Two people who were feeling a bit lost decided to go on a trip to "Khao Kata," a land that is almost devoid of Thai tourists.

"Hey, check out this post! It looks amazing!"

"It does look amazing, but I'm not free."
"Me neither."

"……………………"

"Aren't you scared to go just the two of you?"
"To Koh Tao? Where that foreigner was murdered?"
"How dare you go there? Two girls traveling alone, it's super scary."

"……………………"
"But I really want to go..."

Following this thread http://pantip.com/topic/32100654 I really want to go there.

Since I had some free time recently, I decided to go backpacking for the first time in my life.

I wouldn't dare to go alone, so I posted the thread in my friend group. It turned out that everyone was interested in going, but they weren't available. Bummer.

We finally found a friend who wanted to go and was free at the same time, so we decided to go together. Two women, at least we'd have each other.

Trip planning wasn't a big deal. We just had a rough plan before the trip. The first day, we planned to explore the island on our own.

The second day, we bought a diving tour and the rest we'll figure out later. We don't even know when or how we'll get back. Let's just get to that day and then we'll see.

This is a bad example, okay? 5555555 You should have a plan for what to do and when.

Otherwise, we'll just keep going without a destination, unable to make a decision, and we'll waste time!! We've wasted a lot of time being indecisive.

For example, should I go here? What should I eat? Where should I stay? I can't decide, so I just drive around aimlessly.

The equipment we used to take photos includes: Fuji xa2 camera, iPhone 5s, wide lens clipped to the front of the camera, and an action camera for underwater shots.

The budget was set at no more than five thousand baht, but in the end, only a little over three thousand baht was used. I will summarize it at the end. --- Day 1 of the trip ---

The appointment time is 11.30 am. Travel by train number 171 Bangkok-Su-ngai Kolok, round 13.00 pm.

11.00 "Hey guys, I'm running late. Did you guys wait long? I just got permission from my mom and finished packing."

(Thinking to myself) If I can't get it, do I have to carry the stuff back home for nothing? 5555555

"No worries, I'm running late too. Let's meet at the Hua Lamphong MRT station."

"I wonder if I'll make it in time to get a seat. I don't want to stand."

"Come quickly, it's urgent!"

We met up at 11:30 and arrived at the venue a little after 12:00. We rushed to get our tickets because we were worried there wouldn't be any seats left.

And finally, here we are.

Hurry up and get your tickets!

"Two free tickets to Su-ngai Kolok, please."

"Sold out, standing room only."

Bang! There it is! The thing I was afraid of happened. TT

"May I sit here if there's a seat available?"

"Okay, but most of them don't have..."

"Hey, let's talk. Do you think we can stand? There's no place to sit. Or should we just pay for a seat?"

"The paid ticket has a 3pm departure and arrives in Chumphon at midnight."

What should I do if I can't make it to the dormitory by three in the afternoon? My whole plan is ruined. Oh well, I'll just stand if I have to.

"Okay, then two tickets."

She handed over her ID card, thinking to herself, "Do I have to stand all the way to Chumphon?" "Wait a minute, kid. Someone was kind enough to give you a seat ticket."

I screamed internally. One of the male staff members handed me two tickets, seat numbers 37 and 38.

Thank you so much! I'm so grateful that I don't have to stand all the way anymore. Yay!

"Can you change your thank you to a phone number instead, little sister?"

5555555555555 A faint smile, thank you again and walk away. Let's go find something to eat. Wait for the train to come at one o'clock.

"Where did they get the tickets from? I thought they were sold out."

"That's right, it would be good if we could. 55555"

Here you go, I got the tickets.

This yellow-purple procession is where we're going.

I'm here now. Let me take a picture.

The seats were arranged neatly, and people gradually boarded the bus until it was full.

I thought to myself that if I had gotten a standing ticket, it would have been terrible, because there was hardly any standing room.

It's a little past noon, time to hit the road!

The little child who sleeps, alternating with waking up to eat 5555

As I sat there, I got bored and decided to chat with the person sitting opposite me. They told me they were going to Sungai Golok and that they wouldn't arrive until noon tomorrow.

