Koh Tao Snorkeling Trip and Chillin on Koh Samui

Our prayers were answered! After a full day of torrential downpours and about 20 episodes of West Wing, we awoke to a beautiful day.... unfortunately we didn't wake up until 10 am, right as all of the snorkeling boats were leaving the port. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Instead of joining 40 other tourists on a large, crowded snorkeling boat, we managed to find a long-tail boat captain that was willing to take us out on a personal trip. Throughout the day, we visited 4 beautiful dive sites and a neighboring island to enjoy the clear, blue seas, gorgeous sun, a bunch of tropical fish, and our first opportunity to try out the GoPro under water. We were amazed by the variety and amount of fish that we were able to see as soon as we got out of the boat. On my last trip to Thailand I spent a few days diving in Koh Phi Phi, and I have to say that snorkeling in Koh Tao was just as amazing and half the cost. The boat trip was a highlight of our trip to Koh Tao and we will definitely be doing it again in Bali! To see all, or part of, our snorkeling adventure, check out our video page. Southeast Asia

As we arrived at Koh Nang Yuan island for some relaxing time on the beach and a little more snorkeling, we noticed some dark clouds on the horizon. We had just enough time to snap a few pictures before we realized that the storm was fast approaching and we'd better get back on the boat if we wanted to beat the storm.

Beat the storm we did not! Our ride began with slightly choppy seas, the boat bouncing up and down a bit as we came over the crest of each wave. Soon this progressed to 6 foot waves routinely spitting white water over the front our boat and smashing us in the face. At this point, we decided that we might want to throw on the life vests because there was more than a reasonable chance that our boat would capsize in one of these waves. Sheets of rain soon arrived to join the party making for quite an enjoyable ride. Despite the less than ideal conditions and potential for a long swim back to shore, Sammar and I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation as we did everything we could to keep our phones and cameras from being destroyed while holding tight to not get thrown from the boat. We took a short video before things got too rough, but it honestly does not do justice to the power of the storm.

Stormy Boat Ride in Koh Tao from Kyle Simmons on Vimeo.

Thanks to the skills of Captain Oou, we triumphantly arrived back at our home beach and were able to enjoy a few more hours of sunshine before the next storm hit! Fortunately we were back on land for this one and could enjoy the beauty of its dark clouds as they overtook the island, but we did manage to get completely soaked for the second time in one day. Two days later, our clothes are just now drying out!

Yesterday, we arrived back in Koh Samui after a short boat ride and found ourselves a great spot on the beautiful beach in front of our hotel. Despite it all being the same ocean, the light blue, almost fluorescent waters of Koh Samui are dramatically different from deep blues and greens of Koh Tao, and we were happy to enjoy the deeper waters just off shore for a cool break from the sweltering heat.

After a long day in the sun, we decided to splurge for our first meal in over a week that would cost more than $20 (that's not a typo, and that's for both of us, with drinks!). We walked over to John's Garden just a few streets from our hotel where we enjoyed flash fried spring rolls, the most amazing Massaman curry that I've ever tasted, a delicious glass noodle salad and finished it off with some homemade coconut ice cream. Despite a horrible experience with the restaurant's manager, that was hands down our best meal in Thailand thus far, and thanks to the manager's incredible rudeness, we ended up getting the meal for free, keeping the sub twenty streak alive!