Losing myself in Koh Tao

Koh Tao was the one place from our last trip that Katie and I both desperately wanted to go back to. Last summer, we felt like we didn't have enough time, and after 11 days there, I felt the same this year. We had booked 'Spicy Tao' accommodations ahead of time, knowing that there would be a flood of people from Koh Phagnan following the Full Moon Party. But when we arrived to check in, we found out that they had booked us for August instead of July! We, along with the man at reception, were a little panicked as he admitted that the island was pretty well booked up. He eventually offered us a small cabin (which we suspect is where he was living) for very cheap, but after a few nights, we returned to our old stomping grounds of 'Coral Grand' to be right on the beach and live slightly more luxuriously for our last stop. The days quickly slipped by as we dove, snorkelled, lay by the pool, lay by the beach, ate way too many 'ham and cheese croissants' from 7-11 and met many people who loved Koh Tao just us much as us. We went to Koh Nang Yuan for a day which is 2 islands connect by one strip of beach. I had been talking a lot about wanting to dive with sharks, and as we went out snorkelling, we found MANY black-tip sharks, swimming with us. We took another fire dancing lesson with our favourite fire dancer at 'Lotus Bar' and proceeded to spend many hours practicing our moves in the privacy of our room (and often, during the wee hours of the morning). We also did our first night dive! You enter the water just after sunset and use your torch to find your buddies and the marine life. Unfortunately the conditions were not great so we couldn't see much, but I will have to try again on my next dive trip. As this is my last blog post, I made a list of the top 10 things I will miss about the past 3 months: 1. Feeling like a hero when I realize I crossed the street in Hanoi, and am still alive. 2. Getting excited to meet fellow Winnipegers. 3. Forgetting the day of the week. 4. Realizing that often the people who have the least are the most welcoming and happy people out there. 5. Broken English. 6. Feeling lucky when there is toilet paper. 7. Wishing I was a Dive Master. 8. The "Where are you from"'s and "Where have you been"'s. 9. Feeling at home away from home. 10. Koh Tao. Until next time.