February 4,

Up at 0630. Started packing.😢  We will really miss this place. Breakfast was the last of our Muesli, yogurt, and milk. We also had our Javas of course. Then we showered and finished packing. The owner met us, gave our deposit back, and arranged us a ride to the pier. He said he was just at the hospital! 😨He has Dengue fever – first time ever since he has lived here – 11 years! He looked zapped of energy.

While we were waiting for our ride, it rained. It was as if Koh Samui was crying/sad to see us go. The rain was brief though and didn’t affect us. By 0950, we were loaded in the van. Our ferry is for a 1030 departure. At 1010, we arrived and walked down the pier to the ferry. The company or ferry service is called Songserm. But a minor hiccup – even though we had an e-ticket, we needed a paper one. Really?? Jeff went back up the pier for the paper version. By 1020, we were sitting in the ferry. There’s a lot of rolling luggage and people boarding this ferry! There were others, like us, who had to go back for paper tickets! This actually caused a late start for the ferry. We backed up at 1041. We are going to Koh Tao.

At 1135, the ferry stopped at Koh Pha Ngan. A few people got off, but many more came on. This ferry is a three level one. (Later I saw the ferry capacity was 467, I wonder how close we were.🤔) Anyway, the ferry backed out by 1232 and we were now underway to Koh Tao. The whole ride was smooth.

The ferry docked at our destination at 1440, but we were not off until 1500. We walked the short but crowded road to our home for seven nights, Koh Tao Regal Resort. {The walk reminded me of Phi Phi Islands – going to and from the ferries. It was one narrow road, skirted with all kinds of tourist driven shops and it is packed with people and roll-on luggage, scooters, and taxis.}  Anyway, we were checked in and taken to our room on the third floor. We unloaded and checked the view from our balcony. Lovely! The room is more of a hotel room, but we knew this. Jeff had trouble finding sunset places here.

We went back down to get a late lunch. The restaurant was closed until 1630. We were starving and could not wait; so, we set out for an eatery that was open now. We stopped at Pranee Kitchen, as it seemed to be the first one from our place open. We ordered one Banana and one Orange Shake; Green Curry Chicken Spaghetti; Sweet and Sour Veggies with Chicken; and Papaya Salad. It was tasty and filling. Jeff gave 400 (for 370) Baht bill, which was $11.83.

Now, we set out and about to check out the town and find the SCUBA shop Jeff had researched, called SCUBA Birds. Yes, it is play on Angry Birds- if you know that game. Anyway, we found it and booked in for Thursday with potential Friday and Saturday dives. She said the visibility was good for diving. We have to come back tomorrow with our PADI Certification cards.

We left there, now sweaty and hot. We stopped at a happy hour restaurant on the beach. I had a Mai Tai Cocktail, Jeff had a Leo Beer. It was nice, watching boats coming in, some were SCUBA ones. When we finished and had cooled off, we went to a couple of grocery stores. The first one we found most everything we needed, especially a proper coffee mug (why is this so hard??). The second one we did not get anything – we only went here for yogurt. Both stores just had big tubs of Greek yogurt. This is not doable- we have a small refrigerator.

We were heading back, when we saw a street food stand – “Mr. Banh Mi, Vietnames (the signs misspelling, not mine this time) Sandwich Bar”. We ordered a Chicken Veg. Banh Mi. Jeff was talking with the young man making our food – he’s from Burma. We got our sandwich as take away, and went back to our place. We unloaded and went out to the beach right off our resort, and watched sunset. It was a good one. Then we went back to our room, and ate our Banh Mi on the balcony. I blogged and Jeff read. It was a good transition day.

     WELCOME to Koh Tao!!