We can hardly stay on our feet because of our weariness, we keep on changing our positions constantly. One time we sit all cuddled up on the stairs in front of the building, another time we walk along the pier towards the catamaran which is supposed to bring us to Ko Tao in the morning. In front of the little ferry house we are the only passengers that can’t sleep in this night. Still, we are not alone in this rainy night, on the walls countless geckos are hunting for their midnight snacks, huge dragonflies and other insects are attracted by the nocturnal illumination and are dancing their last dance in front of the fluorescent lamps. The ferry house owner is sitting inside and enjoys himself watching a Thai TV show. The rest of the travellers is scattered on benches and chairs, just like a tired stray dog which set up its night quarters on a table among all of the people.
It’s three o’clock in the morning and because of the fact that our bus departed with a delay we hoped for it to drive the whole night long. But these expectations were not fulfilled. After approximately seven hours of driving in the bus we are now waiting bleary-eyed for the first ferry to depart, but this is not going to happen within the next four hours. We could’ve slept in the bus for sure, but we searched desperately for the adequate sleeping position. Another lesson we have to learn on our travels. The ferry in the swell finally rocks us to sleep what makes the last part of our journey comparatively short and on the horizon we can already see our destination. After fifteen hours on the bus, waiting and on the ferry we finally set foot on Ko Tao and are rewarded for our exertions with a beautiful view. In front of us lies a small, well vegetated island with a white, sandy shore in the blue sea. Exactly like the ones that you get to see in travel brochures in Germany all of the time.
The first few days we spent in a four-bed dorm in a dive-resort, most of the time it was just the two of us in this room though. In the following days we took some time to discover the island, especially the southern tip which we had selected as our temporary home. We tried a variety of restaurants and we’re never disappointed on our quest for tasty food. Unlike most of the other tourists which were present on the island in a manageable amount at that time, we explored most of our environment by foot instead of taking a bike. This allowed us only to access a limited range in a short period of time, but in Bangkok we already had a great time exploring the city by foot. On the second day we climbed a rather adventurous path through the bushes to get to John Suwan Mountain Viewpoint where we stayed for quite some time to enjoy the awesome view of the island and the refreshing wind. Thanks to a nice woman from Freiburg, Kevin was able to snorkel the first time on Freedom Beach later that day.
But at the end of the day we didn’t come here only for snorkelling. Kevin was aiming for greater depths and signed in promptly to a diving school to get his dive certification. From now on dinner time was also study time and Kevin cursed the app that was necessary to achieve the theoretical part of the examination, because it was insanely half-baked and wouldn’t do what it was meant to do. Due to the fact that water is for sure his element, both the theoretical and the practical dives were crowned with success and he himself was so enthusiastic that the basic course was closely followed by an advanced course. After only two days I could already entitle the justly proud apprentice as a “Man of open water“ and was excited whenever he told me about the fish, corals and crustaceans that he could admired with his own eyes earlier.
Meanwhile I wished for nothing more than to be part of his adventures, but due to financial and health issues the participation in the diving course was impossible for me. This disappointment paired with an enormous sleep deficiency because of the nocturnal background noises of our accommodation resulted in me falling into a sort of limbo. I couldn’t find the motivation to do anything at all even though paradise was just outside my front door and and disjointedly I burst into tears. It was hard for me to hand over the reins of power and to not only “function“ as I used to do it before. Daily structures are a safe haven that we seldom realise. I can count myself lucky to have a travel partner like Kevin by my side, because instead of being annoyed by my irrational behaviour he build me back up with loads of empathy and affection. Even though those days weren’t too easy for me the time on the island welded us together much closer, we can rely upon one another and know now even better that together we can accomplish anything.