A Low-Key Month in Koh Tao

Koh Tao, Thailand

Returning to Thailand last year was momentous for me in more ways than one.

Thailand is the country where I fell in love with living overseas.  The country that gave me my truest independence.  The country that taught me that if I could learn their language, hell, I could do anything!

It’s a country that holds more fond memories than you could possibly imagine.  A country that I will always feel connected to, no matter where I happen to be in the world.

Koh Tao, Thailand
Home sweet Thailand

You might think that because of this profound fondness, I had high expectations for my return.  But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I learned a hard lesson a few years ago about returning to a place you once called home.  The main takeaway?  To check your expectations at the door.

This is not to say that returning to a place you love isn’t still going to be great, but it won’t be the same.  It can never be the same, and the sooner you free yourself of that perfect vision of “the way things were” the sooner you open yourself up to appreciating a place for what it has become in your absence.

Koh Tao, Thailand
The hills of Koh Tao

And, in any case, Koh Tao–the island known for diving and parties, parties and diving–wasn’t exactly my perfect vision of Thailand.  But we’ll get to Chiang Mai in another post.

Koh Tao belonged to the part of Thailand that remained somewhat foreign to me.  After falling in love with the north, it was too difficult to tear myself away.  I only made it to the islands on a handful of occasions, and to Koh Tao specifically just for a couple of days to ring in the New Year with one of my best friends, a dive instructor who calls the island home.

Koh Tao, Thailand
Not a bad place to call home…

But even that visit was nothing special.  It rained–a lot.  We spent much of our time indoors when we weren’t dancing on the beach, and so I failed to do any real exploring or even diving, as I had intended.

This recent visit changed all that.

My gregarious blonde bud played hostess to me once again during my first week on the island.  Her apartment sat on a hill overlooking one of the island’s main towns, Sairee, and gave a pretty amazing view of the gulf and the setting sun.

Koh Tao, Thailand
Addy’s view…hellooo gorgeous!

Eventually, I moved into a private room down the road so I could focus on getting work done and give her her own privacy back, but we still spent most days hanging out, if even just for a quick meal and some boxed wine.

Koh Tao, Thailand
What you get for $16 a night during low season

This time around, we had plenty of time to check out some of the best spots on the island.  We buzzed down to the south end of the bean-shaped rock one afternoon for some snorkeling at Ao Leuk, a small beach with brilliant blue waters and a couple of sleepy restaurants perched on the hillside above.

Koh Tao, Thailand
A perfect beach for snorkeling
Koh Tao, Thailand
Head this way to find baby sharks!

Most days, I wandered through the town of Sairee and walked along the eponymous Sairee Beach, the most easily accessible and heavily-touristed beach I visited.  It’s lined with dive shops, resorts and restaurants, many of which offer open-air dining.  At night, it becomes crowded with party-goers and fire shows. Koh Tao, Thailand Koh Tao, Thailand Koh Tao, Thailand Koh Tao, Thailand Koh Tao, Thailand  The weather turned quite windy at night so we only found ourselves at Fizz Beachlounge a few times for evening cocktails, but I imagine it to be lovely during high season.Koh Tao, Thailand Koh Tao, Thailand

The day eventually came for us to head out on the dive boat and off we went to Sail Rock, one of Koh Tao’s most popular and well-known dive sites.  Addy’s an instructor at Sairee Cottage should you be on the island and looking for an awesome chick to take you out and show you the ropes!

