This coastal town was my starting point for a dive trip, where I completed nine of the thirteen scheduled dives. I was a concerned when the weather app showed thunderstorms every day for a week, but we only got a bit of rain. I was the oldest and one of the least experienced divers. Though certified as a teenager, until I went to the Great Barrier Reef about­ five years ago, I hadn’t been diving in decades. Since then I’ve taken a refresher course, been certified for nitrox, and gone on a handful of dives. This is by far the most concentrated diving trip I’ve ever taken. Most dives were near the 18-meter/60’ limit of my open water certification, though I dipped below 20 meters a couple times.

I then spent a day enjoying the beaches and sights around Khao Lak, a nice low-key location.

 

26 November – reaching Khao Lak

I took a two-hour ferry from Phi Phi to Krabi then a “bus” (series of three vans) to Khao Lak. This gave me more than enough time to finish Sightseeingby Rattaweu Lapcharoensap, a Thai American. This book of short stories gives a perspective on Thailand not seen by tourists. After I checked into my hotel, the manager gave me a ride to the dive shop to check-in and get fitted with gear.

After showering, I had an early dinner, then took a stroll on gorgeous Nang Thong Beach across from the hotel. I was enjoying the sunset when I got a message from Judith, she’d broken her wrist, apparently falling off a log while taking a picture! They transported her to Trang, a couple hours south of Krabi. For once our local phones worked and I was able to talk to her. I went to bed feeling bad that she was alone in a strange place with few English speakers.

27 November – three dives in the Andaman Sea

When I awoke I learned that Judith had her wrist set in the middle of the night. It appears to be a clean break, in two places, so she won’t need surgery. She is leaning towards continuing the trip, with a follow-up x-ray in Bangkok, where we meet in a week.

I ate a boring breakfast at my hotel, not realizing that I would be fed again onboard. There are sixteen passengers on a boat large enough to hold twenty-four. I’m sharing a cabin with a Thai woman named Ann on the main deck. We have our own bathroom.

It took us about three hours to reach our first dive site, Koh Bon, one of the Similan Islands. There were five of us in my first group, including two dive masters. We did three dives and while the coral wasn’t impressive, I saw many fish I haven’t seen before. The last dive was in the dark, my first, and possibly last, night dive. Even using a torch, I can see more during the day. I also feel bad about disturbing the fish, though I saw a couple we hadn’t seen earlier and several moray eels on the move.

28 November – two dives on Thanksgiving Day

The other two Americans, originally from Russia, reminded me that today is Thanksgiving; I had completely lost track of the days. For perhaps the first time in my life, I’m not eating turkey today. Thai food is delicious so I can’t complain, especially since I’ve already arranged a turkey dinner for Christmas when I get home. It’s quite an international mix onboard. Many of the crew members are German, which makes sense given the name of the boat, MV Bavaria. I also counted Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, the UK, and Thailand among the countries from which passengers and crew hail. Lucky for me, English is the common language.

I skipped the early morning dive since I woke up congested, darn that troublesome right sinus! I was assigned to a different group today, only four of us, including our master, Heinz, and a dive master in training. Fortunately, my sinus cleared up in time for the second dive, a nice one at Tachai Pinnacle where the curious batfish came to greet us. We saw many different types of fish and a few corals. The next dive wasn’t as nice, the current, or currency as Heinz called it, kept us from swimming far and it stirred up the seafloor making the water murky. I skipped the night dive.

After dinner, delicious snapper, we had surprise entertainment. One of the crew members dressed in drag and did several musical performances in various outfits getting most of us up dancing.

29 November – three dives at Richelieu Rock

Dive, eat, nap, repeat. I did that three times today, skipping the third dive to rest up for the fourth. To that I could add shower and download pictures. I’m using underwater housing for my little Sony RX100 VI; it goes deeper and takes better pictures than the Olympus Tough, though cloudy conditions, in both water and sky have not been optimal for photography. I now learn that late February to mid-March has the clearest and calmest waters, during the hot season.

Of the first two dives, early morning was best, before other boats arrived with hordes of divers. This is apparently the most famous dive spot in Thailand. I saw a great variety of fish, from tiny to large, and more coral than at our earlier locations. The water was quite murky and the “currency” was stronger.

I also went on the sunset dive, enjoying the first half more than the second, confirming that I prefer diving with sunlight rather than darkness. Towards the end we spotted an octopus and while juggling my torch and camera, the later slipped off my arm. As I ascended I anticipated going without it for the rest of the trip and filing an insurance claim. To my surprise, it was in the bin of water reserved for cameras, torches, and dive computers. The ship engineer had spotted it pop to the surface, in the dim light, and swam for it. J

30 November – a wreck dive, return to Khao Lak

Both of the last two dives were to Boonsung, the wreck of tin mining platform that fell down right after installation and broke apart in the 2004 typhoon, the same one that wiped out the infrastructure on Phi Phi and caused me to cancel a planned return trip to India. It was our murkiest dive yet, so hard to see anything that I decided to skip the second dive. I avoided the lionfish and enjoyed seeing a variety of puffer fish, one of which swam around checking us out.

The boat returned to the dock after lunch and we were transported back to the dive shop. My hotel was only a couple minutes from there so I walked. It’s older and smaller than my last one, though closer to shops and restaurants. Someone carried my suitcase up to the fourth floor for me. I got settled, published my Phi Phi post, and went for a walk. The beach is further and not quite as nice the first one. I treated myself to a massage before going to dinner at the Loma Restaurant next to the dive shop, where we were offered a free post-dive meal.

1 December – sea turtles, rafting, and beaches

 I was served more than I could eat for breakfast: eggs, bacon, shrimp, and a half dozen types of fruit. I was then picked up for a half day tour. There were only two other tourists, a couple from Germany.

Our first stop was the Sea Turtle Conservation Center where four species of sea turtles are raised. When eggs are laid on the beach, volunteers guard them from predators, and when the baby turtles hatch they are brought to the center and cared for until ready for release back to sea. The center also treats sick and injured sea turtles.

Next was a bamboo raft ride through the jungle. My insect repellent worked; I heard no mosquitos. The snakes in the trees made me a bit nervous, but overall it was a pleasant, relaxing ride. Our final stop was a small waterfall. I had to wait for a few people to finish posing for dozens of pictures before I could take one. I waded in the coolest water I’ve felt in this country. Along the way I saw trees bearing guava fruit wrapped in individual bags and sap being collected from rubber trees; now I see where my latex mattress comes from.

I had a late lunch, Indian food, then Kai, the manager of the hotel, dropped me off at Coconut Beach. After a nice walk, I bought a mojito so I could use a lounge chair, and enjoyed a few relaxing hours reading and napping, with a break to swing on a swing hanging from a palm tree. Kai picked me and a couple other guests up and took us to Memories Beach where I wandered until sunset. Shh, don’t tell the world, if you are looking for long, uncrowded beaches with fine sand, and warm, turquoise waters, Khao Lak is the spot.

2 December – off to Bangkok

Kai insisted on sending me off with fresh lemongrass and other herbs used in Thai cooking. The taxi ride to Phuket took about an hour and a half, on the best roads I’ve seen yet. Unlike in Cambodia, the cars drive on the left side of the road here. When I went through security I found the hotel key in my pocket. Oops. Maybe I can mail it back from Bangkok.