Yesterday I organised a Beach & Dive Site Clean Up for all the DMTs (Dive Master trainees) at Crystal.  I met a keen bunch of DMT’s around 8.45 and equipped them with gloves & bin liners down sent them along the beach and around Crystal to collect rubbish.  Some of them might as well have stayed in bed but there were a few that put some effort into it.

In the afternoon, we, DMT’s and 3 fun divers went out for the dive site clean.  Our first destination was, Ao Mao, one of the new artificial reefs which then leads into a pretty coral reef  ..not much rubbish was found, only plastic bottles and fishing wire.   The 2nd dive site was Tanote Bay  ..this again didn’t have much trash to collect, which is good.  Everyone seemed to enjoy both dives and we all came away with a sense of achievement.

Simon has been out of action for 2 days, since he has somehow put his back out, and cannot walk without pain… He looks like a penguin when he walks at the moment.. hopefully it will improve soon…

It’s been a few days since we arrived back on Koh Tao.  Nothing seems to have changed really, not that I was expecting many changes in the short time we’ve been away.

After our flight, boat trip back, we collected our bikes and headed home to unpack.  Kirsty greeted us which was lovely, she’d been off work due to a chest infection.  Packing seemed to have taken ages. I think Simon has enough veggie supplies to keep him happy for a long time 😀
On our first night back we popped down to the Crystal bar to say Hi and have a couple of drinks. It seemed pretty empty but we saw the people we wanted to and handed out goodies that were ordered from the UK 😀
Since being back, Simon and I have started our swimming routine again and I’m cycling, not that I’ve actually ventured out yet.  Si has said that rather than running, he’s going to hike to view points on the island that we’ve not visited  …so far, we’ve been to two.  The first was…John Suwan Viewpoint which was a pretty easy cycle to Chalok and then a 15 minute hike up through the jungle, clambering over rocks and finally we reached the top.  Stunning!!!

Si had prepared lunch, so after taking multiple shots, we retreated to the shade, as it was mighty hot and sat on a rock and munched on our salads …YUMMY!!!

The second hike was Leam Thien.  For this, we jumped on the bike to Sairee and then parked up.   We had just under an hours hike up/down  through the jungle on natural paths.  We dare not stop due to be eaten by mozzies  😀

Anyway, finally at our destination Leam Thien there is resort which has been deserted, I think that the owners ran out of money and it’s just been left, so a little odd walking around as you don’t know what you’re going to find.

All of the rooms have had their windows smashed, people have painted graffitti all about the place and behind one closed door, there was a teddy hanging by it’s neck  …poor teddy!!

The beach there was lovely, mangrove trees, fantastic root formations, such a shame it’s just been left.

It’s odd living somewhere so small (7x3km) and not seeing certain parts, so this time, we are making the effort.
This morning, I slept till 10.30, Si had been up for hours and finally woke me with a cuppa.  We headed off for our swim and on the way back home, stopped to get supplies for brunch (boiled egg, Croissant & Coffee)  
This afternoon we are both in the office working,

x

JD

So, a few days ago we began the journey back to Thailand.

We caught our first plane from Heathrow to Vienna, which was delayed by 40 minutes. This caused a problem with our 2nd flight which was due to leave 10 minutes before we landed. However, they delayed our 2nd flight so that we would not miss the transfer!

With the long haul flight from Vienna to Bangkok, we had some plush seats… For the same price as economy on British Airways, we were sat in Business Class all the way… it puts BA to shame, and they may have seen the last of me flying with them.

The food was amazing…. I had a delicious pasta… no idea what Jen had since I was too busy enjoying my dinner!

Eventually, we landed… and went to our hotel, The Banyan Tree… A lovely hotel which we spent 3 days of luxury…

We headed out only a couple of times. Once to go shopping for some bike helmets. Once to go to the cinema to see Antman, and once to go to the Vertigo Bar (59th Floor) before heading out for dinner.

3 days up, and it was time to hit the plane to Samui, and then ferry to Tao. Finally we arrived and unpacked, before heading out for a couple of drinks to catch up with everybody.

In bed early, the rain hammered down most of the night keeping me awake…. welcome back!!