Our eighth day on our sailing adventure. The motors started at 5.30 am since we had a long day to get back to Phuket. Kop gets up very early to make sure there is hot coffee for those who arise before sunrise.
We stopped at a small island group called Koh Haa (five islands) to snorkel. These islands in Phang Nga Bay are part of the Thai National Park system and were excellent for snorkeling. Apparently they are closed in the winter which reduces the number of visitors and maintains the health of the coral system. The water was clear and just deep enough for great visibility, teeming with all kinds of beautiful fish, sea slugs, huge waving mollusks, and periwinkle colored starfish clinging to sides of coral. We arrived mid-morning and had time to enjoy this snorkeling paradise before the day trippers arrived. None of us had an underwater camera to capture the vibrant sea life, so we will just have to keep the memory in our minds.
The five islands appear to be huge rocks jutting from the sea. There is a white beach but we spent our time there in the water. Great last stop on this trip.
Afterwards we had a long motor trip to get back to Phuket for our last night. Close to the end of the run we were treated to two whales running along our boat.
Back in the Phuket mooring fields we were a little disappointed that it was so much hotter than on the islands. There was a thick haze from smog sitting over Phuket. Even the stars were not very visible after dark. As the sun was setting a flock of huge bats passed over our boat as they migrated between islands.
A huge Buddha statue up on a mountain was overlooks visible from the boat.
Our treat for our last evening was meeting our captain’s wife and cute little daughter. Steve was in constant contact with his family and just glowed when he talked about his 2 year old. And she was a cutie.
Overall this has been a delightful trip for all of us.
However we are excited to sleep in air conditioned hotel rooms in Bangkok tonight.
Disembarkation was interesting. We pulled up to the pier, threw off our bags, rode a pink shuttle to the taxi stand. A large van, prearranged by the captain, was waiting for us. We detoured up to see The Big Buddha, 45 meters high and made of marble. A few of us received a blessing from the monks who work there.
The drive from pier to Phuket airport did not enamor us as a place we would come back to. It was busy, overdeveloped and very smoggy. Many people vacation in Phuket so the old town and beaches are probably a lot nicer than the traffic corridor we saw.
The Phuket airport is very new and modern. Check in was so easy in comparison to the island airports in Greece where hundreds of people are waiting in line. The food choices were excellent, a wide variety of Asian and Western choices for a few dollars each. We won’t name those who craved a whopper and fries from Burger King.
We fly from Phuket to Bangkok for three days of sightseeing. It will be a totally different experience from Singapore and sailing but we are looking forward to it.