Oh my gosh, I've been on the train for almost 24 hours. What time will I arrive? Will I make it to the dormitory before 11 pm? You're so patient, when will we get there?

Along the way, we sat bored, looking at the view, gossiping, and buying snacks at intervals, starting with Ratchaburi boat noodles, pineapple, and boiled peanuts to snack on.

We ended up eating at eight o'clock at a place with greasy fried chicken. We agreed that we couldn't buy anything else to eat because it was fattening!!

We took a lot of photos, everything from selfies to people, bags, food, shoes, people walking by, and everything in between.

My brother across the street laughs every time I pick up my phone to take a picture. 555555 I just want to capture every moment.

Don't you dare bite my face.

As I sat on the train, I kept checking the time against the actual time, seeing how many minutes I was behind schedule. It was getting later and later, more than an hour late, to the point where I couldn't sit still anymore. So I started looking for a place to sleep around midnight.

I found one, Rungnapha, but it seems like it doesn't run every day. Oh no, I don't want to wait at the train station until morning. TT

As we approached the station before Chumphon, I started to feel confident that I would make it on time! Yay! But it will stop at either Ban Khok Wua or Khok Ma station, lol.

The station wasn't listed on the travel schedule as a stop, so we thought we had arrived in Chumphon. We were so excited at around 10 pm that we almost got off the train.

But looking again, why is it so quiet? Oh, it's not 555555 The next station is different.

We arrived in Chumphon at 10 pm. We quickly gathered our belongings and got off the bus. When we reached the front of the station, there were no motorbikes, only small songthaews. So we shouted to ask if

"Where are you going..............." 55555555 Oh, that's a wrong question, isn't it?

"Where are you going?"

"Go to Koh Charoen Pier, please."

"A hundred each, little brother"

"Wow, that's expensive. Can you do 80, brother?"

"The price is already set, you have to take a taxi. Hurry up, or you'll miss the boat."

"Okay, let's go." There was no other choice, she was afraid of missing the boat.

The ride took about 15 minutes. The driver drove very fast, as if he was afraid we wouldn't make it on time. We arrived at the dormitory just before 11 pm.

Urgent! Need to buy a boat ticket for 400 baht. This company is great, not crowded, wide beds, has plugs for charging, and clean bathrooms.

Before boarding the boat, each person picked up a copy of the Koh Tao Complete Guide.

I'm so tired, my body is sticky and dirty. I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and rubbed my arms with water to feel refreshed.

Hit the pillow and fell asleep like the dead. This boat is amazing, no dizziness, no seasickness, it's like sleeping at home. Seriously! 55555

I woke up to the sound of people bustling around. Oh, we're here already? I looked at my watch, it was 5:20 am. I packed my things and stepped onto Koh Tao. We're finally here, Koh Tao!

I think I'll grab something to eat at 7-Eleven first. Everything is quiet, no other shops are open yet.

The dog in front of the 7-Eleven is sleeping soundly.

The prices at 7-Eleven are a bit higher than usual, but when you buy a lot of things, many times, it adds up to quite a bit.

Then we went looking for accommodation, planning to stay near Haad Sai Ri beach so that we could walk back at night without it being too dangerous.

With plenty of time to spare and nothing to do, I decided to walk to Haad Sai Ree. No car rides! But as I walked on, I started to feel like I had made a mistake. 5555

It's a very long way, and it's a steep uphill climb. The road is still dark, but I've come this far, so I might as well keep going.

The roadside shop started to be called Sai Ree, but I didn't see any beach. I thought about it and realized that we were walking on the road.

If you don't turn into the alley leading to the beach, will you find the beach? 5555 So I asked the locals, and they told me to turn into this alley and walk straight ahead, and I'll get there.

Along the way, we also looked for accommodation. We were looking at hostels to save money and wanted to try it out for once.

We arrived at the beach near the Lotus Bar and took a leisurely stroll, snapping photos along the way. There were so many adorable dogs!

