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Published: June 18th 2012
Day 20 and 21
We arrived on Koh Tao by ferry, a speedier boat than the last with very comfortable seating and air conditioning in a boat that would have held maybe 200 people. The trip was one and a half hours but otherwise quite uneventful. Our accommodation this time was only 10 minutes from the port so we were ensconced in our rooms by just after midmorning.
The day was ours. I changed into my lovely pink togs and headed for the resort pool as the beach was quite littered with longboats with people coming in and out on them. Also the sea was quite choppy and there was a strong breeze coming off the sea. The pool was considerably colder than anywhere else so definitely the place to be.
Later on in the day I went for a walk and discovered we were quite close to a shopping centre full of swimming paraphernalia and crafted jewellery with a couple of tattoo shops and a hairdressers. Amongst all of these were numerous massage parlours advertising an additional massage from anywhere else we have been and that is an aloe vera massage for the sunburned. I did not
spend any money once again as I expect that I will want to buy things in Vietnam as I have heard it is cheaper there.
Today we started the day early and headed off in a ute to the port so that we could catch a small fishing type boat with two decks to take us snorkelling. The boat stopped at about six places throughout the day and we all had a snorkel and mask. Lunch and water was also provided.
The first bay was the Bay of Sharks. We were told they were up to about 1 metre in length here and were harmless so I decided that this was the time to overcome my fear and swim with the sharks. Once the boat had stopped guess who was first into the water? No I didn’t have a death wish. LOL.
I quickly scouted around looking for my first shark encounter but actually only saw very small schools of fish that you would expect to find in tropical waters. We had about half an hour here and when we got on board only one person said they actually saw a shark and she said it was
swimming next to her in the water. Not sure if it was a tall tail/tale or not.
The water was lovely and cool but not cold and it was quite deep in places like up to 10 metres, with a lot of dead bland looking coral around the sea bed. I had gone up to the next level on the boat after the Bay of Sharks and after the first jump I now started jumping off the top deck into the water and on one occasion I dived in. It was such an awesome experience.
The biggest issue of the day was the level of sunburn we all got. Of course our backs were particularly vulnerable as the water reflects. Consequently, I have a very burned back and hope I can sleep with it even though I have put aloe vera on it to help ease the heat.
The temperature tonight is very high and definitely in the 30’s so it is a blessing that we are in air conditioned rooms.
On the way back from tea tonight where they do Mexican and I had nachos and the others mostly pizza, Jo and I stopped for
a pancake. I had a banana one and Jo a nutella banana one. The man making the pancakes was a real performer and he was doing everything really fast. Because he was entertaining there were a lot of people standing around watching and buying and the guy down the lane only 50 metres away had no customers at all.
Earlier on in the evening I had gone looking for a place with a pool table and after finding one, I needed someone else to play with me. It just so happened that a young Thai man called Jim was happy to play with me. Now I do not know if he could play that well or not or if he just played to my level mostly, but he made some amazing shots and then he missed easy ones. Anyway, I was happy having some games. I think we played eight and I won one of them as he put the black away. Not really that satisfying, but I will not improve unless I have practise.
This morning we made our way back to the pier for the trip to Koh Samui, the biggest island in the area. The
boat trip was on a smaller fast boat than previously, and the waves were pretty high so we were tossed around as though we were a cork in a bottle. Thanks to Harold as he gave me a sea sick pill, I was not at all sick but did find myself feeling quite sleepy. The two hour trip passed very quickly thanks to my doziness. Our accommodation is about half an hour from the pier and is the smartest accommodation so far and of course the last as when we get to Monday morning this part of the trip is over.
Today I have been quite boring. I felt really tired and I was a bit over the heat, so I read on the bed for about half an hour and then fell asleep and was not in a hurry to get myself moving. When I did I only went for a walk down the road and also decided that I needed to at least walk on the beach and view the scene. So both done and back to the hotel. Jo was sitting in the restaurant, so I joined her and ordered a Black Russian. This was a
treat and also to celebrate my friend Debi getting a job at Waikato University. I am so pleased for her.
The whole group went out for tea excluding Jo as she has a cold and is feeling a bit under the weather and so decided to stay in and chill. Tomorrow we go on another boat trip and have an opportunity for snorkelling and kayaking. I hope my sunburn feels better tomorrow so that I can enjoy the day.
What an amazing day today. We headed out in an air conditioned van to take us to the port so that we could catch the speed boat that had room for 50 people to travel to the other islands of Koh Samui. The trip took 45 minutes to the first stop so that we could snorkel there. Su had said the night before to not take passports as you might get wet. Well how right she was. The journey was like a roller coaster and terrific hardly describes the somewhat wet experience. The speed boat moves through the choppy waves at quite a speed and there were lots of troughs for us to fall into. The spray from this
entered the boat at great speed and not only sprayed us but poured buckets of water over us. Only in Thailand can that be acceptable as the day was very warm and the water also quite tepid so the spray was quite nice once you got used to being wet for most of the journey. People put their brown towels given to them by our hotel, over their heads looking like monks. It was quite exhilarating actually and certainly gave us some entertainment. Surprisingly enough only one passenger seemed to suffer from sea sickness and I really felt for her as like the journey out it was just as long to come back. I had a plastic raincoat covering by legs and bag but that did not stop me from getting very wet.
We stopped to snorkel for about 40 minutes out by a small island with sheer cliffs in deep water and we were told there would be no sharks because the crocodiles had eaten them. What? Still it did not stop us from going in for a good look around seeing the tropical species in their own environment.
After leaving here we headed for another tropical
island with a sandy beach about 20 minutes away for a kayak or walk to the summit and lunch. I was a bit lazy and just stayed on the beach today and tried to keep covered up as I have had a bit too much sun over the last couple of days. Here we had lunch provided for us and it was particularly nice as it included a stir fry, rice, a green curry and chicken pieces as well as some water melon and water to wash it all down.
One more stop and we were on our way home again. Keeping dry was not an option for us and the trip back was just as fun-filled as the trip out arriving back at Koh Samui looking like happy drowned rats.
Tonight we have our final meal together and then in the morning I am off to Phuket leaving at 8.30 in the morning and hope to arrive before dark. Enjoy the photos.
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Jennie
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A very very relaxed Lynnie in the blog and photos.