Koh Tao, Thailand

If you've ever thought about getting your scuba diving certification Koh Tao is one of the best if not the best place in the world to do it. There are dive shops galore offering just about every course available. The PADI open water course costs about US$300 and takes 4 days to complete. The cost usually includes accommodation. Koh Tao is the cheapest place in the world to do the open water course and offers really good dive spots to practice your skills. I did my course with Davey Jones' Locker (DJL). The staff there was really friendly, knowledgeable, and did a great job teaching me the course and keeping me away from the coral underwater.

There are loads of restaurants, dive shops, hotels, bungalows, and bars in the main town in Koh Tao. Just like in the other islands there are nightly fire shows at some of the restaurant / bars on the beach.

I spent my entire time in Koh Tao doing the dive course so I didn't the rest of the island. The easiest way to get to Koh Tao from Bangkok is to book a train + bus + ferry combo at the rail station. There are friendly English-speaking staff there to help you. You can also take a ferry from Koh Samui or Koh Phangan. 

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

For such a small island, Koh Phi Phi offers quite a bit. For starters, it's easily one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It's one of three places on the planet that have amazing rock formations that rise up out of the water as if they were fingers. The accommodation options on the island range from basic guesthouses that run for about US$20 per night to luxury resorts which can cost in the hundreds. There are no publicly available motorized vehicles on the island, the only ones I saw belong to the guys who haul out the rubbish each evening. 

You can snorkel, dive, wakeboard, banana boat, hike, or just laze on the beach. Oh and you can party like a rockstar every night. There are nightly fireshows on the beach and as the fireshows come to a close the party gets started with free buckets and hordes of bucket-loving party goers. Being able to party on the beach nightly is awesome! There are loads of tattoo parlors where you can get traditional bamboo needle tattoos lining the road to the beach so it's very easy to wake up with a tattoo in the morning. 

We were lucky enough to have enough people to hire our own boat for a tour of the Phi Phi Islands at a cost of about US$20 per person and there were about 15 of us. We went to all the usual stops like Mosquito Island but on our own schedule which was really nice. Although we did have some mechanical issues at one point which led to the boat almost drifting into a limestone karst and me almost drowning cause the boat kept slowing drifting away from me but thankfully my mates helped me get back onto the boat. All in all, it was an amazing day capped off with a spectacular sunset; easily one of the most memorable days I've had while traveling. 

To get to Koh Phi Phi, you can take a ferry from Phuket, Krabi, or Koh Lanta. The ferry is about 1 to 1.5 hours from any of those places. There's an airport in Phuket and in Krabi; in both cases the ferry terminal is not too far away. Oh, and if you've ever seen the movie "The Beach", this is where it was shot.

Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand

Abel Tasman National Park is the most popular national park in all of New Zealand based on the number of visitors annually. The main draw are the excellent secluded beaches and range of outdoor activities available. The most popular of which are kayaking, tramping, and camping. The park is located about 1.5 hours from Nelson and there are numerous tourist buses waiting to take you there and back. Since I'm not much of a kayak person I opted to do the Coast Track. I arranged a water taxi to take me from the nearest town of Marahau to the beach Tonga. Since I had a car I had all day to do the walk from Tonga to the carpark at Marahau, a total distance of about 26km.

The track itself is mostly flat with a few hills and hugs the coast. I stopped off at just every beach and took a quick dip into the cool water which was really great after getting sweaty from tramping. The water this time of year is approximately 20C, which is really refreshing. The water taxi dropped me at Tonga at 10:30AM and got back to the carpark in Marahau at around 7:00PM. I could've gotten back sooner but I took my time at each beach soaking up some sun, enjoying the cool seawater and taking in the incredible views. All in all it was a great day and I would highly recommend a visit to anyone who's going to New Zealand's South Island.

Sunset over the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

Koh Phangan, Thailand

All I've been doing on Koh Phangan is partying, playing beach volleyball, jumping into the sea and seeing incredible sunsets. Tonight is the Full Moon Party, hopefully will be partying till the sun comes up!

Sunset on Leela Beach

The Finest Beach in Cambodia

Sokha Beach

Sihanoukville is Cambodia's beach holiday destination. And while the beaches here aren't as famous as those in Thailand or Vietnam, they are still worth going to. There are several beaches in Sihanoukville but Sokha beach is easily the most beautiful. The sand is soft and makes a pleasant sound when you walk on it. The water is very still and is practically a swimming pool since it remains shallow for a quite a ways. And best of all, it's a very short walk from the Golden Lion traffic circle!

Mosquito Island, Thailand - Jan 2010

Stopped on Mosquito Island for lunch while I was touring the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand...