Diving and snorkelling of the island of Koh Bon - liveaboard day #2

We woke up to a beautiful morning. No waves and the sun rising out of the ocean. Malene was ready for her 7 AM dive - the same schedule as yesterday doing three dives in one day. The mornings means busy time for the fish so there was an immense amount of fish swimming and drifting along the rock. Rush hour under water.

Once back on the boat it was time for a nice breakfast, wait for the speed boat to arrive from the main land and then back to the same routine as yesterday. Once the speed boat was there it also meant that Mikkel could go snorkelling today with a buddy since one of the girls on the boat had decided to not dive today.

So we were dropped off the speed boat once Malene was ready for her second morning dive and then we swam around for about one hour looking a fish and the one turtle patrolling the shore.

Once back on the boat Malene was very happy. They had managed to meet up with the big oceanic manta rays on their dive and the big ones measuring 6 metres across were very impressive and they managed to get close to them. They saw the mantas both from the side and above, impressive sights. It sounded promising for the last dive of the day.

After lunch Malene did her last dive, Mikkel his last snorkelling, also being a bit lucky since the guys on the speed boat suddenly shouted that there was a manta ray in the bay where he snorkelled. So he also got to see one of those amazingly big fish. Not close up as Malene who came back to the dive ship and told about having been with several mantas. The mantas came really near only a few metres from Malene and the kept circling around. Even though they're huge they swim quietly and gracefully around in the water. It has to be one of the biggest experiences ever. Diving here is amazing.

In the afternoon we packed all of our stuff and headed back to the main land with the speed boat. A bit tired but snorkelled and dived "out" having spent more than 4 hours in the water in the past two days.

We made it back to Khao Lak before sunset, checked in for our one night stay on a small but very modern hotel, had a nice hot shower and headed out for some dinner, shopped some snacks for our bus ride tomorrow. The hotel had good wifi so we also managed to call home and say hello to parents and friends. Going to a small island for the next week or so probably means less reliable internet.

Morning at Koh Bon - Malene is down there somewhere

Another dive boat arriving at Koh Bon

Perfect snorkelling spot

Hello fish

See you later, maybe

Khao lak sunset from the hotel

Diving and snorkelling of the island of Koh Bon - liveaboard day #1

We were ready for pick up at 7 AM. The van arrived and we had a couple of other stops on the way to pick up more divers before heading to a pier outside Khao lak. There we boarded one of the big speed boats and spent the next 1½ hours going towards our liveaboard boat that was moored off the coast of one of the islands.

Once there we had a small information meeting about the dive plans and the general rules on the ship and what to do with the lonely snorkeller - Mikkel. Mikkel went off in his own speed boat and spent the next hour off the coast looking at the reef and the fish. Great snorkelling,

Then there was a dive briefing for Malene and this time our for a so called fun dive - just diving, no topic, no studying, no answering question. A good dive and several stingray were spotted.

Once back on the boat there was a nice lunch and some time off on the upper sun deck. In the afternoon a repetition of the morning - dive briefing, Mikkel sent off with "his own" speed boat and Malene going out to do some drift diving with the rest of the dive group and time to see shrimps and big trigger fish.

Back on the boat there was the big "change of guards" when all the day trippers and those ending their liveabord left the ship with the speed boat and the place felt a little empty. One last dive for Malene in the sunset but this time no speed boat for Mikkel since it had left for the main land, so he stayed on the ship, enjoyed the sunset and had Malene's detailed report on her dive once she got back on the ship. This dive included lobster spotting and lots of stingrays. Then it was time for dinner and hanging out with some of the other guys on the boat.

Getting to our cabin was a bit of a surprise. Initially we were happy to have a big cabin but it turned out to be right next to the kitchen so we happened to share it with a big family of cockroaches. We tried sleeping with the lights on but the roaches were still active and in the end Malene left the room and decided to sleep outside.

Breakfast

Early and quiet morning at the hostel-mall

Healthy breakfast - pomelo

Ready for first dive

And down they went

Wonderful sunset

Taking notes for log book

Early morning snorkelling trip off Koh Yao Yai and - happy Chinese new year

We were all picked up early from the beach this morning by our very own long tail boat and taken 45 minutes off the coast to a small island where we could snorkel. Karl seemed to enjoy the boat ride and we did the best to entertain him on the way. Once anchored off the beach of a tiny island we took turns snorkelling and looking after Karl and even the boat man entertained him a bit.

After about 30 minutes we pulled the anchor and 15 minutes later we dropped it at another small island, jumped in the water and looked for fish. And a third time, this time anchoring off the coast of a place where the big speed boats drop off Chinese day tourists from Phuket mainland and from our own island. When we got there it was already busy - before 10 AM, and more and more 40 person speed boats parked just off the beach and off loaded until it looked like the island was going to sink from the weight of the people. And more boats kept coming. When we left to go back to Koh Yao Yai we counted more than 30 big speed boats. Busy busy.

Nothing to do in the afternoon except hanging out on the beach and at the lawn at Jeppe and Katrines resort, having a couple of cold beers and reading Weekend avisen and some books. Koh Yao Yai is one of those islands in Thailand with limitied ATM's. Three in total - one in our own village (didn't work) and two other ATM's a bit away. We hired a taxi and headed for two other ATM's given that we had been some days on the island and cash was running a little low. No luck though, not even getting a cash advance at the local pharmacy. So we ended up exchanging some USD to keep us afloat for the next days until being back on the mainland and closer to working ATM's.

It's a story we have learned over the past many months - when you have it, you do not need it, and vice versa. It's like that every time. Food, drinks, money, transportation, everything.

Tonight was also the celebration of the Chinese new year with fireworks on the beach. It is now officially the year of the monkey. We like that.

Heading for morning snorkelling

Our nice long tail boat captain

Back in the boat

Ready for the Chinese invasion

Bye bye

A few pictures from Chinese New Year