Blogs from Ang Thong Marine NP, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia

One thing we had been looking forward to was a day trip to Ang Thong National park. We had planned to do it last year when we were on Koh Samui but after Paul's motorbike accident it wasn't to be. After researching a bit, we decided to book a speedboat tour to the national park (1600 baht each inc lunch and snorkelling equipment), after the boat ride to Koh Phangan we didn’t fancy the slower boat! Ang Thong literally translates as "golden bowl" and is a protected national park with over 40 islands. All of the islands are uninhabited and undeveloped except for two of them (one has sea gypsies living on it and the other is the national park headquarters).Everything went very smoothly, our pick up was even early! We sat on the back of ... read more

The Beach Bobbing along on this rickety boat, we couldn't fathom there being anyone else in the world. Turning in every direction, the excited blue sky blanketed us; the harbour rapidly morphed from a busy port, to a speck of grey, to an enchanting mist. Everything would disappear in a moment behind the wake of the boat. Shockingly beautiful, randomly placed rock formations would rise up infront of our eyes, quickly to recede again into the velvet mist. This stunning national treasure was protected so- Ang Thong National Marine Park. Looking at the film, 'The Beach', you'd see parts of it were filmed in amongst these rocks, in the crevaces of the caves, and above the breathtakingly real lime waters circling a mysterious chemistry of lime rocks. So, Mr. DiCaprio would have sailed these waters, ... read more

Day 19 - Monday, Jan 11 - Angthong National Marine Park Tour Again, we had fun in the sun all day today. We got picked up at 8:30 am at the hotel. Our boat left at 9:30 am. Our first stop was at snorkeling area by Angthong marine park. Ken & I snorkeled for the entire hour we were given and did not get out of the water. The water was very warm and there were many colorful fish and colorful coral. Then, we went to into the Angthong National Marine Park consist of 42 islands within the area of about 102 square kilometers. We had served lunch at a beautiful beach on one of the islands. Although some people went kayaking, Ken and I just relaxed and enjoyed the beach. Then, we went to one ... read more

Kayaking! Our second full day in Samui didn’t begin until about 2pm……..as we rolled out of bed our stomachs rumbled and once again food was on order. Eventually, with the mixed weather conditions, the sun finally shone through the blackened clouds and we hit the beach for a couple of hours, enjoying the golden sand and clear blue sea. I have to say it was a different league to our beach holiday last year! This was probably one of the most unproductive days of the trip so far as we continued to make the most of the sun, taking obscure photos until sunset. Evening came and we prepared for the following day………. After a day of rest, we were ready for more action. We had booked a tour to Anthong National Marine Park - west of ... read more

I had taken notice of all the speedboats out on the water on previous days that we'd been out to Sea, and having grown up vacationing with my cousins who had a boat...memories of wind whipped hair, rosy cheeks and pure summer-fun exhaustion from skiing and tubing all day were enough to set my next plan in motion. This was also the last day my mom would be here, and she too is an avid boat rider, so we go ahead and book the trip on 'The Jazz' to swiftly drive us to Ang Thong National Marine Park. Here's where my problem is...cause you didn't think I wasn't gonna have one with the way I strolled down memory lane and all, did you? Well, I had expectations, so shoot me. These expetations were formed from previous ... read more