Khao Lak
It cost me 700 Baht by taxi to get to the bus station in Phuket town from Rawai about an hour away and 100 Baht to go north to Khao Lak two hours north up the coast of the Andaman Sea. I had booked a room for two nights at the Khao Lak Traveller Lodge. It was cheap, clean and later I realized it was part of the Rotary International group, always a plus. The owner and staff are wonderful and accommodating. I wanted the extra day here because I wanted to see what I was getting into. I had booked a live aboard scuba dive trip for 6 days in the Similan Islands for my birthday present to me and hopped on a snorkeling day trip to the Similans the day before departing, yesterday.
After checking into the lodge I wanted to get into the sea. The beach was quiet with a few people looking for shells, walking or baking in the sun. The water was inviting and blue with a slight current heading north up the beach. The visibility underwater wasn’t so good but hey, you can’t have everything all the time. It felt good to be in and near the water again. Looking out west the sky was big blue but behind me up the mountainside massive gray clouds pushed over the tops and I knew what was coming, an afternoon shower, lightning included. I walked down a row of resorts with security guards at every entrance separated by small massage centers, tailors, and convenience stores. I ended up crossing through a palm oil palm tree grove along a trail back to the main road running through town and back to my room just before the rain came down in buckets. The gutters in the street overflowed and the lighting storm was epic as I sat and watched it for an hour before it all came to a humid end.
I got picked up at 8 am and driven to a gathering point for Rak Talay Tours and 18 of us from all over the world hopped in a speedboat headed for the Similan Island chain. I met some wonderful Brits and we all shared a lot of laughs the day. There are approximately nine islands in the aquatic national park, three are government, and the rest are available for guided visits with park fees and a list of restrictions that don’t need mentioning.
The idea behind the speedboat is to get out there before others but when they have speedboats too you just have to go with the flow and hopefully find certain places where there are fewer groups. There are a few beaches where all boats go but then everyone scatters to favorite spots all depending on the weather and sea conditions. It was well orchestrated and we found ourselves with only one other boat on the same course. After an hour and fifteen minutes blue rings appear around the islands and in the sandy shallows the water glows a color of blue fit for dreams.
The day was well sorted with a variety of activities between beach time with swimming, snorkeling, a proper lunch, chill time and for me more time in the water. I brought along my little Pentax underwater camera just in case there was anything within five meters of the surface. Good call.
Special thanks to Cathy, Rob and Viv for being so much fun, it wouldn’t have been the same without you. I wrote this blog to wet your appetite for a six night adventure on the live aboard coming up and will post when I get back. It should be lots of fun with some good photos as well. See you under water.
