How much per day did u spend on average?
    Would be really useful for me too since im planning to spend my first part of the trip in thailand but they say the island are a bit expensive and im on a budget 🙂
    Thank u!! And keep us posted!
    Globetrotter girl recently posted..Money money….what budget can we afford for a trip around the world?

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thank you so much GG! I use a regular point & shoot. It’s a basic Sony Cybershot. I love it… but am so ready to move on up to a DSLR. I will be buying one when I get home for sure. As for Koh Tao… yes it’s cheap. I was spending about $30 a day and sometimes more though cus of fucking drinking…lol. I drank so much there. When you go let me know & I’ll let you know where to go and stay & eat all on a budget. Thanks again for reading my blog.

  11. Some of your photos are absolutely breath-taking! Those are fabulous for just a Sony Cyber shot!! Have not made it to Thailand yet … would love to go there! It really does look like paradise!

  12. yeah great photos mate! will have to go there! looks really good! never been to any of the beaches in Thailand yet! must go next time!

  13. Stunning pics. How do you reach this paradise island? How did you manage to book these stunning bungalows?

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Thanks Mari, I love love love Koh Tao… it’s a true paradise. It’s easy to reach by ferry… all arrangements can be made when you arrive in Bangkok. As for the bungalows… it’s best to arrive with no accommodation and walk around. You will see many bungalows in all price ranges up for grabs.

  14. Awesome! This has really inspired me. I was weighing up whether to go to Koh Tao or not, but now I have booked and arrive there on Sunday. I am going to keep this link so I don’t miss any of the cool stuff you did. Now I just have to decide whether I go for 18 days, or as long as I like. 🙂 I have a trip booked which means I can only stay 18 days on KT etc, but I can cancel that trip. I am hoping that after 3 days on Koh Tao I will know. Any thoughts? Are transfers easy to arrange when I arrive at Koh Samui airport do you know?

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Jonathan, I am so sorry I am just now replying to this comment. I am usually much better at replying, I’ve just been neglecting my blog recently.

      I am so happy this post helped you go to Koh Tao. So I am sure you have gone and come back… so what did you think of it? Did you like it? Tell me everything!!! As for transfers I know they are so easy between all the islands. So you shouldn’t have had a problem.

  15. Hi Jamie, thanks for the wonderful post. I’m planning on visiting Koh Tao in December for my advanced certification. I was actually in Koh Tao last year but stayed in Mae Haad and didn’t love it. But I did like Lotus Bar and the fire shows and your photos remind me so much of the island! Your photos are simply beautiful and I envy your photography skills. Which dive school did you do your dives? I’m having the most difficult time trying to pick a dive school so I’d love some reviews!

    Thanks,
    Susie

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hi Susie, sorry I am just now replying to your comment. Oh man I forgot the name of the school. If it’s not to late send me an email through my contact me form and I will find it for you. As for Koh Tao… man I just loved everything about it. It’s one of the islands I want to go back and live on!

  16. Hey, my friends and I are planning a trip to Koh Tao soon. Could you recommend some nice places for us to visit??!

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Hannah, honestly you can’t go wrong with visiting any beach on this island. You have tons of options… so just hire a motorbike and explore. Seriously it’s beyond amazing with many to be seen and explore.

  17. mohamad nazrin says:

    What an amazing Ko Tao.
    Honestly i’ve planned to spend 7days at Phangan in June.
    But after saw this post, i’ve decided to only 3days phangan.
    4 days in Tao.
    What the f**k this is so far amazing than PhiPhi.

    • Jaime Davila says:

      Oh that is awesome to hear Mohamad. Yes I love Koh Tao so much. I am glad you found this blog post and went!!!

  18. If you are the one who love island. I think Phuket is the best choice for you. I went to Kamala Beach Phuket with my family last year. We visited Phuket FantaSea show. It was brilliant!!!! The shopping village of the park was very entertaining. There was a lot of Thai handicrafts. I got myself one impressive Thai traditional costume. We also enjoyed playing games at the game town entertainment centre. And best of all the show was really great, especially as we were introduced to Thai culture for the first time.

  19. Amazing Pictures! stumbled across your website, so glad I did. Must get to Koh Tao

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