I had a rough plan to spend 3 nights in Bottle Beach. I ended up doubling that. I would’ve stayed longer but for the first time, I had actually made plans & signed up for a diving course on the smaller island of Koh Tao to the north. Plans. Oh well. I made the most of my time there. Bc it’s such a small place, many of the people who visit  really become a little family. Well the cool people at least. There’s 3 other “resorts” on the island but people-in-the-know all ended up at my “resort’s” resto for the food, atmosphere & attention/entertainment of Babu & Ming (Babu’s mini me). The gatherings of those in-the-know people revealed that Bottle Beach just so happens to be a little German colony. Not really of course but those Germans sure are on the cutting edge of cheap, gorgeous, little-discovered gems as nearly everyone I met was from Germany. I ended up hanging for dinner, poker, beers & convo every night w a great group of 10 Germans ranging from two 22 year old girls who just finished a bartending school in Phuket to a 60 year old retiree who makes his home for 6 mos of the year in Turkey & travels the other 6 mos (he’d been at Bottle Beach for 4 weeks already). It was a fun bunch. My fave was a couple from Munich, Julia & Nils, ages 26 & 32, respectively. We talked Babu into leading a hike up to the cove’s viewpoint & also into planning a longboat tour for all of us (Babu included) of Koh Pan Ngan bc, believe it or not after 2+ weeks on the island, there were still coves & beaches I hadn’t seen. Hugs all around upon departure as well as an exchange of digits (now I’m on what’s app apparently courtesy of Julia) & a promise of visits (I have my fair share of places in Munich to crash while a hilarious tatted German named Sky & his gf (Julia deuce) may be crashing w me next summer in Chicago). The more the merrier I guess. Perhaps what I may miss most about Bottle Beach is the nightly domino matches Babu & I shared after dinner service wound down & it was just the regulars left. Not typical dominos – these were triangles & the dots
were multi-colored so it was quite a bit more difficult. He kindly offered me the game when I was leaving but I had to decline as I couldn’t afford the space in my pack, but I will definitely be seeking it out on Amazon when I return. Would be a great addition to lazy afternoons at Big Star.