Summer of Discovery 2024 - Thailand

This year’s adventures will see us visit six new countries which we are really excited about.  We are more planned this year due to tours and trekking timings, and it all began with a pitstop in Singapore before heading to our happy place.

One night in Koh Samui warmed us up before we arrived in Koh Tao, where we will stay for 27 nights.  The Asian pit stop that enables the much more expensive travel to Europe, due to it being so affordable and of course the beaches, warmth and sunshine is always calling.

After a frantic lead in, trying to get things done and a trip to Queensland, it took us a good week to calm down and settle in.  We started shopping like locals and got into our exercise routine quickly – 6 days on and 1 day rest mixing up the gym workouts, running and swimming.  We joined a gym this time in Sairee, about 1km walk away, which turned out to be a great idea and was certainly frequented by many tourists on the island.

We returned to our favourite places and tried a few new ones as well as the ‘mandatory’ regular NZ$15 massages and spent hours walking Sairee Beach.  A little disturbing this time as lots of dead fish were washing up on the beach regularly (the most 68 in one 1.5km walk).  Unfortunately a sign of global warming with sea temperatures 2 degrees higher than normal.

The sunsets however still shine.

Our excursion this trip was to visit Aow Leuk bay on the eastern side of the island.  It was suggested to us by a lovely couple we met and we weren’t disappointed.  We didn’t see the black tipped sharks that frequent the bay but without doubt we saw the best coral, had the most clarity and fish life we have ever seen snorkeling anywhere, and a turtle as a special treat.  The beach was beautiful, and it was a stunning place to spend the day.

Towards the end of our ‘almost month’ in Koh Tao and last night in Samui, the weather started to change and became very dramatic.  Blue skies turned black in minutes and the tropical winds and downpours usually came with it.  As is typical in Asia it was mostly short lived but did little to cool the place down (being 28-33 degrees the whole time we were on Koh Tao) with very high humidity.  

The other thing we experienced for the first time after 3 trips and many weeks on the island was the dramatic low tide (3 consecutive mornings) exposing parts of the reef we had never seen before, it was as if someone had pulled the plug out!

As always a great break that we never get sick of.

Always sad to leave but excited about the next stop.  Back via Koh Samui and Bangkok, to Copenhagen, Denmark.  An 11 ½ hour flight to get through before we hit the Scandinavian summer and new country number one.