Jillian's Travels

Thailand, Part 5

Day 57, February 23

I got maybe an hour or so of sleep because we had the world’s loudest female snorer ever. And it was cold. At one point I had to climb down from my top bunk to see who she was because she was so incredibly loud. My sister couldn’t sleep either. First thing I did when I woke up was to go tell the guy that we want a different room. I was not going to stay in there again. I would rather sleep outside in the beanbags and get attacked by mosquitoes than listen to that again. It was awful.

And to top it off we had to get up at 7am to head out for an all day excursion of island hopping and snorkeling. I wasn’t going to let no sleep stop me from enjoying the day so I loaded up on coffee and toast (that was our breakfast). Last night we met a girl name Jenna from NY that is living near Bangkok teaching English. She was interested in joining the all day trip so she joined my sister and I. I loved this because I had so many questions for her about living in Thailand and teaching. I am very, very interested in living in either Thailand or Cambodia so it was nice to hear from a fellow American how their journey was going with it.

The guy at the front told us, as we were leaving, that we could probably switch rooms when we got back later today because then more people would have checked out by then. So we left at 8am to head to the pier, hopeful for a new room on our return.

It was about a little over an hour boat ride until we got to our first island: Koh Chueak. We snorkeled there for a while and got to explore a rocky area that looked like a small cave. The water was so clear and blue that it wasn’t hard to film the fish swimming around us and we saw another jellyfish. It was absolutely beautiful. And the water temperature was really nice, too.

Then we headed out for the island of Koh Mook where we experienced the amazingly beautiful Tham Morakot, or “Emerald Cave.” First we had to swim through a dark sea cave that leads you out onto a hidden beach circled by vast cliffs where pirates once stashed their booty. The beauty of the hidden beach and cliffs were unreal. The name Emerald Cave comes from the fact that when the sun hits the water, the sunlight is reflected through the sea water creating a beautiful emerald color. Going through the cave and onto the other side is only possible during low tide, so we got lucky that we went at just the right time.

Our last snorkeling spot was off the island of Ko Waen. I did not snorkel at this spot because my ear was hurting so I stayed on the boat and admired the scenery and water from above. I’m not sure how but the water kept getting more beautiful at each stop. It was hard to believe that something this amazing exists. The pictures you’ll see won’t nearly do it justice.

Our last island was Koh Ngai where we docked and had lunch. By this time it was 1pm and we had been in the water snorkeling all day and were HUNGRY! It was sautéed veggies, red chicken curry, rice and for the vegetarians or just the really hungry, small bite sized omelettes.

We were docked there for an hour so after we ate we could go explore that beach if we wanted to. I walked around and took photos and videos of the fish eating but didn’t have energy for much else.

Then we started our long hour boat ride back to the pier. Most of us kept nodding off and then would be jolted awake by water splashing in our face. We made it back to the pier and then loaded back up in the truck we arrived in and headed back to our hostel. It was about a 45 minute ride back but feeling like much longer due to all the bumps that the driver kept hitting.

We immediately went to check to see if we’d be able to change rooms and thankfully we were. So we packed up quickly and took our stuff over to the new room. Then we pretty much collapsed outside on the beanbags until sunset/dinner time.

At 6pm, right when Bambie’s opens up for dinner, we headed their way. Jenna also joined us for dinner tonight. I got the pad priao wan (which is a sweet and sour dish with your choice of beef, chicken or tofu) with white rice and the same banana fritters with strawberry ice-cream for dessert.

After dinner, it was back to the hostel to shower and sleep (hopefully without a snorer).

Day 58, February 24

We enjoyed the island life today and took it easy. Very easy. We woke up around 9ish and went and sat on the beanbags for toast and coffee.

We had every intention of exploring the island today but it just kept getting later in morning. Then around 11 we decided we’d relax today and do an all day ‘island tour’ tomorrow.

At one point we walked into the town area to go to 7/11 and the ATM.

Then we headed back to the beach to eat lunch. We tried a new restaurant and I got the papaya salad with tofu. The lady said it wouldn’t be good with tofu but she was wrong. It was delicious with it.

Our friend Jenna from yesterday joined us and then we all headed to another restaurant that had chairs facing the beach in the sand. I tried a new beer call Singha.

Then I went back to the hostel while my sister went into the water. My neck was still bothering me so I thought it best to chill in the beanbag. While I was sitting there I struck up a conversation with a few of the other girls sitting there. They were all traveling solo and so I asked them a bunch of questions on how they are funding the trip. One is a diving blogger so I asked her about her website and how she was making money off of it. That is one of the cool things about staying in a hostel…you meet fellow travel-minded people and can learn a thing or two from their experience.

Then my sister and Jenna joined me for a little until we had to say bye to Jenna. She was heading to Krabi Airport then to South Korea to continue her English teaching.

After she left, my sister and I walked into the town area again and booked a taxi truck for all day for our island tour tomorrow. Then it was back to the beach for sunset.

We tried a new restaurant but I wasn’t a fan. I got the tom kha gai which is chicken in coconut milk with veggies. The chicken tasted like canned chicken and the veggies turned out to be a lot of mushrooms.

After the sunset we went to my personal favorite restaurant on this beach, Bambie’s, for dessert. I decided to shake it up and get mango and pineapple.

There was a storm moving in so the wind was blowing and it felt so, so, so nice out. We were seated at the little bungalow table with cushions. So between that, the wind and the music they had playing, the evening was perfect.

Then it was back to our hostel for showers and bed.

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