DAY SIX:
On December 22nd, we went on a 4 island
snorkeling tour in Koh Lanta! We were really excited to get some good
snorkeling in as we hadn’t snorkeled yet because the beaches we had been to so
far were pretty shallow.
So how can I describe the island tour other than calling it
that scene from The Perfect Storm! Sweet
Jesus, I have never experienced rockier waters than this damn boat tour. Christ,
I’m still nauseous from it! First of all, we were on this rickety canoe with a
top, which is hardly a “boat” more than a piece of wood wobbly floating on
water. There were many boat rides. After a bumpy tuktuk ride to the pier, we
boarded a rickety ass boat and boated to another boat and another boat, each
boat more decrepit than the last! This whole time it was windy and raining on
and off. Nevertheless, B and I smiled the whole time because we were feeling
lucky to be having a cool experience in Thailand. My Lord did I ever feel
motion sick though. Luckily, I brought a sniffer thing (smelling salts for
motion sickness) and sniffed it probably 2/3 of the way. I was groggy and
spaced out of my face by the time we got to our second snorkel destination.
Our second snorkel destination was into the EMERALD cave
(the part I was looking forward to the most on the tour!), which turned into a
grotto! It was unbelievable and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more had I
been able to see (no glasses because of the choppy waters and the fact that I
was swimming) and not been so damn nauseous the whole time. Regardless of all
the obstacles, it was incredible! We were given life jackets and lined up in
the water to follow a guide through a cave into the grotto. It was practically
pitch black and the waters were choppy as hell and I was feeling like Helen
Keller in water so naturally I was pissing myself. But seriously, I was in the
ocean, so I was peeing the whole time which was the only way to calm myself
from the harrowing experience of swimming in the pitch black hearing echoing of
people laughing and yelling and shrieking (that was me) as we moved along to
the grotto. I reached in front of me and held onto what I thought was Bernard
but turned out to be a Dutch chick who was very nice about me clawing at her
back in fear.
As I swam through the journey to hell, I saw a teeny tiny
light that grew bigger and bigger as we neared it. I paddled happily towards
the light and came out into this cylindrical grotto. It was amazing and
honestly really hard to describe!
^ Blog about the 4 islands tour that has pictures showing
the grotto and tunnel cave (sort of)
I found a blog from a girl who went there and obviously had
a waterproof camera so she took some pictures, so here you go. The pictures do
not do it justice at all! It was really cool and I felt like I was on Survivor
or something. The whole time though, I was swallowing and breathing myself into
calmness and trying my best not to projectile vom in this beautiful place.
It was hard to see many fish because of the torrential waves
and rain, but we managed to see some and stay reasonably not freezing. Finally,
it was time for lunch and although I was hungry, my nauseous overpowered every
feeling imaginable so I ate as much as I could knowing it would help my tummy
feel better and then I just chilled on the beach where we parked for lunch
until dark and ominous clouds reached us faster than expected and it bucketed
down rain! People were screaming and rushing to the boat, but we took this
opportunity to enjoy a rainshower swim since we were already wet anyway. A few
people on the boat followed suit and we all tried to enjoy the inconvenient
weather.
After trying to wait out the rain, the guide told us to get
in the boat so we could head home. It took hours. HOURS! Again, this was like The Perfect Storm. The boat was
practically vertical at one point. I kept my eyes closed and wrapped my soaking
wet dress around my cold ass and prayed for safety. With every exhalation, I
was impressed to not have vomited so I counted my lucky stars. Even Bernard said
he felt really sick. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed mine and we yoga
breathed our way back to dry land. I all but kissed that damn ground when we
got off that frigging boat! Calling the waves torrential would be an
understatement. I really cannot believe no one got sick. Maybe they did and my
eyes were shut and my brain was screaming at that point so I didn’t realize.
Who knows!
Anyway, we tuktuked back to the hotel with a bunch of
miserable passengers. B and I were smiling and super excited to not be on the
boat anymore and to have had the experience, but we were really glad to get off
the bitter bus and skipped into our hotel where we told the front desk about
our crazy, rainy times. She apologized for the weather which was sweet but
unnecessary and wished us a happy rest of our time in Koh Lanta. Everyone in
Thailand is nice. Period.
After a hot shower which was the best thing in the universe
after a freezing and chilly boat ride through Jaws: Thailand edition, we had a traditional Thai dinner at a cute
little place called Krua Nidnoy right on the beach. The place was super cute
and placed some serious 90’s beats like Spice Girls which we chair danced to as
we ate our spring rolls, curry, and hot pan (a pan that was literally on fire!)
After dinner, we met one of Bernard’s work friends and his
wife for drinks and spent a beautiful evening lounging on the beach and sharing
Thailand stories.
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