Thailand
In 2015 I had the privilige of visiting the Asian continent for the very first time. I took a three week trip to discover southern Thailand. From the temples of Bangkok to the guzzled valleys of Khao Sok National park. From the depths around the island of Ko Tao to the quiet en mellow nature of Koh Lanta. All the way to the archipelago of Koh Phi Phi and the busy center of Phuket. I loved every minute of it!
Bangkok
Islands and beaches
Thailand is one of the cheapest and most beautiful places in the world to learn how to dive. As I'm a Dutchie, this idea of course attracted me. First stop, to get my IDD certification, was Impian Divers
in Koh Tao., a diving center that also has Dutch speaking instructors. Koh Tao is excellent for diving, but also has beautiful beaches and, also important, a lot of delicious Thai food (always order fish on an island, it's the best!).
On the west side of Thailand I also visitted Koh Lanta. With it's more quiet, laid back and almost hippie-like athmosphere, it was the island I loved the most. Rent a scooter and discover this beautiful island, that might not have the clearest waters, but had the highest waves I'd ever seen. Jump in the ocean and let it carry you back to the beautiful white beaches of Koh Lanta.
The last island I visited was Ko Phi Phi, most famous for being the scene of the movie 'The Beach' with Leonardo Dicaprio. It is a busy island, where you will find a lot of tourists. What I liked about the island was the difference in hights, though I had a love-hate relationship with it when walking up to our hotel at the end of the day. The view from the hotelroom window made it all worth it in the end. Rent a kayak to visit Monkey island (be aware if you bring any food, the monkeys will certainly find it). After that, visit Nui beach to sea beautiful rock formations and row over to Loh Lana Bay for snorkeling. Pro tip; go as early as you can to get ahead of the boats full of tourists that'll scare away the fish!
Last stop on this trip was Phuket. Besides the busy city center, Phuket has a beautiful beachside, almost reminiscing of a south European beach. The beack we went to also had a manmade park, with some beauiful trees. a perfect ending to a long trip.
The Gallery Koh Tao
The Thai are famous for their cuisine. One of the best
restaurants
I've eaten at on this trip to Thailand was The gallery. This restaurant remains on Sairee Beach, but as Koh Tao is a small island it won't take you a lot of effort to visit.
What makes this resteaurant so special? First of all the ambiance. It is just outside the busier evening scene of Sairee, but still in walking distance. The gallery actually exists out of a photo gallery and a restaurant, owned by a couple. The husband runs the photo gallery, while his wife runs the restaurant.
If it's busy, which I'm sure it will be when you visit, walking trough the gallery is a pleasant way to pass the time to wait for you table to be ready. Or have one of the fresh fruit shakes at the bar while you wait. But I warn you, the beautiful fragrances coming from the kitchen will increase your appetite even more!
What I would recommend? Absolutely everything I tasted during my visit was delicious! From the fresh spring rolls to the cashew chicken. My favourite dish though was the lime fish (being on an island and not eating fresh fish is impossible!). Unfortunately my stay wasn't long enough to taste it all, but here's an impression of the dishes I've tasted.
