Snorkeling the coral reef off Koh Tao (Turtle Island) and Koh Nang Yuan

We're at the Bhundhari Resort on Koh Samui. 

Ah, the pool

The view from our balcony as a thundercloud moves in



Tri-level pool



They have a beach-side ping pong table.  Al needs a drink to cool off.

Beautiful beach

Breakfast at Bhindhari

Koh Samui is the largest island in the Gulf of Thailand and it is known for its beaches.  It is a quieter island than Phuket and people come here to relax and explore the surrounding islands.  Two of the smaller islands, Koh Tao(Turtle Island) and Koh Nang Yuan, are renowned for their diving and snorkeling and we wanted to get in on that.

At 8:30 a.m. we boarded a 26 passenger speedboat, powered by three 200 horsepower motors and settled in for the 1 1/2 hour jaunt across the Gulf of Thailand.

Our speedboat

 It was a fine morning for a sea cruise.  The sun was shining, the breeze was balmy and the sea was calm.  The tour director offered all of us some sea-sick pills and nobody took him up on them.  We enjoyed the ride, getting to know our fellow passengers.  People were from all over the globe.  There were Australians of course, and also Britains, Germans, Chinese and people from Hong Kong, and us, the lone two Canadians.

Lighthouse bay

Our first stop was at Lighthouse Bay (named for the lighthouse!).  The water was so clear that we could see fish from the boat.  We geared up and snorkeled around for an hour.

Us, snorkeling

 It was worth it to haul our snorkel gear from Canada because we were first in the water and we knew where our masks and mouthpieces had been!  We snorkeled smart this time, too, with both of us wearing old t-shirts so our backs didn't fry in the blistering sun.

Al, on Turtle Island

In the bright sunshine there were coral formations that were blazing with colour-brilliant blues, purples, oranges, yellows and greens.  The fish were abundant.  We saw vast varieties, most of which we can't identify.  They were curious, swimming up to us to give us the hairy eyeball.  We tried to touch them but they were too quick.  Occasionally, a fish would nibble us. 
We can't claim these pictures as ours, but we did see these fish.

Normally the tour operators would get us back on board the speedboat, which would take us in to a beachside restaurant for lunch.  We couldn't do that because it was too shallow at the restaurant's pier. They drove us to the main pier and disembarked.  Then, we all piled into the beds of 3 pickup trucks and rode to the restaurant on benches bolted to the truck's sides.  No seat belts, no helmets, no safety what so ever. 

This pick-up is loaded with people, driving along the streets

We're in the back of our pick-up
The guy with the hat is from Los Angeles

The lead pick-up enroute to the restaurant

Then, we had to repeat the trip back to the pier to reboard the speedboat.  We found our boat double parked at the busy pier, which required us to shimmy down the wharfside, cross a barge and leap over the widening chasm on to our deck.  Challenging.

Kim waits her turn to shimmy down to the barge and across to our speedboat

Overall, Thailand does not subscribe to the safety standards we are familiar with in North America.

For the afternoon, our boat sped us to Koh Nang Yuan.  These are three islands linked by sandbars and surrounded by coral.  Here, we did some more snorkeling and lazed around the beach.  Tough day.

The call came to reboard for the 1 1/2 speedy return to Koh Samui.  We started out rough, hitting the waves with a bang.  We thought the waves would recede once we got going.  Nope.  Nor did the driver slow down.  It was a very rough ride.  We passengers were not talking to each other like we were on the outward journey.  Most were trying to keep lunch down.  Many were regretting not taking the seasick pills offered at the start of our voyage.  We all made it back, lunch intact, but every one of us was glad to see shore.  Even those of us who weren't green were black and blue from the bouncing off the seats and ceiling.