April 8th, 2019
50 Waterproof Sunscreen (check). Hats (check). Water (check). Swimsuits (check). Rash shirts (check). Watershoes (check). Underwater camera (check). Change of clothes & travel towel (Check). Tickets & Cash (check). We’re off for another adventure exploring and snorkeling around 4 islands in Koh Rang National Marine Park!
We pre-purchased our tickets at the Bang Bao pier for the Sattra 4 islands day trip. The Price was 650 Baht each (plus 200 Baht each for Government marine park fee). This price included pick up and drop off at Tranquility Bay, lunch and snorkeling gear. We were informed that Monday in “off season” should be a smaller group… but it wasn’t!
We arrived to discover a packed vessel —both floors were full to the 100 person capacity and people quickly claimed their seats and life jackets! We started up top but discovered the available seating was lacking sufficient airflow, and the heat and humidity resulted in 3 wilting tourists!
Slide show video of 4 Islands Snorkling Trip
Downstairs we discovered 3 seats immediately behind the stairs. The view wasn’t fabulous but it was cooler! This was our base for the 10:30–4:00 pm trip on the Gulf of Thailand (Siam). From this location we received our masks and snorkels (fins were an extra 100 Baht we discovered), and our afternoon food (skewers of bbq chicken, pineapple, and peppers) and trays of fresh watermelon and pineapple. Lunch was a line up buffet style. We also used this vantage point to conveniently drop over the side of the vessel into the ocean for each of the 4 snorkeling or swimming locations!
We saw some amazing different types of coral in 2 locations, abundant supplies of black Sea urchins, and lots of colourful tropical fish in 2 of the 4 locations. But… after snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef we have been spoiled with the abundant variety and colors found elsewhere in this amazing planet of ours! Underwater photos from our waterproof camera will be added after we return to Canada!
However, the ocean temperature was like a warm bath and the visibility was mostly good. The 4 locations we visited on our tour were too busy for our liking—with multiple tour boats at the same locations. The tranquility of observing fish in their coral habitat was regularly interrupted by someone’s flippers or arms. But we love new experiences and seeing new areas, so we are grateful for spending this day on the ocean.
We thought we were well protected from the sun and UV rays, but clearly the sun is extremely powerful here and the intense sun burns we received only showed their true colors later in the day! It’s been a daily ritual of aloe vera treatment since then 🥵 Next blog post… Monkeys!
Sandy's Global Eyes 