Me and Adi on the boat just before snorkeling
What do I do with these?
Since Ali had decided she was going to spend most of the day partaking in a scuba diving refresher course, me and Addi decided to do the next best (and cheaper) option of snorkeling. Our organized trip involved taking a small boat around the entire island stopping off at various locations along the way to snorkel and swim with the fish. The first stop was only about a mile further north up from where we started. Our guide told us we had 30 minutes at this stop so I quickly put on my flippers and jumped in without wasting time. The water was warm and crystal clear. I put on my mask, inserted the mouth piece and began to snorkel. I saw hundreds of what looked like really thick giant worms lying on the sea bed doing absolutely nothing that are called sea cucumbers. There was some interesting coral and the odd fish here and there, but for me, this stop was more about familiarizing myself with the equipment and figuring out the best way to swim with fins attached to my feet. I have never snorkeled or dived before so this took some getting used to. I had just lifted my head out of the water to empty my mouthpiece of water when I momentarily freaked out. A few of the girls who where a little further out where shouting “shark, shark”. I was about to race back to the boat until it became obvious that it was a friendly shark. These sharks don’t eat people so they are quite a pleasure to look at although I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t close enough to see it before it swam away.
Adi swimming with the fish
Me and Adi
Me swimming with the fish
At the second stop we saw tons of incredible things. Schools of fish in all different colors shapes and sizes. Millions of them. All kinds of colorful coral including these weird purple ‘flaps’ which were stuck to the rock and closed the instant you got close to them like a venus fly trap. Black spiky sea urchins. This fish. That fish. I could almost touch them they swam so close to me. I felt like I was swimming in a giant tropical fish tank. I suppose I was really. One amusing black fish swam up to me on its own and looked me in the eyes. It backed off for a minute then kept swimming up close again for a better look at me. I wondered what it was thinking as it seemed to be examining me. I moved my hand towards it but not surprisingly it quickly disappeared.
Our boat
You don't even need goggles to see the fish in these waters
Palm trees, blue skies, blazing sun and crystal clear water. It was absolute heaven. At the third stop we ate lunch and then continued to snorkel. It was just as incredible as the second stop with plenty of rocky underwater mounds to explore. I saw small brightly colored fuzzy things that shot inside the rocks when I touched them. Oh, I wish I had an underwater camera. I felt like I was in another world. For the last part of the trip we headed to another small island which is just south of the main island. We had to pay an entry fee to get in because it was a private resort but it was well worth it. We climbed to the peak for an amazing view of Koh Tao then drank pina coladas back at the bar followed by more snorkeling. The fish were swimming so close and there was so many of them everywhere. A few of them even bit us. They must have thought we were there to be eaten. My back of course is burnt.
Our last stop, the private island
The water was beautiful
After the trip, back at our quiet resort, Addi and I took a leisurely stroll along the sparsely populated beach which reminded us yet again that we were on a very small island during the quiet rainy season of Thailand. We walked to the most expensive resort where we stopped for a cocktail. It was only 5 o’clock in the afternoon and Addi and I were the only ones in the bar. I taught him how to play backgammon and after the first game, he won. Twice! As tempted as I was to order another mojito, we decided to move onwards in search of a cheaper place to drink. We walked down the stairs leading back to the beach when all of a sudden I heard someone shout out my name. It was an English accent, from the North. It wasn’t Ali. I presume she was still swimming with sharks in the sea. I turned my head and looked up to see a guy leaning over the luxurious pool edge with an utterly shocked look on his face. My jaw equally began to drop once I recognized the familiar face. It was Simon, my friend from Newcastle. We used to work together about 5 years ago and have only seen each other a few times every Christmas and New Year when I used to fly from Chicago to visit my family. We both couldn’t believe our eyes. We were both a million miles from home and randomly happened to be on the same remote island at the exact same time. Unbelievable. After the initial shock wore off we briefly caught up on each others lives and then arranged to meet up for a few drinks after dinner. Simon was on a month-long vacation with various other like-minded travelers who are all part of the same organized trip. Simon’s traveling companions consisted of all women and no men. Apparently there’s a severe lack of male travelers in the UK but Simon didn’t seem to mind. I introduced Ali and Addi to Simon and his girl posse when we met up later that evening and started what was to be a long night of cocktails by the beach, besotted swims in the sea at midnight (fully clothed, during a storm I might add) and dancing on the beach in the rain. Thanks to the super-strength Thai Red Bull, I returned home at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning. And I was still wide awake.
Me and simon just after dancing in the sea
