Ko Tao Tour, Monday, November 16, 2009

I got up at 7, stretched and took my camcorder and housing and other cameras up to the reception at 8. I paid the 650B for the tour and was picked up at 8:40 in an open pickup, with bench seats in the bed with 2 other couples. We drove directly to the Turtle Welcome Tours store, signed for the fins and mask, then walked down to the boat. There were 39 tourists, mostly young couples from Europe.

The diesel motor boat, probably 40 feet long had benches in the front and sides. The guide spoke English but I understood very little of what he said, other than lunch, coke for 30B and beer for 50B, and none of the place names except Mango Bay. Didn't really matter. We got in the water when the boat was tied up and got out when the guide yelled and whistled. Snacks after the first location were pineapple and watermelon. Lunch at noon was light, a tray with a small bag of veggies and meat, white rice and a cold fried egg, a little too oily. Ate it all anyway.

The visibility was much less than expected, probably 10 feet. We probably didn't get far enough away from the island and the sand beaches, but there were dive boats in the same locations, so maybe there aren't any locations much better. I saw only the small reef fishes I've seen in Hawaii, not as many as I remember from Guam, and the water around Guam is much cleaner. The coral outside of the small roped off sanctuaries appears to be all broken, probably from trawling.

The final stop was a nearly 2 hour stay at the pier of a small private island. For 100B we could walk around the island on a boardwalk and climb the 100 feet or so to the top for a higher view. I and 4 others stayed on the boat. I had a beer and finished the watermelon. The girl next to me on the return to the dock said there wasn't much to do except float in the water and lie on the beach, on one side of the island. I feel my day long tour was really a half day tour, plus lunch. Paid the 50B for the beer when the guide returned.

At 4 we walked our fins and mask to the store and were driven back to our resorts.

I asked Mr. J about a joint trip to Khao Lak. He called and quoted 800B, taking the night boat, then a bus. I walked away to check for other deals. The first place had the same deal. I found one store that had promotional prices. 700B for the same trip, so I bought a ticket. The night boat leaves at 11pm for Chumphon, arriving in the morning. The bus takes 4 hours to reach Khao Lak, where I plan to take a snorkel tour in the Andaman Sea.

I walked to the Bam Bam cafe and had red curry soup with vegetables, a plate of rice and a mango shake, for 100B. The red curry was again yellow.

Mr. J was gone when I returned. I noticed smoke down the road, and when I asked about it, I was told 'for mosquitos'.

I checked out of Mr J at 7:50, getting my Sundog neck wallet out of the safe and my key deposit of 100B. The walk to the pier was short and I was directed to the right one after going first to wrong one. I checked in at the desk on the beach and took an upper bunk after 4 Aussie guys got theirs. The boat is a garbage scow, with trash, recyclables, a pickup and scooter in the front, and the control room and bunks on the upper deck on the rear half. The bunks are really double decks on both sides of the room, with no separation, and nearly double size mattress pads. The room filled up before 10:30, with one couple using a pad on floor.

The boat took off at 11, the sea was calm, and I fell asleep quickly.

So my outlay for today is 1500B, $45.