#61: Boat tour on the Andaman Sea

03/16/2020

Today we have another highlight on the program, because we're going on a boat tour through the limestone cliffs for sightseeing, snorkeling, and feeding monkeys. Our skipper is Poom's husband Kaan.

The ride starts at 9 a.m. and lasts about 6 hours. We're traveling on a typical longtail boat through the spectacular cliffs, stopping at small coves with small beaches and snorkeling in between. While snorkeling, we swim among countless colorful and large fish. The fish swim only a hand's width away from us, which is really cool. It feels like being in the middle of the school (which we actually are). We feed the fish in the water with the rind of pears.

At a stop with a beautiful golden beach, we have a lunch break. Poom has given Kaan two rice dishes, both of which taste great. For dessert, we have pineapple and mango. After we finish eating at the small beach on the small island in the middle of the sea, we make a detour to an island where monkeys sit on the trees and rocks along the coast. There, we throw fruit into the water, which the monkeys retrieve with very athletic jumps into the sea. We're surprised that the monkeys can both swim and dive.

The last stop is Koh Hong, where we sail into a small bay in the middle of the island. The bay is the size of a football field and is only about chest-deep. The entrance to the bay is a small gap in the cliffs, which is about 5 meters wide. Very spectacular. The water there is turquoise and there is a small mangrove forest in the bay.

Around 3 p.m., we arrive at the small harbor of Baan Tha Kaoh. It was a very nice trip, the scenery here is simply overwhelming. On the sun deck, where we enjoyed the view most of the time, we also got well grilled by the sun.

After a sun break, we have dinner in the evening. Poom greets us joyfully with "Martin, I bought something for you!". She has bought a fresh fish especially for Martin, which he will have for dinner tonight. He had already ordered fish twice, but both times Poom couldn't get fresh fish at the market. The food is delicious again and we go to sleep with a little sunburn.