June 24 @ 11:08 pm - Journal Entry

Sitting here a little pink tonight...totally burnt today in the sun...oops! Looking at a burnt Laura (journaling), a burnt Sam (reading) and a quasi-burnt Tim (sleeping). I guess we didn't reapply the sunscreen enough!
What a great day though! Woke up at around 8:30...Lor jumped in the shower, got to conditioning and the water died (ha!)...so, rough shower for her and no shower for me. After breakfast we talked to the guy who owns the place we're renting about getting some mopeds for the day. We wanted to drive around to some of the beaches all over the island and go snorkeling.
Headed out a bit later with the guys driving, and Lor and I sitting behind. On our map the paved roads were white and the dirt roads were red. I think we were expecting "dirt roads" like we have back home - smooth, flat roads made of dirt. These were more like "washed out, full of rocks, with holes a bike could get lost in" dirt roads! Super sketchy! The concrete roads were fun - the dirt roads were scary!
The 1st beach we snorkeled at was Ao Leuk...excellent spot...crystal clear water...turquoise...no rocks on the bottom...coral on either side of the bay. First snorkeled on the right and saw lots of cool fish and tons of coral. Took a break to lie in the sun (stupid, stupid, stupid - most likely why we're pink right now) and then headed to snorkel the left side of the bay. Were out there for about 5 minutes and I was off by myself when I saw... 3 baby black-tipped reef sharks!! They were about 2.5 feet long and super scary even though they were babies. I remained calm and called Lor and the guys over to see them. The guys loved it (I felt like a hero!). Lor and I didn't stay in too long after that - obviously the babies came from a mama shark and we didn't want to be around when she came back!
We had lunch on that beach and then headed to our next location. Here's where the roads got super bad! Sam and I almost went over on our bike, and Lor and I ended up getting off and walking some of the steeper parts. 2nd beach was a bit disappointing - cloudy water so we couldn't see anything - so we got back on our bikes (Lor and I again walking the sketchy parts), decided to only go to beaches that could be reached by concrete roads and headed off.
Our last beach (Freedom Beach) wasn't great snorkeling but had trees right near the water that gave great shade to relax in!
Finished off our day with an excellent beach BBQ - bought some of the biggest prawns I've ever seen from a vendor who cooked them up for us right there on the beach - amazing sea food!!
Here are some pictures...

Riding through the streets of Koh Tao.
Yep, that's fear on Laura's face...hahaha - Tim was an excellent driver, it was just the roads!

And here's Sam and I - Sam was also a class A driver!

Mid-ride!!! Lots of fun :0)

Laura enjoying the first prawn she's ever had in her whole life!