Cramer is all smiles once we finally see the ocean. We're almost to Koh Tao.
The island of Koh Tao as the boat pulls up.
Koh Tao isn't the idyllic place I had in my mind when we first arrive. I envisioned grass huts lining perfect white sand beaches with no distractions... Actually its pretty damn busy. We got off the boat from the mainland at a place called Mae Head. Its the main pier on the island so all the tourists get off here. Tons of taxi drivers are waiting to driver you were ever you want to go. There is a ton of stores, restaurants, bars, dive shops, massage parlors, etc all crammed into a few blocks. Koh Tao isn't really that big. There are two main places: Mae Head, and Sairee Beach. There are a lot of other more secluded beaches and stuff, but we decide to go to Sairee Beach, based on the Lonely Planet recommendation. As I mentioned earlier we end up getting a place off the beach and paying a lot. ($38/ night) Which isn't too bad in the states, but seems really high compared to what we've been paying the whole trip, usually around $15/night. The first day we didn't accomplish much. After being on the road for 26 hours trying to get here, we sleep and walk down the street and grab some food, have a few beers, and decide to call it a night. As we get back to out place right across the street is a bar with some local girls playing pool. Cramer says he's going to bed, I'm still awake so I head across the street. A cute girl named Memee is only too kind to start talking to me and making me feel welcome. I grab a beer and buy her a drink too. We play some Connect 4, Jenga, and a game of pool. So all this attention and fun can only mean one thing... yep you guessed it. 2000baht for the whole night or 1500baht for an hour in the back. Ouch. Not being that type of guy and being entirely too cheap I say goodbye and tell her maybe tomorrow. I head to bed hoping the Memee can find some other work. She actually seemed like a really nice girl. The main thing about these islands is if you haven't been here before it takes a day or two to kind of get your bearings and figure out where the best place to stay is. Koh Tao is small and there are literally 100s of places to stay all over the island. So finding a good place can be somewhat complicated, in terms of a price, location, and overall atmosphere. We make up our minds to find a better place for the next night. We rent scooters to try and find another place. We drive up and down the main road. I think we were just being completely lazy because we don't find any new places and end up staying in the same room a second night. We hit the beach and do some swimming. Later we eat dinner and go back to the room. Cramer thinks he got a good deal on some beer. The only problem is its some cheap wine called SiamSato. It tastes like crap, but its all we have. We pound down some crappy wine while listening to Phish in the room. I walk to the 7-11 to get some late night snacks. Memee is out in front of the place wondering why I didn't come back tonight. I can tell she is broken hearted. Hahaha.
We had booked a snorkeling day trip for the following day. Starting at 8:30am we get on a boat and then hit up a bunch of good coral spots with a lot of fish. We'll get lunch on the boat and get back around 4 or 5pm. We also found a bungalow the night before, right near the beach, for 500baht ($15). It is small, but clean and has a big fan. It is also down where everyone is hanging out at night. The snorkeling trip is awesome. Its great to be out on the water and I feel like we're finally seeing something worthwhile. I've never really done a lot of snorkeling, so I'm loving all the cool stuff I'm seeing. Crazy coral, tons of different colored fish, its amazing. Our last stop (there was about 5 or 6 places we stopped) is another little island off of Koh Tao. There is a little lagoon called the Japanese Garden. We have 2 hours on the island. I have my face under the water for about an hour and a half. One of these trips I'm going to have to do the diving thing. Cramer didn't want to do it because its pretty expensive, like around 300-400 dollars and takes about 4 days. But these islands have some of the best dive spots in SE Asia. I'm content with the snorkeling and can't wait to do some more. Later we get some food on the beach and then head to a bar called Choppers. It is a total Australian Sports bar or something. They're bringing out huge plates of food and all the tvs have rugby and soccer on them. The beers are ultra pricey, but they have some live music playing. We have a couple and start walking back. On the way back we stop at a tiny road side bar. It has cheap mixed drinks. I finally pound back some Sangsom and Coke and I feel like a new man. Cramer and I enjoy a number of cocktails before heading off to sleep. Tomorrow we leave for Koh Phangan, to see what the next island has in store of us.
Ready to go under.
Its a dogs life here. Dogs are everywhere.
These were the nice little bungalows we stayed in on the last night. Too bad we didn't stay here all 3 nights, the experience would have been much better. Better late than never.
This little path lead right down to another path with some shops, bars, and food and the beach.
