Whakaputaina: 10.12.2018
The clear water at the islands of southern Thailand always invites you to snorkel. That's why we booked a four-island tour for today, which would offer opportunities for diving. We started from our hostel to the other side of the island to the already visited Old Town. Our longboat departed from the pier there and first sailed along the coast of Koh Lanta and later across the open sea to a group of islands that could already be seen from afar.
Once we arrived there, it was time to dive into the cool water towards the fish at the first island. There were many colorful animals to see underwater, but you always had to be careful not to scrape your legs and arms on the sharp ends of the reef.
We continued to another island named Koh Mook. There was no diving planned, but rather swimming through a dark cave called the Emerald Cave. It was quite narrow, and when you were at the back of the group swimming through the cave and the guide didn't shine the light in your direction, you were swimming in the dark - not a really uplifting feeling. At the ends of the cave, where the light already shone through under the rocks, the water took on an unnatural turquoise color, which glowed brightly in the darkness and probably gave the cave its name.
Once you swam through the cave to the other side, you reached a real smuggler's hideout. A kind of crater in the middle of the island, surrounded by steep and unclimbed cliffs, which could only be reached through the cave. This is exactly where every pirate would probably hide their treasure.
We then continued to the next dive at a small island, which could be considered more of a rock. There, we had a reunion with many fish, but we could also spot barracudas on the seabed. These are the fish that made the little Nemo an only child in the movie of the same name, but are harmless to humans.
The boat then continued its journey to the last island, Koh Ngai, where we had a delicious lunch and could relax on the beautiful beach after the tiring day at sea, before the longboat returned to Koh Lanta.
After a little over an hour, we arrived back at the starting point and were taken back to our hostel. It was evening again and we went back to the house beach to admire the sunset. As you may have already noticed, we have seen a few sunsets, but this one outshone them all. The photos that have not been edited should speak for themselves.
I would apologize for the amount of sunset photos, if they weren't so spectacular...
After this breathtaking finale, we sat down in a restaurant on the beach and had dinner. For dessert, I treated myself to a dessert that sounded somewhat contradictory: fried ice cream. Now I can actually forget about normal ice cream, because none can ever compare to this. It was an ice cream ball surrounded by a still warm crust of dough, served with chocolate and whipped cream. What a delight.
Fried Ice Cream
With that, it was also time to say goodbye to Koh Lanta, because tomorrow we will return to the mainland on the coast to Ao Nang. We had a wonderfully varied time here after the pure relaxation on Koh Lipe.