Scooter Tour of Ko Tao

November 7^th, 2024

For my final full day on Ko Tao, I figured it was time to explore more of the island, not just the waters off the shoreline.  I rented a scooter as well as a mask and snorkel for a total of 250 baht ($10).  I first headed north, along Sairee Beach where I was staying, not realizing how long it was with numerous restaurants, hotels/guesthouses, massage parlours and tattoo shops.  Heading a bit inland, I stopped at a gas station and thinking that I was learning from my scootering on Ko Phangan, I bought 2 liters of gas ($4).  It was way more than I needed, but then there would be no stress all day about running out of gas.

 

I continued to head north towards the area where I did my first two scuba dives a few days earlier.  There wasn’t an easy beach to access.  A bunch of scooters were parked just before a steep hill where there as a huge “STOP” painted on the road.  At the bottom of the hill the pavement passed under a massive rock leaning against another one.  Vehicles could pass underneath, and it looked like was the entrance to a resort.

Just north of Sairee Beach.  Looking out towards where my first two scuba dives were a couple of days ago.  It's a resort down this road and check out the leaning rock in the middle of the picture that a vehicle can drive under.

Backtracking to the area where I bought gasoline, I was trying to find a lookout point that I found on Google Maps.  I missed the turn off and ended up heading down another steep hill towards an area called Ao Hin Wong.  The road seemed to end so I backtracked and located the turnoff that I had missed.  Driving about 500 meters from the main road, the narrow pavement, more like slabs of concrete, terminated.  There were 4-5 scooters parked by an abandoned building and I assumed that this was as far as one should drive a rented bike.

Now looking down a steep hill to a tiny beach on the northeast side of the island.

A couple, perhaps from Eastern Europe, were just returning to their scooter and I asked how the view was…was it worth the hike and how far was it?  The guy responded “Yes, it is was.  About 30 minutes.”.  What I failed to clarify was, is that half an hour one way, or return?  I started hiking and since it was past 11 am now, it was starting to heat up.  Even though it was unpaved, and on some hilly sections there were ruts from previous rainwater flowing down, it looked drivable on a scooter.  I briefly contemplated going back to get the bike, but perhaps it was only a 15-minute walk one way, and hey, the exercise would be good for me.  I did see one older man on his way back, struggling to come down a hill on a scooter, although I would have chosen a different line than he did.  He still made it.

 

The start of the hike...yeah, I could have driven the scooter up this road.

Soon it was the small slabs of concrete again which ascended a steep incline.  Okay, stairmaster time.  Just when I thought I must be getting close, I saw a sign “Viewpoint – 1 km”.  Oh well, I’m committed now.  A few scooters passed by me, most of them with two tourists…so I definitely could have ridden my bike.  Oh well, the viewpoint will be that much sweeter since I will have earned it.

 

Especially since it became paved again for most of it.

There were some signs for “Jim’s Bar with a View” which also stated that “You can drive your scooter”…damn…almost there though.  As I started down a short hill, a young couple on a bike showed up and were trying to navigate their way down.  They had passed me earlier on foot, going the other way, so it seems that they had changed their minds and decided to ride the rest of the way.  The dirt was loose, and the woman decided to get off the bike to make it easier for the guy.  He started questioning their decision to bring the bike.  Well, it seemed to be “her” decision.  I told him to just take it slow and essentially walk the bike down…and he made it.  They turned out to be from Calgary and were spending a month in Thailand, having just finished university.  I chatted for a bit with Carter and Tereska at the viewpoint.  They joked about the sign saying “You can drive your scooter.”  I remarked “Sure, it say you ‘can’, but ‘should’ you?”

Getting closer to the top.

An entrance fee of 100 baht ($4) was required but that did give you a soft drink, or for an extra 50 baht, a cold beer…which I figured I deserved.  It was just an unfinished, concrete building but it served its purpose.  The view was sensational!  I could see all of Sairee Beach, the tree-covered, high peaks of the island, between which was Ko Phangan in the distance.  I probably spent at least half an hour before I decided it was time to move on as it was almost 1 pm and I still had to hike back down, hop on the scooter to another, lower viewpoint at the south end of the island and then head to a beach which supposedly had decent snorkelling.

What a view!  I'm staying near the middle of the picture, that is Sairee Beach.

Zooming in on Sairee Beach:

That's Ko Phagnan in between the mountains:

Scanning the beautiful vista:

I asked Tereska to take a pit of me, in exchange I took a few photos of her and Carter.

I stayed up there for at least 45 minutes.

Just as I walked out of the Jim’s place, a pickup truck passed by and started up the small hill that Carter had struggled on.  It stopped, and the driver’s hand motioned me to the truck and the guy offered me a ride…sweet!  I really didn’t need to hike back down.  Even though he didn’t ask for any money, I offered him 100 baht.

 

It only took 7-8 minutes to traverse the island to the southside.  I found the lookout there, and similarly it cost 50 baht to get in, which also gave you a drink.  The viewpoint was on a peninsula and on one side there was a bay with a bit of a beach, on the other side it was rocky and the hillside had numerous, fancy looking houses.  While chilling there, who would show up…Carter and Tereska!  I figured they must have wondered how I made it down the other hill so quickly as I had left Jim’s just five minutes before they did on their scooter.  Carter figured I was an Olympic athlete…hardly!

Down at the southern end of the island.

Travelling alone, you have to do the odd selfie:

Looking on the other side of the peninsula:

Nice view.

Hard to see, but in the middle of the pic, by the boat, those are snorkellers.

That's Ko Phangan in the distance:

My last stop of the day was Ao Leuk Beach to have a bit of a late lunch and go snorkelling.  Once again, there was a 50 baht entrance fee.  The beach was relatively busy, mostly with foreign tourists in their 20s and 30s, some sunbathing, others swimming, playing volleyball or chucking a frisbee around.  I sat down at one of the two restaurants which flanked the bay and had a nice bacon baguette sandwich while enjoying the view.

Ao Leuk Beach:

Looking south from the restaurant on Ao Leuk:

I walked to the other end of the beach, where I noticed all of the snorkelers were, and hopped in the water.  I probably swam about 250 meters from the beach, but along the rocky shore of the bay.  I saw numerous types of fish, including one of my favourites, the parrotfish.  The water visibility wasn’t bad, and the temperature was nice.  Great way to finish off the day.

Tomorrow I’ll be getting on the ferry to go back to Ko Samui for a couple of nights before flying back to Bangkok to meet up with Naomi.  For the next 5 weeks we will head to northern Thailand and then the majority of the time that she’ll be here, we will be visiting Vietnam. 

There are many weed shops on the island, but I loved this painting inside one of them.