Koh Tao: Turtle Island

We arrived on the slow ferry to Koh Tao, the smallest of the eastern peninsula islands, and were met by our resort's pickup service which was nice to avoid the taxi hawkers. A short but steep and bumpy ride delivered us to the opposite side of the island. Here, the small, quiet and picturesque (just the way I like it) cove of Hanote Bay sits on the Gulf of Thailand and the site of our beautiful and reasonably priced beachside resort... complete with a pool, amazing restaurant in the sand and a quant bungalow under the palm trees.

And the resident dog we've nicknamed Stumpy:

A perfect place to spend the last few days in the islands. Our first day was spent lounging on the beach and snorkeling.

And my goodness it was amazing down there! Just right off the beach, hundreds of colorful and camouflaged, big and small, long and fat fish swam through some of the most colorful and diverse coral I've ever seen. With my handydandy waterproof camera I captured a few good pics though doesn't seem to really capture it as well as it looks in person!