Everyone comes here to take photos. If you don't, it's like you didn't even come. 555

So cute!

After sitting around for a while, at half past seven, it was time to go find a place to stay. I wanted something close by, so I could easily walk back at night.

I happened to meet a Thai person who was traveling alone. We got on the same boat but didn't talk. When I saw him again, I had to say hello.

He was the first Thai tourist I met. He was staying at Ban's Avenue Guest House, which was recommended in previous reviews. We chatted while waiting for the hostel to open.

However, we decided to stay at another place, Jizo's hostel, which is located at the beginning of the alley next to 7-Eleven. It costs 300 baht per night and is very popular.

Judging from the number of shoes in front, I didn't take a picture of the front of the accommodation. I forgot 555555

I opened the door and was immediately overwhelmed by the strong smell of mothballs. I don't understand why they didn't use a different air freshener, or maybe foreigners just like the smell.

So I asked to see another room and got one without the smell of mothballs. It only had two beds for four people, and there was a foreigner sleeping in the bottom bunk. But I took this room anyway.

Let's hurry up and take a shower, get dressed, and go out. It's already half past nine.

Initially, I considered not renting a motorbike because I'm not a very confident rider. I've only tried riding once in my life. So I asked the locals if they had any bicycles for rent.

They said there weren't any, only motorcycles... Okay, a motorcycle then. Let's give it a try. Second time driving in my life...

Why not try it on the island? 555555

I searched for a shop for a long time, but all of them required a deposit of five thousand or three thousand baht. Then I found a shop owned by a Thai uncle who didn't require a deposit. The rent was two hundred baht per day.

Sure, you can rent it for 1 night. What time will you pick up the car and return it before the same time the next day?

Take photos from every angle to prevent being cheated.

The first problem is that I don't know how to start it. 5555555 I don't know if I have to squeeze the handbrake before starting it or not, otherwise it won't start.

We thought we were completely out of gas, so we both pushed it all the way to the gas station.

After filling the tank, I tried to start the car, but it wouldn't start. I was sure the car had broken down. The gas station attendant saw how desperate I was and came to help me start the car.

So I knew I had to pull the handbrake!! 55555555555 Once the engine started, I slowly drove off. I'm still not very good at driving.

Driving around looking for places to visit, I came across OK view bungalows. Thinking it was a viewpoint, I turned up to take a look.

I don't dare to drive anymore and I'd better walk 555555

When I got up here, it turned out to be just accommodation. I'm disappointed. There's nothing to see. I walked all the way up here for nothing. TT Never mind, I'll go somewhere else.

As I drove down and turned around the same way, I thought, "What's that?" I turned right to Ao Hin Wong, but it seemed difficult to get there, didn't it? From what I saw in the reviews.

Let's go down to Haad Thian. Hehehe, you'll see.

As I drove on, the road started to get steeper and steeper, until I realized that I was on the way to Ao Hin Wong. 555555 My hands were shaking so much. I had to drive up a hill again on my second time out.

As I drove to a certain point, it felt like the car was going to tip over because I was so scared that I was riding too slowly, so the car gradually tilted.

We were so shocked! It hurt a little, but it's okay. But I'm afraid I'll lose money!! Please let me work to pay off the debt. I have no money to pay.

That point, let me tell you, was super scary. I imagined the car tilting, but I had to brace myself with my feet and keep squeezing the handbrake to stop the car from rolling. And then my shoe broke. What a life.

"Waiting for someone to help" laughs through tears 5555555

A foreign woman happened to walk up and asked if there was anything she could help with. We told her that the car was about to fall and needed to be lowered to the ground first.

He then helped us park the car and asked if we wanted to continue going up. He would drive us there.

So we decided to go. We had come this far, so we parked the car halfway up the hill, and they dropped us off at the viewpoint.

It's a bar owned by a Westerner who was fixing the sign, so we asked him to take a picture of us at the viewpoint in the shop.

He was very kind and welcoming to us. This is a sneaky photo I took, haha.

We parked our car at the first rest stop, which said "You're only 20% up the hill," but we couldn't take it anymore.

