Thailand 2024 Tag 18+19+20

Well, we didn't do much on Sunday. You're not supposed to. It's a day of rest. We drove around the island a bit and enjoyed ourselves under some shade-giving mangroves. In the evening, we had a little shrimp BBQ and good vegetables. Then it was unfortunately time to pack because we had to change hotels for one night.

Monday started quite early as we wanted to snorkel at the Surin Islands. A quick check-in for fins and masks, then we boarded the speedboat. Luckily, it was only half full and I could comfortably lie down and sleep through most of the journey to the first snorkeling spot. Upon arrival, we had 40 minutes to explore the reef. What wonders did we see? Lots of little transparent creatures (which turned out to be baby squids and not jellyfish), anemone fish, triggerfish, parrotfish, pufferfish, and all sorts of other fishy things.

Unfortunately, it turned out that I don't handle the sea's motion well while snorkeling. I spent the journey to the next spot and that snorkeling session primarily trying not to feed the fish. It always happens to someone on such tours, and this time it was me. Despite that, spirits were high. So, it wasn't that bad. After eating, we spent an hour on land at the Surin Islands, which in my opinion isn't a must-see. Very basic, a bit littered, and clearly geared towards tourists.

I also skipped the third snorkeling spot and thought to myself during the last one, it doesn't matter now, I'll just get seasick on the way back. Egg had the great luck of briefly seeing a blacktip reef shark. But it was neither hungry nor in the mood for a chat and quickly disappeared.

The return journey was uneventful, and as expected, I felt seasick.

Unfortunately, our hotel wasn't informed of our return, so we had to take a short walk back with a towel around our hips.

Furthermore, we had to change hotels for one night, and I don't think I will ever check into a hotel wearing a tank top and with a towel around my waist again. It was quite funny, at least.

In the evening, we had a not-so-good sausage salad, but a very good whole fish with plenty of ginger.

On Tuesday, we continued our journey towards Bangkok. We wanted to see how far we could get. Internally, I had already resigned myself to staying overnight in Chumphon, but I hadn't considered the factor of the Egg Tours welcome. Our planned bus was full, but somehow we managed to get one to Petchaburi an hour later. And with plenty of distance ahead of us. After a good seven-hour drive, a short ride on a scooter taxi (I don't necessarily need that again with the backpacks) to our accommodation in Phetchaburi. Quietly located by the river, and people here don't speak as much English as in the other places we've been to.

What we've seen of Phetchaburi so far is really beautiful. Lots of temples, old houses, and few tourists.