Koh Samui and Ang Thon National Park

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June 18th 2010

Published: June 19th 2010

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Dane and Kahni

One of 42 Islands

Ship? Gorilla? You decide.

Fortunately for us, the Lompraya ferry from Koh Tao offers a "take you to your hotel" ground service which was great, as I had booked the "Easy Time" on the opposite side of the island from where we arrived.

The Easy Time had "pick up service", but it was the last thing on Massimo's mind, to pick us up. He was way too busy running the hotel, which he had designed. The restaurant, bar and computer were all open air and outside, no locks on anything. It was a great place and we also enjoyed Massimo, who was half Armenian and half Italian and had two foot long dreadlocks. What a wonderful restaurant. I had lasagne and Dane had a calzone, both meals remarkable. We really did not have enough time to enjoy Samui like we could have. The beaches were wonderful and inviting, miles of long sandy stretches.

But we had ISLANDS to see; many of them. Forty three if you count Koh Wua Talub, where we stopped to snorkel. KOH WOW! Although the visibility was not as clear as Koh Tao, due to weather, it was still an excellent experience. We had booked an all day tour

Koh Samui morning

A serene moment on Lamai Beach, a block from our hotel

for Angthong National Marine Park, and they truly delivered way more than we expected starting at 7a.m. We got to tour (by speedboat) these ruggedly beautiful, pristine, uninhabited islands that take up about 39 sq.miles, mostly water, of course. Each one is unique; some have mica white sand beaches, caves, trails, lakes, lush forests and so on. These islands are submerged peaks of a flooded limestone mountain range. Over time, they have eroded by wind and water into amazing shapes and sizes. Great for exploring, which we had plenty of time to do.

Our goal was to do the 1300 ft. climb up Koh Wua Talub to get a panoramic vision of the whole archipelago like I had seen in a travel magazine. It was a steep climb, but totally worth it. The other thing I really wanted to see was the emerald lake...no photo I have seen does it justice; it's unique and unreal.

As usual, again, a wonderful lunch provided for us by sea gypsies on a nearby island not part of the park. Then on to sea kayaking. Not really a kayak, but a canoe. I just dont know how to spell canooeing, okay. Dane

We made it!

I first found this place in a photo, and now here we are. I can hardly believe it.

is a natural sea kayak captain and did most of the paddling. My paddling is pretty lame and I was lucky I didn't get fired.

The ride home was absolutely a blast. Does anyone reading this remember REAL Coke? The crew kept giving us little 6oz. bottles of real Coke to drink, fresh pineapple or whatever we wanted. Dane and I stayed up on the front topside of the boat, as the water going back was smooth as glass. We have never been happier, ever. It was just the best time. They even drove us all the way back to the Easy Time.

We got up early the next morning and took our little moped we had rented around the nearby towns and to a waterfall. No one gets up early, even though it's plenty light. We love being out before traffic and tourists, so we really had a good ride and saw plenty before we had to catch the ferry for Surat Thani.

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