galmc2Report

Last time on Koh Lanta I recall the three of us doing a day of lovely snorkelling off of a boat that picked us up from the beach we stayed on. We knew we wanted to snorkel again, but like many traveller things, there are many options to contemplate (fast boat, slow boat, best boat choice to avoid sea-sickness).

We did the smart thing and consulted with the Manager of the resort, who pointed out the best tour for actual snorkelling. So we booked and awaited our pick up this morning (which I thought was for 8AM but Heather thought 8:20). After enough time had passed (enough for me to think that maybe there was a problem with the booking), a guy rushed in and gestured for us to quickly follow him. Onto the truck bed we climbed (but no roof this time so confidence was high that there would be no pre-boat motion sickness). We think he said he had to replace a flat tire so that’s why he was late.

So its onto the truck, which proceeds to move, and I can’t emphasize this enough, very quickly. It’s India-esque. We are dodging cars and scooters, and really creating some awkward blown-hair for when we got to the dock. Must really be late we thought. Well, not late enough that he couldn’t suddenly pull over and go get himself a drink apparently.

We finally make it to the dock and onto the speedboat we load. Probably 40-50 people, and yes, they were all waiting for us. Awkward. We debated doing the Canadian thing and apologizing to each person, but that wasn’t really feasible once we started moving.

We proceeded to jet down the coastline of Koh Lanta, which gave us a lovely (we were at the bow of the boat) view, as well as a stirring debate on what’s faster, the boat or the truck. We ended up at a little beach on the south of the Island, where they backed the boat up to pick up some guests.

Suddenly we are sideways, super close to the shoreline, and being hit by the waves as they broke upon the shore. Somebody called out for all of us to get off of the boat as we were now beached.

Big kudos to the staff, and the guests brave enough to step in and rectify the situation. Heather and I were not those people (in case you were wondering). So know the boat has been freed, anchor dropped, reloaded and off we go.

I know, not the greatest start. But what a finish awaited us!

Simply put, it was real and it was spectacular. Our first stop was Koh Rok, where we snorkelled in two different areas and also had lunch. Aside from some fogging issues with our masks, it was great. The sun, lack of wind and clearness of the water creates great visibility to see so much underwater. Just fantastic. How do all these fish end up with such vastly different colours and shapes and sizes? Heather at one point was pretty sure she saw an octopus hiding out in the corral.

It was at lunchtime where we both realized that this is the same tour we did 11 years ago. The lunch site was just off another beautiful beach. It was when the staff told us not to engage with the local lizards that we both went “hey!”

The afternoon had us jetting over to Ha Island for a final snorkel. We fixed the foggy issue with our masks and were good to go. I entered the water with a very stylish jump from the bow of the boat, taking into account I was wearing a life jacket and holding onto my mask and snorkel. Sadly not stylish enough for Heather to film. Her attention was on the young French dude with the chiselled body who executed a perfect dive off the bow. In fairness to my wife, he did warrant the attention. And it should be noted that the young woman who was his partner was equally hot. Heather did however gather herself to get a shot of me in the water after the dive was done.

So now we are both in and the experience is again one of those that reinvigorates the travel spirit. We were in fact so invigorated that we lost track of time. I looked up and saw that there were quite a few people back on our boat, and that there were no other snorkelers near our boat. Yes, once again everyone was waiting for us. We made our way back, with some last looks at the fishies and boarded the boat for our journey back to Koh Lanta.

All in all, a pretty good way to spend a Wednesday.