{"id":27921,"date":"2024-10-02T00:01:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T07:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/?p=27921"},"modified":"2024-09-20T13:52:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T20:52:35","slug":"koh-tao-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/10\/02\/koh-tao-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Koh Tao, Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>By Mike Huber<\/h6>\n<p>Having a new addiction to scuba diving, it didn\u2019t take me long to learn that Koh Tao (an island in southern Thailand) was another mecca for my new hobby. Koh Tao wasn\u2019t a very large island and I was a bit concerned I would succumb to island fever.\u00a0 The big difference is now I would be spending much of my time underwater, thus making the island much larger and more exciting than previous islands I had visited.\u00a0 This new hobby opened up a new world to me just as learning to off-road on the BMW GS1200 had done. They both were previously unexplored frontiers that drew me in and begged for more exploration after each experience.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27925\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240911_160626.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240911_160626.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240911_160626-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/> Koh Tao isn\u2019t exactly easy to travel to from anywhere as you need to fly or bus, and then take a 3-hour ferry out to the island.\u00a0 This to me made it a great destination as I knew those that were there were far off the beaten path and would be well grounded (mentally, not geographically). \u00a0Although the island was touristy, it was small enough that it was easy to make friends quickly. Another draw to this isolated location was that almost anyone that was here long term had the same line \u201cI came here to visit for two weeks and never left and that was X years ago.\u201d\u00a0 This clearly told me it was a great place to set up a home base for a while and improve on my diving skills.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27926\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240913_141358.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240913_141358.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240913_141358-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Outside doing a short blast up to Cambodia and some rest time in Bangkok (yes, it is possible to rest in Bangkok), the past month has been spent in scuba classes (to include advanced diver and rescue diver certifications), fun dives, spending time on the beach, and really just taking a few moments to enjoy chatting with someone at a bar while being fully present in life. The laid back island vibe and hospitality was something that had been missing in my previous travels due to my constant moving.\u00a0 Koh Tao is where I was learning to finally slow down and really embrace the moments without tripping myself up with the racing thoughts I previously had of \u201cwhat\u2019s next?\u201d\u00a0 This provided an important step into my new lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-27924\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240909_174120.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240909_174120.jpg 600w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240909_174120-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The happiness of being in the moment with my focus on watching my dive log fatten and my circle of friends grow is all I need at this time.\u00a0 As I wrap this article up while sitting at a beach bar with a cold Chang beer sweating next to my laptop, it has me thinking if one day I will tell others \u201cYeah, I just came here for two weeks but that was X years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Never miss an ExNotes blog:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<style>\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-select,\r\n        .wpedon-container .wpedon-input {\r\n            width: 171px;\r\n            min-width: 171px;\r\n            max-width: 171px;\r\n        }\r\n    <\/style><div class='wpedon-container wpedon-align-center'><form target='_blank' action='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr' method='post' class='wpedon-form'><input type='hidden' name='cmd' value='_donations' \/><input type='hidden' name='business' value='ExNotes@ExhaustNotes.us' \/><input type='hidden' name='currency_code' value='USD' \/><input type='hidden' name='notify_url' value='https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-admin\/admin-post.php?action=add_wpedon_button_ipn'><input type='hidden' name='lc' value='en_US'><input type='hidden' name='bn' value='WPPlugin_SP'><input type='hidden' name='return' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='cancel_return' value='' \/><input class='wpedon_paypalbuttonimage' type='image' src='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/btn\/btn_donateCC_LG.gif' border='0' name='submit' alt='Make your payments with PayPal. It is free, secure, effective.' style='border: none;'><img alt='' border='0' style='border:none;display:none;' src='https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/en_US\/i\/scr\/pixel.gif' width='1' height='1'><input type='hidden' name='amount' id='amount_670af5694a4a687b341bcf043d02add2' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='price' id='price_670af5694a4a687b341bcf043d02add2' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='item_number' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='item_name' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='name' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='custom' value='23447'><input type='hidden' name='no_shipping' value='1'><input type='hidden' name='no_note' value='0'><input type='hidden' name='currency_code' value='USD'><\/form><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don&#8217;t forget:  Visit our advertisers!<\/span><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishmotorcyclegear.com\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23940 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BritishMotorcycleGear400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BritishMotorcycleGear400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BritishMotorcycleGear400-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BritishMotorcycleGear400-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 85vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Mike Huber Having a new addiction to scuba diving, it didn\u2019t take me long to learn that Koh Tao (an island in southern Thailand) was another mecca for my new hobby. Koh Tao wasn\u2019t a very large island and I was a bit concerned I would succumb to island fever.\u00a0 The big difference is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/10\/02\/koh-tao-thailand\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Koh Tao, Thailand&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":27923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[96],"tags":[4287,4325,4285,903],"class_list":["post-27921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-good-stuff","tag-diving","tag-koh-tao","tag-scuba","tag-thailand"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240914_224130.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27921"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27927,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27921\/revisions\/27927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhaustnotes.us\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}