Sail Rock, Koh Tao, Thailand
At Sail Rock, laughing in the face of my seasickness

I’m no pro diver and at that point had only logged about 6 dives in my lifetime, so Addy recommended I do a deep dive specialty in order to get the most out of the dive site.  This allowed me to learn a few extra skills so that I could dive as deep as 30 meters without having to do an entire Advanced Open Water PADI course.  With little time left on the island anyway, this option made the most sense, and it was a lot of fun.Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand

In spite of the seasickness that overcame me en route to the dive site, I had an awesome day in the water and loved watching my best friend doing the thing she loves most.  I didn’t manage to get many good sealife shots with my GoPro, and try as we may, we couldn’t get a good shot of the two of us together underwater either, so we opted for one on dry land instead.Diving in Koh Tao, Thailand

In my final days on the island, I didn’t do much besides eat and work.  Thankfully, there is a fantastic selection of restaurants in Sairee, and I tried just about all of them.  Some of my standout favorites were Su Chilli, Portobello, Orange Shop, Mint Kitchen, Thaita Italian Kitchen, Fitness Cafe, and a bunch of others whose names I can’t remember.

The point is, you won’t be lacking for good food options in Sairee, whether you’re after delicious inexpensive Thai or a taste of western cuisine.

Tom Yum Gai at Mint Kitchen, Koh Tao
Tom Yum Gai at Mint Kitchen

For my actual final day on the island, Addy took me to Mango Viewpoint for a staggeringly beautiful view of the entire island from above.  The hike to get there was challenging (and you do have to pay a small fee to enter, which is kind of silly–50 baht per person I believe) but totally worth it.

Hiking to Mango Viewpoint, Koh Tao
As steep as it looks…
Mango Viewpoint, Koh Tao
The view from the top!
Mango Viewpoint, Koh Tao
Sairee Beach from above
Mango Viewpoint, Koh Tao
Mango Viewpoint

My time in Thailand was off to an incredible start thanks to an incredible hostess and an unbelievably beautiful little rock called Koh Tao.  Did I fall back in love with the country?  Parts of it, maybe.  But at least my expectations weren’t shattered, because I had none to begin with.

Have you ever been disappointed with a place the second time around?  Did it meet your expectations, or did you throw those out beforehand?

22 comments

  • chewy

    Great advice to have no expectations of a place! I think it’s easy to glorify a place (and time), and it’s something I also struggle with. I think about how if I can only go back to that place, something from that previous trip would come back to me and I’d be happy, or how I would love to have the life of a friend I visited and how their life there was so great.

    Love your photos! I sadly missed Koh Tao on my last trip and instead went to Koh Phangan (the day after a full moon party, no less! I totally missed the boat). Hope to make it to Koh Tao on my next trip and this gives me inspiration to do so!

    I’m also contemplating going to Chiang Mai for a month or two to finish writing up my dissertation later in the year. Would love any of your thoughts on that!
    chewy recently posted…An American’s guide to British English or how to not feel like an idiot in LondonMy Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Ooh sounds like an amazing plan! I love Chiang Mai, even now, so I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest it to anyone. Would be an awesome place to hole up and get some writing done, in fact that’s kind of exactly what I did! And if you have time to visit Koh Tao too, even better! 🙂

  • Katie

    I feel exactly the same way about Thailand. The plan was to teach English there for a year and return to life back home — and two years later, I’m still traveling! Thailand changed everything. I’ve been going back and forth about whether or not to swing through while I’m in SE Asia again. I’m dying to return, but scared I’ll taint it. This post seriously couldn’t have come at a better time! Beautifully said, and with some beautiful photos, too!
    Katie recently posted…Finding a Job on Your Australian Working Holiday Visa: Melbourne EditionMy Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Thank you Katie! It can be fun to return to a place a second time, maybe focus on getting to know new parts of the country instead of revisiting all the places you already know? Koh Tao was new for me since I had lived in Chiang Mai, and I also got to know Bangkok better the second time around. 🙂
      Leah Davis recently posted…TravelDave’s Blogger Retreat in Koh PhanganMy Profile

  • Kyla

    Koh Tao was my first experience of life abroad. I miss it, but know if I return it won’t exactly be the same.

    I hope there were black tip pups when you went snorkeling at Aow Leuk!

