 |
| Emerald Lake. In case you're wondering, yes, this is as much as Tony tans.... |
 |
Hanging with the cool kids
at the front of the boat! |
 |
| The typical Ang Thong view |
After an amazing amount of hassle to get booked onto it (3 phone calls, 2
emails, 1 frustrated lady (yes, that was Annaliza!)), we were amazed that a
coach showed up to pick us up for a day in the
Ang Thong National Marine Park. After breakfasting in a shack, we
wondered what we’d got ourselves into, but before long we were on the speed
boat – fortunately we managed to snag the last two spots at the front of the
boat which was a bit bumpy, but at least we could take advantage of the good
weather. We shared this with an interesting bunch – a couple of excitable Swiss
girls, some uber-cool New Yorkers (where the water’s black, apparently), and an
Eastern European couple who didn’t have 5 English words between them.
Conversations don’t get more free flowing - you can imagine!
 |
Tony's modelling career wasn't
starting anytime soon... |
 |
| The views just kept on coming |
Stopped for a quick snorkel, but found viewing the fashion shoot on the
adjacent boat we were moored to was a far more entertaining affair. Tony’s
efforts at replicating the poses fell way short of the mark! A quick stop off
to see the Emerald Lake (along with every other tourist in the region!) was
followed by tucking into a buffet lunch (Tony hadn’t learnt from the previous
time, and attacked it like there was a world food shortage!).
 |
| Got to love the windswept look |
 |
| A post buffet wander |
 |
On the lookout for Bond...
James Bond... |
 |
| A unique island experience |
To burn off the food we had a canoe over to James Bond Island #2 – not
quite as impressive as the original but great to see. After a bit of tanning
time on the beach it was back on the boat to head back to Koh Samui and say
goodbye to the superb views. The journey back was quite bumpy, but there was no
need to cry about it (like a lady in the back of the boat)!
 |
| Good oar action |
 |
| Exercise done for the dat |
Given our hotel’s proximity to an alternative pier, we were personally
dropped off and felt like celebrities as we walked past all other passengers.
It was going so well, until Annaliza pretty much fell off the boat onto the
pier – all street cred lost immediately.
Key Learnings
1. Tour operators in
Thailand double up as would-be photographers – we’d never had so many offers to
have our photo taken in a single day!
