Moving On

My last day in Bangkok left me feeling confident in my decision to move on.  I went and saw China town and ran into a lovely Australian girl who I spent the day with, had a couple glasses of wine and some lunch with, she was headed to Chang Mai at 4 and I was headed to Ko Tao at 6.  Overall a great time in Bangkok which left me fulfilled. 

Next stop, Ko Tao....I waited for my guide at 6 and was picked up along with other travelers.  We went to the bus office and waited for an hour to depart.  I met a Northern Irish girl and English guy and we sat down and I had some wonderful glass noodles and vegetables from a lovely family restaurant.  At 7:30 we finally boarded the bus.  The bus was basic, but at least had a bathroom.  Our adventure began.  We drove until 3:30am where we were told it was our stop and to disembark.  We were left with a bunch of other travelers outside a closed shop in a random town.  We were told we needed to wait here until 6am when another van would pick us up to drive us to the boat. 

Everyone was exhausted, including a cranky 5 year-old German boy that continually threw tantrums, no fun.  I actually  got some sleep on a little bench under a covering despite the fact the air was damp, rainy and cold. Our van finally came and took us to a bus which took us to our boat.  We departed the pier at 7:30 and finally arrived in Ko Tao at 10am.  It has been a long exhausting night and it is starting to catch up with me.  I have hunkered down at a dive school and start my open water certification tomorrow.  I can't wait. 

Overall my first impressions of Thailand are all good.  The food is amazing and the people are nice but the traveler trail is a well beaten path.  There seems to be little room for adventure and or error because they make it very simple for the tourist.  Although this is nice because it is less stressful it is also slightly less exciting and I am looking forward to something a little more off the normal travel route. 

Ko Tao seems to be more low key and relaxing.  Today is a bit overcast but slowly the sun is emerging and the temperature is increasing, time to hit the beach.