Shop name

View from the shop

The owner of the shop, a foreigner, was very kind. We asked him for a rubber band to tie our broken shoe, and he said, "Wait a minute, I'll go find one for you."

Then he disappeared into the house for a while and came back with 3 choices.

That's it, electrical tape, some kind of long rope, and an old pair of shoes. Let us choose 55555

And of course, we chose to wear new shoes that were old. 555555

And here they are! I want to thank you again because we wore this pair throughout the trip.

We have new shoes, let's continue walking. It's a steep path down to Hin Wong Bay.

I decided to keep walking, my feet gripping the ground tightly, afraid of falling face-first and scraping my face on the pavement.

Finally arrived, but couldn't find the beach TT There are only rocks everywhere, not very beautiful. I walked so far.

It's time to walk back. The sun is scorching hot. I'm so tired. You can tell from the sweat on my face.

We stopped to rest under the shade of a small tree from time to time. A pickup truck drove past and the driver rolled down the window and asked us a question in English.

They thought we were Korean and asked if we wanted to go downstairs. We could get a ride with them.

We said no, we just walked up 55555. They said, "How about some water?" My friend and I were like, our eyes sparkled. We were so thirsty and tired.

They searched the car for a while and then said, "Sorry, I don't have any water." Haha, it's like giving me hope, but thank you very much anyway.

I'm so glad I finally made it to where I parked my motorbike. It's still there! I don't have to pay 60,000 baht anymore.

But the next problem is how to drive down the hill without falling over. My friend said, "Be confident, you can do it." I thought, "Okay, I can do this."

We were so nervous, all we could think was "don't fall, don't fall, don't fall..."

It's a simple Thai food stall. The owner, who is Thai, saw that we were Thai and started chatting with us.

We were going to order papaya salad, but they told us not to, saying it wasn't delicious. 55555 They make it in a Western style. Then they pointed to a cart in front of 7-Eleven, which is a papaya salad cart.

To eat delicious food, you have to go to that restaurant. I met only kind people in the first half of the day on Koh Tao.

The food has arrived! It's a lot for 80 baht, but we ordered stir-fried instant noodles because we wanted instant noodle ingredients, but it turned out to be pad thai with instant noodles instead.

Garlic pork

After a satisfying meal, we plan to head to Freedom Beach next, which is said to be the easiest to get to, without having to climb any mountains.

I happened to see the same Thai guy eating rice, so I went over to say hi. We talked about our morning experiences and decided to continue our sightseeing together.

We now have one more person joining us on our journey, and I can't help but feel a sense of relief. I was just shaken up after almost crashing my motorcycle.

I feel more confident and brave to drive. 555555 Let's continue to the Red Sand Beach. It's actually difficult to drive there, but I think I'm getting better at it. Plus, I have friends to accompany me, so we'll be fine.

The road down to the beach is in good condition. Stop for a photo.

View from the rooftop of the building

The picture shows a resort. They say that the pool villa on the top floor costs seventy to eighty thousand baht per night.

And then we arrived. It was very peaceful, and the sea was a beautiful color.

It would be nice if the photos came out exactly as we see them with our eyes, wouldn't it?

Seeing them sleep, I decided to sleep too. No bedsheets or anything, just sleeping on the sand.

Now I know why dogs like to roll in the sand 55555555 It's cool, I accidentally took a nap for a while.

Let's recharge and continue our trip to Freedom beachhhhhhh!!

I forgot to take a picture of the beach TT I was too busy taking pictures of the foreigners on the beach.

Walk a little further and you will find a neighboring beach called Ta To Beach in English.

In that area, there is another place called John Suwan Viewpoint, but we didn't walk up there because we were too tired to walk. We were a little disappointed.

So I decided to drive back to watch the sunset at Lotus Bar. I parked the car in a corner to prevent accidental scratches. Then I sat and waited for the time.

The sun is setting.

Someone please take the boat out, it was almost beautiful.

Time passed quickly, so I drove to Saeng Thong Tour to buy a diving tour for tomorrow. The price is 600 baht for Thai people.

