We decided it was time to become proper tourists and enquired about a "full day snorkelling by speed boat" trip. The Thai lady selling the tickets tried to divert our attention towards a more sedate passenger boat but we stuck with our first choice and booked 2 places on the speed boat.
A mini-bus picked us up at 8.00 a.m. from the apartment and drove us away to a hidden harbour. Now we realised the Thai lady's concern, the average age of our fellow snorkellers was around 25 years! After a short description of the day's highlights, about 30 of us boarded the speed boat. The Thai man in charge of the trip (Hathi) had a good sense of humour as he handed out sea-sickness tablets and we sped away for our first leg of the journey which was to be about 45 minutes.
It was a very EXCITING feeling to be moving so fast through the water and the views of the islands around us were stunning. Very soon, we could see the Phi Phi Islands, our first destination. We landed at Maya Bay which apparantly has been made famous by the film "The Beach". It was absolutely gorgeous, turqoise clear sea, white sand, tropical plants, amazing scenery. However, about 50 million other tourists were also there and we spent most of the 30 minutes stay queuing for the loos in the jungle!
Back onto the boat for fresh fruits and cold drinks. Then we sped onto a quiet lagoon and a cave for photo opportunities. We had a short stop for snorkelling but it was very crowded and there were more views of people's fins than tropical fish!
Our next stop was Monkey Beach, Hathi handed out pieces of melon and bananas for feeding time. The cute little monkeys grabbed the fruit out of our hands and then posed on rocks while they stuffed themselves. Memories of school Christmas parties came to mind! Now it was time for our lunch and we sped away again to Runtee Bay on Phi Phi Don.
After an excellent Thai and European buffet lunch, Hathi rounded us up for our main destination of the day, Khai Nok Island. Feeling a little braver by now, we found seats at the front of the boat. What an experience! The boat bounced madly over the waves and everyone squealed! A couple of people started to look a bit green but everyone managed to hold onto their lunch.
Khai Nok Island was another idyllic setting and not so crowded. We had a 2 hour stay here so we could take our time getting ready for snorkelling. The sea was warm and clear, perfect conditions for exploring! It was amazing how many different fish were in one bay. All the colours of the rainbow were present in some shape or form. Some of our group went out a little further with Hathi to swim with sharks but we decided to leave that for the next trip.
Around 4.00 p.m. it was time to board the speed boat for the 15 minute return trip to Phuket. It started to rain just a few minutes from the shore - perfect timing. The trip had been a truly exciting adventure.
