Every now and again progress can be a wonderful thing, fortunately Koh Taohas kept its relaxed atmosphere, ]it is,it's] still nigh on impossible to find a crowded beach. Fascinated by the outstanding coral reefs around KohTao, and the development in recreational scuba diving, some companies set up a diving shop on the island. These companies in turn developed resortsfor their clients, and after a while quite a few of these resortshave become quite lavish. KoTao is a small island, only twenty two sq km and all but half of that too rugged to reach. At first the islandwas not inhabited, frequented only by fisherman from nearby islands when looking for cover during storms or when they require fresh water and supplies. It seems odd that such a tourist paradise should have been formerly set up as a prison. Odd, but true. From about 1933 until 1947 the islandwas home to political prisoners. Being nearly 70 kilometers from the nearby mainland meant it was somewhat escape proof! Alcatraz...piece of cake. Koh Toa is surrounded by loads of Black Tip & Whale sharks as well. This small island was still under Royal Patronage in the early days, but it didn't stop these fortune hunters from making their claim. The first generation of todays community started to settle when they brought their families to KoTao and began to farm and harvest the rich earth and natural resources the island had to offer. Even though it still being under Royal Patronage, acres of land were claimed, and vacated for coconut plantations. You can still see lots of verification of the very large coconut plantations all over the island.
