hanging out with europeans on holiday in Koh Lak, snorkellling in Similian and Surin Islands

From Koh Sok we headed to Koh Lak, which is a beach town on the west coast. This is the jumping off point for trips to the Similian Islands, which contain fabulous snorkelling and diving spots. LIttle did we know that Koh Sok is THE german and swedish tourist destination in thailand.

Kho Sok was completely devastated by the tsunami, and suffered horrible damage and loss of life. There is a police boat that sits one mile off the beach that was brought in by the tsunami. Apparently someone on the boat made a video of the boat riding the tsunami wave that is now on you tube, apparently you can find it by looking for tsunami, police boat, koh lak (or Ko Lak). If you find it please send me the link, i don't have a fast enough connection here to find it.

As a result of the tsunami, all the beach businesses were destroyed and had to be rebuilt. Most everything is rebuilt now, and the beach is dominated by super super high end resorts, charging something like 100 a night for very posh surroudnings. It's very strange how many germans and scandinavians are there. it's like the town has some agreement with travel agencies in these countries. THere were many dive shops and restaurants that advertised in german and swedish, and the town was just full of tall blonde people. It was far too package touristy for us, but a good jumping off point to the islands.

The first night we stayed in a relatively clean room and looked quiet and off the main road. When we went back to our room at night, we discovered that our room was right behind the most happening bar in the area. The front garden area had transformed into a loud busy bar. ARRGH! Another night of bad sleeping!

The next day we relocated to teh Banana Bungalows which were nice, beautiful and quiet. Perfect. And also, a pool, hot water, a safe, and a fridge! Quite a splurge for us at $28 a night but i needed some rest after nights of vermin and loud parties.

We did one day trip to the Similian Islands and the next day went to teh Surin Islands for amazing snorkeling. We saw an octopus, sharks, a sea turtle, and amazing corals and all sorts of other colorful fish. A greenback turtle almost ran into me, i did not see it until it was about one foot away and then i swam away so as not to touch it but still got quite a look at it. The visibility was great and the coral and reef life was so beautiful, it was like national geographic. The octopus was really cool and moved all stealthily grabbing out at fish. He was hard to spot on the bottom of the coral, he blended right in. Everyone said the Surin Islands are the best spot for snorkelling in all of Thailand. Both are protected park areas with only park areas to stay, which is why we did the day trips. It was expensive to get out there but well worth it. I put on SPF 50 twice and still got burnt from the intense sun.

Now we are in Ranong, extending our Visa, and our plans for the next part of the trip may change as we just found out that our friend Steve Q. is also in Thailand.

Until next time!