Koh Tao, Bangkok (again) then home (!)

Hey everybody – here it is, my last blog entry. Drum roll please...

I couldn't of wished for a better two weeks to round of this amazing trip. I've been on an island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Tao, Thai for Turtle Island. It's a beautiful little island and justifiably popular with backpackers. My original plan called for a week diving on Koh Tao followed by a week rock climbing in Krabi before heading back to Bangkok for my flight. The plan changed and I opted to spend the whole of my time on Koh Tao. A big part in that decision was meeting Claire and Vikki, friends that I'd first met in Khanchanaburi about 2 months ago. They are a pair of amazing Glaswegians, always up for a party – you can't spend time around them and not have fun.

Between partying, I managed to squeeze in about half a dozen dives. It's one of the most popular sites for diving in south-east Asia, and although the conditions weren't fantastic, I still really enjoyed it. The dive masters were a lot of fun and knew the sites like the back of their hands. My best dive was the second to last. I had been buddied up with a former instructor and two of us went out alone. After about 10 minutes at depth I noticed shadows out of the corner of my eye. Because the visibility wasn't great it took a few minutes for the pair of us to notice. We were surrounded by black tip sharks. There were three for sure, possibly four swimming around us. We stopped and sat on the bottom and starred as they glided around us before they got bored and swam off. We saw them a couple more times that dive, they certainly added some extra excitement. Apart from the sharks there were plenty of trigger fish, moray eels, barracuda and a lone turtle. The coral looked healthy but it was no comparison to the Great Barrier Reef.

Because I had bought a package of dives I got a really good deal on my accommodation. My bungalow was right on the beach, I literally stepped of the veranda and onto the sand. Sairee beach is the center of the action on Koh Tao. Its beautiful white sandy beach that curls around the bay for about a kilometer.

The water is crystal clear and luke warm and its only a short swim out to some great snorkeling. The beach is dotted with some very cool beach bars and at night, restaurants specializing in fresh fish barbeques are set up on the sand.

I've had plenty of great nights out over the last two weeks. Everyone one the island is really relaxed and happy and out for a good time. The cheap booze is a great help too. There is a true party atmosphere that's hard to resist, and who in their right mind resists a party?

A couple of the bars put on entertainment at night. Lotus Bar is renowned for its fire dancers – Thai guys spinning flaming poles and cloth balls on chains. Its all very impressive, doubly so when you're drunk.

The Fishbowl bar lets its customers get involved by setting up a flaming hoop to fall into and flaming jump rope to trip over. I tried both and performed better than you might expect, bearing in mind my condition at the time. For those that aren't so successful, the ocean is never far away.

One of my favorite spots on the islands was a swimming pool bar (surprised?) built into the hillsides overlooking the ocean. The girls and I spent many a day bobbing around, topping up the tans, never more than an arms reach away from a frosty bottle of Chang.

Although I hadn't planned to, I ended up going to an infamous Full Moon Party on the neighboring island of Koh Phangyan. Lonely Planet describe these parties as 'Apocalypse Now, without the war'. I'd say that was fair. Basically an all night rave with thousands of backpackers spread through dozens of beach front night clubs. Certainly a night to remember – or rather it would be if my memory of it wasn't so patchy. Thankfully there are plenty of photographs to immortalize the debauchery for years to come.

Koh Tao was the perfect place to finish off my trip. Great place, great people, great times.

It's still not really sunk in that my trip is over. Twelve months sounds like a long time but its gone so, so quickly. I've literally had the time of my life. The people I've met on my travels have been amazing and I'm thankful for every experience I've had. I can't quite believe that I've done all these things, it's been like a dream.