Big Buddha Temple - Samui

A very standard sight on any 'round island tour is the Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai) on Samui's north coast. The temple is a rather modern construction, and it lacks almost all of the grace and beauty typical of most Thai temples.
The 12 meter high Buddha sits on a small islet connected to the big island by an unpaved causeway. In front of the temple is a cluster of shops and food stalls catering to bus loads of tourists and day-tripping Thais. In amongst the cheap souvenirs is a small silver shop run by the smith who has crafted most of the items on display.
Entering the temple, you first come to a large paved courtyard with a dragon stairway on the other side. Flanking the stairs are two small pavilions housing smaller Buddha images. The stairs lead you up to the platform on which the Buddha image sits. From the platform you get some good views of the long beach where the islet sits.
On a filled area facing the big island are a number of cartoonish mythical statues painted in bright sparkling colors.

Ko Tao Resort

Koh Tao translates as “Turtle Island”, so named because of it’s shape and also there were many of turtles living around.
It’s only about 21 sq km and is remotely located about 70 km far from the mainland.

From 1933 to 1947 Koh Tao was used to jail political prisoners of the Bowaradech Uprising. Many were transferred from Koh Tarutao to Koh Tao by reason of its location lonely in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand.
The community in Koh Tao was settled at the first time when the villagers from Koh Samui and Koh Phangan immigrated and were on the land of Koh Tao in 1947. Before that there were some people who came and used the land for coconut plantation and small fishery.
During the past fifteen years the reputation of Koh Tao’s natural beauty, especially its marine life and coral reefs due to the island’s distance from the mouth of Mae Nam Tapi, which affords high visibility and an abundance of marine life. It soon became one of the major dive sites of South East Asia.

Pictuer By: http://www.kotaoresort.com/index.html

Ko Tao

Tourism

The island is well known for scuba diving and snorkeling, and also offers some hiking. The most popular place for tourists is Sairee on the West coast, which has a white sandy beach of 1.7 km interrupted only by a few huge boulders. Resorts are scattered with varying density, however, along the many small bays of the island.
Ko Tao is less developed than Ko Samui and Ko Pha Ngan, but has become increasingly popular especially with the mid-20's backpacker crowd in search of relatively inexpensive scuba diving certification.
As of December 2005, Ko Tao had about 150 resorts offering accommodation and approximately 50 bars/clubs. Most of the resorts are still bungalow-style, not hotel/resort style. Accommodation prices are lower than nearby Ko Samui. Most dive shops offer scuba diving PADI certification classes as well as hostel/bungalow accommodation. Accommodation rates are generally significantly reduced upon registering for scuba classes. PADI open water certification classes typically cost around 9000-9800 Baht and last 3-4 days.

Diving conditions vary from excellent to fair depending on the time of year and weather conditions, but March and April are usually excellent with weekly Whale shark sightings.

As of 2007 there is a trend to more upmarket resorts which do not concentrate singularly on diving. Free WIFI is provided in increasing numbers and even the first sailing charter company on Ko Tao has opened.

Koh Tao is increasingly becoming a mecca for game fishermen on a budget. Marlin/sailfish season is from December until March though a few stick around all year. Prices for boat fishing start at 1,400 baht. As well as billfish, other species are targeted. These include king mackerel, cobia, baracuda, trevally and snapper.