Koh Tao (Turtle Island)

So I think this is my favourite island so far only because it's shaped like a turtle and they have named it after that. For those of you who don't really know me...I really like turtles ever since one of my good friends (Teri Shortreed) said I looked like one when I extended my neck...haha
This is my second day here and unfortunately I'm off again tomorrow to Chiang Mai. I arrive yesterday afternoon and immediately booked a dive trip for the next day...the whole reason I came to the island. Afterwards I went to rent a scooter to explore and see what this turtle was all about. I drove from the very south of the island to the north tip, got off my bike and hiked through the bush and found a really cool lookout point. The island is very small, I drove from one tip to the other in 20 mins, and that is on a windy road going 40-60 km/h. The island is surrounded by boulder rocks, and there are little beaches you can visit if you trek a little ways through the jungle. Touring the island was so beautiful and was a great way to do it because I stopped where ever I wanted, tourist shops, beaches, lookout points etc. By the time I got home I decided to hit the sack since I had to wake at 6am for the dive trip.

We set off pretty early. We got to our first dive site Hing Wong around 8am and got in the water. There were only 5 of us in the group and two of them were doing there open water certification, so I was treated like a princess. The instructor, Ben from Germany gave me his really expensive dive watch to wear and said I could go diving with the dive master Maria as long as I didn't break his watch...he had to tend to the others doing the test so he let us go off and do our own thing...between the first site and the second Ao Mao I saw angel fish, butterfly fish, bannerfish, rabbit fish, stingray, unicorn fish, trigger fish and a giant clam...not as big as the 150 yr old one Dad and I saw at the Great Barrier reef.
The day was great, the diving, swimming, jumping off the boat...the water is so clear and beautiful its hard to stay out of, especially when the water is 28 degrees and the air temp is 36! oh wow, Mom I don't know how you would cope here, but this is my kind of weather!! :) hehe

We got back from the dive trip around 1 and I decided the lay on the beach and work on my tan since it is the last day for me on the islands and near a beach. The islands here are so beautiful it will be hard leaving but I've heard amazing things about Chiang Mai.

That is all for now, lots of love from this side of the world and I will be seeing some of you really soon!