Ko Tao is the first of many Thailand islands we are visiting. On all of the islands we are going to, we are probably going to be sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling most of the time. So instead of telling you we went swimming everyday, I decided I will just write about the few highlights we experience on each island!
Trying Thai Foods
Since arriving in Thailand I haven’t tried many of their popular dishes so far. I’ve had a variation of noodle dishes and Khao Soi, but not many dishes specific to Thailands cuisine. The two dishes I really want to try are Thai green curry and Pad Thai. Rob had a green curry in Chiang Mai and it was super spicy, so I’ve be reluctant to try it since my spicy chicken burger incident in Bangkok. I will definitely try it on the next island! Anyway, I finally got to try Pad Thai and I loved it so much I had it the following day for dinner again! Pad Thai consists of noodles, eggs, shallots, lime, peanuts and so many more flavoursome ingredients. You can have it with meat or seafood, however I chose the vegetable option both times. Rob also tried Thai Clear Soup which is very similar to Vietnams Pho that Rob is absolutely obsessed with. Both of these dishes are definitely already on my list of meals to make when I get back home.
Night Time Fire Performers
In the evenings we would go for food and a drink on the beach. One night after my first Pad Thai experience, we stopped off at a beach bar where there were fire performers. I have seen fire performances before but only when I was younger. The guys were brilliant throwing fire sticks in the air, spinning fireballs, all sorts of things. The performer even came up to us and span the fire balls so close above our heads. I was sure the deck chairs we were sitting on were going to catch alight any minute. It was great entertainment and we left a tip before we headed to bed.
Day Trip to Ko Nang Yuan
Just next to Ko Tao is a beautiful area called Ko Nang Yuan. The area is made up of 3 small islands all connected by small pathway like beaches. We took a taxi boat to Ko Nang Yuan, which only took about 10 minutes. We began our day there by climbing to the top of the view point. It wasn’t even that long of a walk up compared to other hills and viewpoints we have been too. But the scorching heat even at 10am was enough to make us sweat so much and make it more gruelling than it actually is. We also didn’t have water on us as all single use plastics are banned from the island, so we had to discard of our water bottles at the entrance. This made the walk up 10 times harder. But we made it. The view was so worth it!
Returning back down we headed straight to the beach part of the island. We relaxed on deck chairs, drank some soft drinks out of glass bottles and also went snorkelling. We rented out the snorkels for the day and saw so much sea life. Rainbow fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, Rob even saw a grey reef shark. They are really common and harmless. However, Rob didn’t know this at the time and swam back to shore as fast as possible.
We both loved Ko Tao as our first Thailand island but we cannot wait to see the rest of them and more grey reef sharks! Next stop Ko Pha Ngan!
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