To Phang Nga and Beyond!

To Phang Nga and Beyond!

...That was really the name of our tour today, and trust me... They took the "beyond" to a whole new level. We will get to that in a minute, though. Hold your elephants (because who would want to hold your horses after riding an elephant)....

Our taxi to take us to the marina was supposed to arrive at 6:15. In true Thai fashion, let no tourist wait. Ever. They showed up at 6:00 and the lobby called to tell us. Well, our building is across the street from the lobby and the doors were locked to get out. This: A. Made me think, "How nice, we were nice and safe last night." And B. Made me panic because two people I know spent an hour last night watching YouTube footage of the Patong Beach tsunami from 2005, and one person you know refused to watch but planned an escape route that involved running up the street away from the beach (elaborate plan). But anyway, we were locked in and no escape would have been possible. No matter. But we had to flag down the taxi driver at the curb, who in turn flagged down the staff in the lobby who came to rescue us. Our hero.

We picked up a couple more tour-goers, then made it to the marina pronto. We were given a quick rundown of the day, and we were on the water in no time. We rode the boat about 40 minutes out to our first island to do a little cave swimming!

We were given a helmet (safety first in Thailand today, apparently), a pool noodle to help us float, and a flashlight. We followed our fearless leader Harry into the cave, semi-floating, semi-wading. In the deepest, darkest part of the cave, he had us turn off our flashlights to see how dark it was. In the dark, he grabbed Shandon's leg and she screamed and we all laughed while I guarantee every single one of us was thinking "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU that wasn't me." Floating through the cave to the lagoon was a little like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, minus the pirates and fake cannons, but plus fish that can walk. There were these fish with both gills and lungs, as well as fins and legs (greedy little buggers, if you ask me).

After the lagoon came kayaking around limestone islands, in and out of little nooks and crannies. When we got to the cove, all these kayaks and rowers were already waiting. We got our very own rower, because heaven forbid a tourist have to lift a finger in this country! They are so very accommodating. The other day in Chiang Mai a server spilled a DROPLET of my drink on my arm, and not only would she not let me wipe my own arm, I think she would have followed me home and brushed my teeth and taken out my contacts for me if I let her. Anyway, back to the cove at hand... My point is we were not allowed to row ourselves. One kayak had a rower that serenaded them with Thai ballads. Another worked on making seaweed into origami flowers while simultaneously rowing. Our rower didn't speak much, but I'm sure he was wondering how he drew the short straw and had to haul around three girls instead of the typical two riders.

After kayaking, we headed to James Bond island! There were many references to James Bond... Which I would fully understand had I ever watched one. Next was lunch on a small island restaurant. We rode in the back of pick-up trucks to get there and I learned that rubber trees are a real thing (you know, oops there goes another rubber tree plant and all that jazz).

Post lunch was another cave cruise... Harry told us he was there when the tsunami hit. He told us how the sea turned brown ("like a latte") immediately, but they had no idea what was going on until later... Except that for FOUR days prior, all animals on the island had been heading to high ground... Ants, dogs, water buffaloes, elephants... All of them. I am pleased to announce to you I saw plenty of dogs in the beach area NOT heading toward higher ground today, so it's all good.

I know what you're thinking... "This sounds like an okay day, but it is not like they went to a private beach and were served platters of fruit...." Well... Not true. That was our last stop. The boat just pulled up on this tiny little island without a soul in sight, and off we went. And just when we were thinking our sugar levels were dipping dangerously low, Harry's sidekick showed up with a platter of fruit.

It was a glorious, glorious day and a wonderful way to end our time in Phuket. We are back to Bangkok tomorrow to prep ourselves mentally for a layover in Taipei (cross your fingers for running water!!) and the flight home!