A traveller’s tale of all the random people he meets on Koh Tao and how social constructs tend to dissolve once you set foot on the island

There is something in the air at Koh Tao that changes people. From posh to rugged, bad-asses to goodie-two-shoes—here in Koh Tao, everyone starts with a clean slate. Stay long enough, and you’ll discover that everyone on Koh Tao has a story of a grand, unusual, or even notorious life before becoming residents of the island. It’s little wonder that the island brings them to a new path, considering the effort required to even get there. The island is small and remote but offers just enough to feel civilized. For those willing to brave an eight, 12, or even 18 hour journey to Koh Tao, there is usually a good reason—something that you may wish to leave behind, whether you are aware of it or not. 

“That’s the one common thing about the people here. If you really ask them, everyone has a great pre-island life’s story to tell. Either they were a millionaire who hated their life, they came from a broken family, they suffered from depression, or they were disheartened by the world. Koh Tao is the ideal community-based utopia where only today matters, and yesterday has no meaning to life here”. So says Pow, a 40-year-old branding professional from the real estate corporate world, who first arrived from Bangkok.

“I love that I have no identity here. No one has ever asked and normally won’t ask anything about your life story apart from your name, even after months. We have the ocean in common, the pleasant clear water in common, and that’s always the favorite conversation topic: ‘Is the water clear for diving?’ People here don’t really care if you are a billionaire or an ex-convict. Everyone is friends and within a month, everyone becomes your family. I have many posh friends who fell in love with the clean-slate personality of this island.”

The sentiment is shared by 24-year-old digital nomad Joy, who has lived on the island for five months. While she makes a living from digital marketing, she’s transparent about some of the cons of a career in making people click Facebook ads. Koh Tao offers her the balance needed. “Like many folks here, I love Koh Tao for its real human community. From the minute you arrive, you instantly become part of a quasi-family. Within two weeks, you will know 50 percent of the people here. The island is so small. The common tongue is English. I always travel alone, but here I have a family.”

Pookie, a 27-year-old hotel owner from Pattaya, initially planned for a two-week visit but ended up staying for two years. “I was terrible at everything: at school, at sports, at making friends, at everything. I was miserable and the least confident person I know. I don’t know why, but here on this island I became one of those girls who can do everything. I became a divemaster in one month. Every day, the ocean wind cleans your soul, and it’s almost like I have no narrative to live my life by. Today, I am a new, super confident person who excels at everything, to the point that it is almost funny. One has to live here to understand just how the island changes people.”

Devrim, a 53–year–old founder of a well-known ocean healing program that helps people rediscover their ‘new life’s purpose’, moved to Koh Tao from the UK 16 years ago. He observes that Koh Tao is one of those meccas for people who want to start a new life. “Often, the people who are the most lost are the ones that seemingly have everything,” he muses. “But on this island, especially in the ocean, you explore the journey within yourself, and it compels you to leave all of the old life’s narrative behind.” 

Micky, a 29-year-old Thai-American, too, finds his place on the island. “I have a life in America, and I don’t hate New York. But here on this island, no matter whether you are rich or poor, everyone is a first-class citizen. When something happens to you, for example, if you fall off a motorbike, half of the island would know within a day, and the genuine care and empathy here is phenomenal.” 

There’s also a different kind of mentality around consumption and the environment when you’re in Koh Tao. Asia, a 26-year-old business owner on the island, implies that locals are a bit more advanced in this respect than their urban counterparts. “Almost everything on the island is bio-degradable, from coffee cups to the street food vendor’s takeout boxes. People will never litter on the public streets. Everyone’s mentality is like “if you litter even one plastic bag, a dolphin will definitely eat it and die,” she shares.   

Unlike other islands in Thailand, Koh Tao is a relatively new island in terms of tourism, modernization, and culture. The teenagers here are the third generation of the original visitors of the hippy-era, who decided to come settle here. As new visitors arrive, they bring new ways of thinking, new perspectives on the freedom to live. The one thing everyone has in common on the island is the passion to dive, and for nature—made clear in the many community-led conservation programs that call Koh Tao home. With a culture that is uniquely universal and international, visitors intermix with local foreigners and Thais, all sharing a new life in the same place.