We have spent the last few days dealing with the difficult task of beach exploration. We rented another motorscooter and picked up a map and decided we wanted to check out some smaller beaches around the island. The majority of visitors to Ko Tao seem to plant themselves in either Mad Haad, which is where all the piers are, plenty of dive shops, restaurants etc., or Sairee Beach which has the most accommodations, hip bars, and also plenty of dive shops. Many of the roads turn into a steep rutted dirt road not to far from the main towns. It is recommended that you park the bike and walk from there. But with John's superior scooter skills ("sss") obtained by years of driving a motorcycle and riding a mountain bike we make it to the end of the road everytime. Ok, once in a while I have to get off short sections and walk. And, to be honest, the one time I took the throttle to get the bike up a hill (since John was helping someone else with their bike), I almost crashed (note - I easily made it up the steep hill and around the turn I just did not let off the throttle and kept going almost into the hillside - guess I am a little out of practice).
We visited Tanote Bay on the east coast - amazing snorkeling with tons of coral and numerous fish, fantastic beach, a couple of restaurants, some great looking bungalows and a dive shop, but a long rocky and rutted road to get there.
The next day we hit Aow Luek Bay also on the east coast. Again great snorkeling and a beautiful beach with a big sandy area in the water (the other beaches tend to have a lot of coral and sea cucumbers very close to shore). This area is less developed but we were not impressed with the restaurant. However, for those interested this beach sported the most topless women of the beaches we visited.
