Island hopping
One of my favourite days of the whole
trip was joining back up with my tour
group to take a speedboat around the
islands. There had been thunderstorms
for the preceding couple of days so it
was a relief to wake up to 34 degree
heat with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect
weather for island hopping!
The first stop was Bamboo Island a
tiny island of pure white sand emerging
from the turquoise sea. Whilst paddling
in the crystal clear waters I was lucky
enough to spot a barracuda fish. We then
moved on to Maya Bay, the location for
the film ‘The Beach’ starring Leonardo
DiCaprio. It is a stunningly beautiful
bay that’s sheltered by 100-metre high
cliffs on three sides. It was undeniably
picturesque but so busy with tourists that
for me it ruined its beauty. We arrived at
midday and I think the best time to visit is
early in the morning or late in the evening
when the crowds have departed.
We then travelled to Railey Beach to
have a barbecue on the beach and watch
the sunset. Once the sun had gone
down our boat crew doubled as a fire
act. We all sat in a circle whilst the crew
performed fire poi and breathing. The fire
show was pretty impressive until one end
of the fire sticks flew off onto a man’s lap
in the crowd. Happily he wasn’t injured.
We then travelled back out to sea to do
a night snorkel. Just as we were about
to jump in the water a lightning storm
started in the distance but this didn’t
seem to faze our boat crew who ushered
us all in, although rather more hurriedly.
The boat had a flashlight so we could
just about see where we were going but
we were told to hold onto the guide rope
for safety! Once we were in the water the
flashlight was turned off and we were
told to wave our hands in front of our
snorkel. When I did the phosphorescent
plankton lit up all around me. I quickly
forgot about the impeding storm and was
mesmerised but the astonishing blue
neon lights.
After living out of a backpack for three
weeks on my last night I treated myself to
a night in a five-star hotel in the centre of
Bangkok. A superior room at the Grand
Eastin Hotel was only an incredible £60
a night with breakfast and infinity pool
included. The breakfast was like nothing
I have ever seen before. There was every
kind of food you could think of including
mussels and sushi. My favourite part
was the pancake maker, after weeks of
chicken rice for breakfast it was a very
welcome sight.
In this one trip I managed to tick lots off
my bucket list. I know that I could return
to Thailand 10 times and still not see
everything that this wonderful country
has to offer.
By Annika Mason
65