Cramer is all smiles once we finally see the ocean. We're almost to Koh Tao. 
The island of Koh Tao as the boat pulls up. 
Koh Tao isn't the idyllic place I had in my mind when we first arrive. I envisioned grass huts lining perfect white sand beaches with no distractions... Actually its pretty damn busy. We got off the boat from the mainland at a place called Mae Head. Its the main pier on the island so all the tourists get off here. Tons of taxi drivers are waiting to driver you were ever you want to go. There is a ton of stores, restaurants, bars, dive shops, massage parlors, etc all crammed into a few blocks. Koh Tao isn't really that big. There are two main places: Mae Head, and Sairee Beach. There are a lot of other more secluded beaches and stuff, but we decide to go to Sairee Beach, based on the Lonely Planet recommendation. As I mentioned earlier we end up getting a place off the beach and paying a lot. ($38/ night) Which isn't too bad in the states, but seems really high compared to what we've been paying the whole trip, usually around $15/night. The first day we didn't accomplish much. After being on the road for 26 hours trying to get here, we sleep and walk down the street and grab some food, have a few beers, and decide to call it a night. As we get back to out place right across the street is a bar with some local girls playing pool. Cramer says he's going to bed, I'm still awake so I head across the street. A cute girl named Memee is only too kind to start talking to me and making me feel welcome. I grab a beer and buy her a drink too. We play some Connect 4, Jenga, and a game of pool. So all this attention and fun can only mean one thing... yep you guessed it. 2000baht for the whole night or 1500baht for an hour in the back. Ouch. Not being that type of guy and being entirely too cheap I say goodbye and tell her maybe tomorrow. I head to bed hoping the Memee can find some other work. She actually seemed like a really nice girl. The main thing about these islands is if you haven't been here before it takes a day or two to kind of get your bearings and figure out where the best place to stay is. Koh Tao is small and there are literally 100s of places to stay all over the island. So finding a good place can be somewhat complicated, in terms of a price, location, and overall atmosphere. We make up our minds to find a better place for the next night. We rent scooters to try and find another place. We drive up and down the main road. I think we were just being completely lazy because we don't find any new places and end up staying in the same room a second night. We hit the beach and do some swimming. Later we eat dinner and go back to the room. Cramer thinks he got a good deal on some beer. The only problem is its some cheap wine called SiamSato. It tastes like crap, but its all we have. We pound down some crappy wine while listening to Phish in the room. I walk to the 7-11 to get some late night snacks. Memee is out in front of the place wondering why I didn't come back tonight. I can tell she is broken hearted. Hahaha. 
We had booked a snorkeling day trip for the following day. Starting at 8:30am we get on a boat and then hit up a bunch of good coral spots with a lot of fish. We'll get lunch on the boat and get back around 4 or 5pm. We also found a bungalow the night before, right near the beach, for 500baht ($15). It is small, but clean and has a big fan. It is also down where everyone is hanging out at night. The snorkeling trip is awesome. Its great to be out on the water and I feel like we're finally seeing something worthwhile. I've never really done a lot of snorkeling, so I'm loving all the cool stuff I'm seeing. Crazy coral, tons of different colored fish, its amazing. Our last stop (there was about 5 or 6 places we stopped) is another little island off of Koh Tao. There is a little lagoon called the Japanese Garden. We have 2 hours on the island. I have my face under the water for about an hour and a half. One of these trips I'm going to have to do the diving thing. Cramer didn't want to do it because its pretty expensive, like around 300-400 dollars and takes about 4 days. But these islands have some of the best dive spots in SE Asia. I'm content with the snorkeling and can't wait to do some more. Later we get some food on the beach and then head to a bar called Choppers. It is a total Australian Sports bar or something. They're bringing out huge plates of food and all the tvs have rugby and soccer on them. The beers are ultra pricey, but they have some live music playing. We have a couple and start walking back. On the way back we stop at a tiny road side bar. It has cheap mixed drinks. I finally pound back some Sangsom and Coke and I feel like a new man. Cramer and I enjoy a number of cocktails before heading off to sleep. Tomorrow we leave for Koh Phangan, to see what the next island has in store of us. 
Ready to go under.
Its a dogs life here. Dogs are everywhere. 
These were the nice little bungalows we stayed in on the last night. Too bad we didn't stay here all 3 nights, the experience would have been much better. Better late than never. 
This little path lead right down to another path with some shops, bars, and food and the beach.
looks awesome, sounds even better!
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