    • Leah Davis (author)

      You know, there might have been, but I made the mistake of bringing some electronics to the beach and didn’t want to wander too far away while snorkeling! Such a bummer 🙁

  • Amanda | Lesson Plans and Layovers

    This happened to me when I travelled to Quebec for my second time. My first time I made the most amazing friends and had the most incredible experience. I decided to return two years later, this time staying a couple months longer. As soon as I arrived it hit me and I was so upset that I set my expectations so high and somehow thought it would be just the same as last time. That was my first real taste of it. To be honest, I’ve be afraid of returning to a place twice because of it.
    Amanda | Lesson Plans and Layovers recently posted…How Travel Saved Me From My Quarter-Life CrisisMy Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      I don’t think you should be afraid of returning to a place necessarily…I think if you go into it with the right mindset it can be amazing in a new and different way, but you have to be open to it 🙂

  • Richard Fowler

    There is Nothing like the first time, glad my first time was in the north of Thailand exploring for a month via motorcycle. Those are some of my fondest memories.
    Thanks for yet another nice read…

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Mine too, Richard! The north is something special 🙂 Thanks for reading!

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Thanks so much, Mary! The sunsets on the island were incredible 🙂

  • Julie

    I always feel different about a place when I return – except maybe my parents’ house, where I feel permanently 16. I kinda love how a place will have a new feel, or I will be just a different person in a place, and that can make all the difference. The bummer is going to a place you LOVE and having it not measure up again – that stings 🙂
    Julie recently posted…A Welcome Treasure: the Wellcome CollectionMy Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Yes, that’s something I forgot to mention, that YOU as a person change so much before returning as well! That contributes to all the different feelings in a big way. I certainly changed a lot in the few years since I’d been in Thailand.
      Leah Davis recently posted…A Very Special Chiang Mai PhotoshootMy Profile

  • Paul @ Voyages and Vistas

    Excellent post, and love the photos! Great point about managing expectations when returning somewhere – I think we naturally romanticize things after having a great experience the first time out, so that place we loved becomes almost mythical in its perfection in our minds! It’s so easy to have a let-down the next time around (it’s happened to me more than once!).

    As for Koh Tao, it’s one of those spots in Thailand I haven’t been to yet, but am dying to go, so thanks for sharing a great post from a place I always love reading about! Cheers –
    Paul @ Voyages and Vistas recently posted…Exploring Red Rock Canyon – When Hiking Up and Down the Las Vegas Strip Just Isn’t EnoughMy Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Thanks so much, Paul! Glad you enjoyed, and I hope you get to Koh Tao sooner than later. It’s a great place indeed. 🙂
      Leah Davis recently posted…A Very Special Chiang Mai PhotoshootMy Profile

  • Jenny

    We are currently in Ubud, Bali for the second time around and I was worried that there was no way I was going to enjoy it as much as last time we were here four years ago. Tom proposed our first morning here on that trip and I have always figured that my ridiculously fond memories had more to do with the big hearts in our eyes and excitement at getting engaged than the town itself. Turns out I was so, so wrong! We were so wrapped up in each last time I barely even noticed Ubud! This time, we have spent weeks just working, eating and driving around on a motorbike and I am so in love with Ubud I feel like I never want to leave!
    Jenny recently posted…The Bay of Islands with Haka Tours New Zealand.My Profile

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Aw, that’s such a sweet story! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed yourselves this time around as well. Bali is a special place 🙂

  • Bethan

    Great post!!! I loved Koh Tao one of my favourite islands! This post makes me want to go back!!!

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Thanks a lot Bethan! I really loved Koh Tao as well, glad you enjoyed the post 🙂

  • Alice

    Quick question for you – what was the name of the place you stayed at? (That great looking $16/night room?) I’m going to be spending a few months in Thailand.. departure in 3 days and planning out some accommodation. Thanks!

    • Leah Davis (author)

      Hey Alice! That room was at Summer Guesthouse and Hostel. Great location right next to a grocery store and a gym, and walking distance to Sairee! Good luck and enjoy your trip!

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