After that, we went back to our accommodation to shower and change, and made an appointment at 8 pm at Lotus Bar. We will come to see the fire dance. We have taken a lot of videos, but not many still photos. 5555

Each image that comes out...

As we watched, we chatted with the foreigner next to us. We told him that we were Thai, and he was very impressed. He said, "I love your country. It's wonderful."

The audience was completely captivated. He's been traveling solo in Thailand since January and has been on Koh Tao for a week, where he's been learning to scuba dive.

And she really likes to watch fire shows, I mean, A LOT. Like, she really seems to enjoy it, both the performers and the show itself. 5555555555 But it seems like she likes the performers more.

Blurred love bar

It's almost midnight, I'm sleepy and tipsy already. 55555 I should go home now, it's getting late and I'm afraid it's dangerous. Especially since I'm pretty. 555555

Then charge the battery properly. For those who backpack and have extra space in their bags, it is recommended to bring a three-pin plug.

Because there is only one plug to plug in, but we have two cameras, an iPhone and a power bank!!

So I had to set an alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night to change the charging.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and chills. I think I'm getting sick. I took two pills and went back to sleep.

Woke up with an extreme sore throat. It's already late!! I didn't even get to see the sunrise or anything.

I have a diving tour at 9:30 am. They will pick us up in front of the alley. Hurry up, what are you waiting for? We need to return the motorbike.

We drove around looking for breakfast for half an hour. And ended up with grilled pork! 5555555 Goodbye bed C2

The dog in front of the counter.

We then boarded the tour bus, which picked up two more Westerners who had just finished their teacher training and had never been diving before.

We're on the boat now, there are only three of us Thai people.

He's so handsome, but kind of feminine, don't you think? 55555

Take some pictures of the boat.

Then it was time to put away the Fuji camera and pick up the action camera to shoot underwater. I borrowed it from a friend, taking extra care of it, haha.

It's time to get in the water. Seeing foreigners in bikinis, jumping in the water like fish, three Thais are busy finding life jackets and checking their belongings.

Before slowly lowering my legs into the water 5555555 We dived a total of 5 bays!! Dive until exhausted, sometimes wet, sometimes dry. The first bay, Shark Bay, where are the sharks? There are no fish at all. 5555 But someone saw a shark, a huge one, but I didn't even see a fish!!

We don't remember which beach this picture is from, but we went diving at Ao Chalam, Ao Muang, Ao Hin Wong and Ao Ton Son.

The underwater scenery is actually very beautiful, but the camera quality is only this good, haha.

Trying to take a selfie with a fish 5555

Upon disembarking from the boat, there will be free pineapple, tea, coffee, and snacks available. However, if you would like Coke or beer, there will be an additional charge.

The boat gave us 2 hours on the island. We carried our cameras and grabbed our snorkels in case we wanted to go for a swim.

The boat driver brought us fish food so we could take pictures. The fish were swarming all over the place.

Normally, I'm super scared of fish. Every time I go diving, I just float on the surface and watch from afar. 5555

So beautiful, I don't know how to describe it. Let's tell the story with pictures.

And then I walked up to the viewpoint of Koh Nang Yuan. By the time I got up there, sweat was pouring down like a river.

Imagine a half-wet, half-dry body, no sunscreen applied, walking up a hill in the sun, climbing rocks, but what you get is worth it.

I'm hereeeeeeeee!

But then the unexpected happened again. There are only peak things, right? On this trip, my friend's iPhone was also lost. TT Put it in your pants pocket, I guess someone intentionally stole it.

I don't know if it was stolen or dropped because I had it on airplane mode. At first, I couldn't make a call, but later I could, but no one answered!!

And then I met the second Thai person who was traveling alone. He came up to me and said he saw me fixing my shoes the day before.

But at that time we didn't see it, we were very stressed about fixing the shoes 5555555 We just greeted each other as usual.

He climbed further up to the top, which we couldn't climb. The shoes weren't really suitable. He said the view from the top was great and the atmosphere was very chill.

That's really annoying.

After that, we returned to Koh Tao. We took a free shower at the diving tour company and grabbed something to eat while waiting for the sleeper boat to return around 11 pm.

I actually wanted to stay another night, but my friends weren't free anymore. TT

The blackness of my legs on the second day of sunbathing TT

It's all spicy, you know. 5555

The original text is empty. There is nothing to translate.

Someone has done it.

This place looks so nice to sit at, but we're eating at another restaurant. 55555

After a satisfying meal, it's time to find a place to relax and wait for the sleeper train. I came across this restaurant called Reef bar.

They asked me where I was from, so I said I was Thai. (I was trying to be sneaky at first) But they still didn't speak Thai to me.

So we asked him back, "What country are you from?" He replied, "Thailand." Oh, so why don't you speak Thai with me? 5555

We asked him if the pool was free. He said it was 20 baht for foreigners, but if we let them play for free, they wouldn't stop playing. So we didn't go.

We sat and drank for a while, waiting for the time. The shop owner came to chat with us until we got up to leave. My brother told me to hurry up and get my bag, the tour was about to close.

The owner of the shop volunteered to take a picture for us as a souvenir.

We talked in English the whole time. He didn't speak Thai with me, I guess he wanted me to practice my English. 5555555

It's time to go back to the boat to sleep. On the way back, we boarded the boat of Phra Thue Sin, which was much worse than the boat of Ko Charoen.

The bed is firmer than some, and some beds don't have a plug for charging, like our bed. And the bathroom is very dirty, it smells so bad that you can barely breathe when you enter.

After the boat left, we went up to the roof to watch the stars with another Thai person. Then two Italian guys joined us.

It's funny how strangers can become friends and have deep conversations as if they've known each other for a long time.

The atmosphere was super chill. We could hear the sound of the sea breeze and chat about random things. Looking up, we saw the twinkling stars in the sky.

I didn't want it to end, but all good things must come to an end. We went our separate ways to bed around half past midnight.

I slept like a log, and when I woke up, we were almost there!

We squeezed into a small songthaew, packed like a pig transport truck. It was so crowded, I don't know how we all fit. I guess we were trying to get everything done in one go, haha.

Let's grab a bite. The porridge in front of the station is delicious and very cheap. A bowl is 20 baht, two pieces of youtiao are 5 baht, and Ovaltine is 12 baht.

On the way there, there were two of us, but on the way back, there were four of us, which was much more lively. The one on the far right is the person who traveled with us for more than half of the trip but is not ready to reveal their face. 5555555

And finally, another fellow traveler on the last night of the trip was a Thai person who had greeted us at Koh Nang Yuan several days before.

As a runner, visiting Koh Tao without renting a motorbike was a challenge, but I managed to explore the entire island on foot.

Damn cool!! Damn awesome!! Damn right!! I want to do this too, but my body won't let me lol 555555

While I was sitting around, I called back the number of my friend who had been stolen. It was connected, but no one answered. I sent a message.

After that, the machine was turned off and could not be contacted again.

It's almost time to say goodbye.

And finally, a summary of the expenses throughout the trip

Free round-trip train tickets

400 baht for one-way cabin

Return trip sleeping cabin 450 baht (charged by the diving tour TT)

Accommodation fee 300 baht

Scuba diving tour costs 600 baht.

Motorcycle rental fee 200 baht

Gasoline cost 100 baht (you don't need to fill it up this much, the tank was almost full when I returned the car).

Food expenses added to 7-Eleven 1,205 baht

Late night drink fee 200 baht

Total 3,455 baht

The motorbike rental fee was split, coming out to about 3,305 baht per person.

The end of the journey. This trip, even though it took as much time on the train as it did on the island,

But it was a great experience. I gained the courage to try new things that I had never done before.

Made friends along the way, talked to strangers who might only talk to each other once in their lives and then parted ways.

At least we had a moment together.

....Goodbye Thai train....

....Goodbye Koh Tao....

....Farewell, my fellow travelers.....

Then we will meet again