Float with Us @ Koh Lanta, Thailand

We decided to spend our last couple days on Koh Lanta doing some touristy activities. We started with the 4 Islands Boat Tour. We were picked up from the hotel a little before 9am and driven to the dock where we set sail (in a motorboat) for island number 1. This island had a beautiful beach to walk down and a swing just begging for a cheesy couples photo.

After our photo-op we took the boat to island 2 for some snorkeling. There were schools of fish everywhere. Helen of course, swam as far from the snorkeler crowd as possible. Large schools of fish swam by, encasing us in a dazzling display of blues, yellows, flashes of silver. Adam pulled Helen to the surface, “Helen, we’re surrounded!” a note of panic in his voice. Helen patted him reassuringly, knowing none of these fish could hurt us if they tried. All too soon we heard the boat horn blaring, signaling us to return.

At island 3 they served us a tasty Thai lunch and gave us a couple hours to relax. This beach had a good reef just off shore so we decided to get back in the water for some snorkeling.

Soon Adam needed a break so he left Helen in the water to rest on the beach. Helen came back all smiles, eager to show Adam what she found. “The reef gets healthier if you go further out. We can take a shortcut by floating over a couple reefs to get there.” Adam was a bit curious to see what he missed out on and decided to follow.

We walked out into the water. The water was relatively shallow going up to about mid thigh height, barely deep enough to drown in. Helen said “Just float on the top of the water and follow me over the reef.”

“We do what!?” Adam asked, unsure if he understood correctly. Coral reefs can be very sharp and you do not want to touch them. Swimming in water this shallow meant we had maybe a foot of water above the reef.

Helen figured a demonstration would be best. She made her body as flat as possible, floating over the reef using her arms to pull herself through the water and minimizing leg movement to avoid touching the reef (This technique was developed by the Clark sisters in the Bahamas circa 2011). Adam shrugged and followed, telling himself if he just stayed calm and floated slowly everything would be fine, he just couldn’t panic and stand up mid-float. After death floating maybe 50 feet there was finally a clearing with a small sandy bottom to stand in.

We stood up on the sandy bottom, but the water was still same depth. “Ok, now we just need to do it one more time. Oh and whatever you do, do not touch the sea urchins.” Helen instructed. But before Adam could respond she stuck her face in the water, got back on her belly, and death floated over the 50 foot section of reef and sea urchins.

Adam stood there, amazed that anyone would think this was a good idea. He mustered up the strength to follow. Then he stuck his face in the water and looked toward the destination. There were giant black spiky sea urchins everywhere. His heart pounded as he imagined accidentally hitting a sea urchin then standing up out of reflex, cutting himself on the coral then flailing to avoid drowning, only to hit the sea urchin again, in a cycle that would continue until he inevitably attracted a predator and perished at sea 60 feet from the shore in shallow water.

Death is one thing, but an embarrassing death is another. Adam turned around and death floated out of necessity back to where we came from, content to miss a few fish sightings if it meant he would live to swim another day.

Before we knew it our time was up and we got back on the boat for the 4th island. At this island we swam 200 meters through a pitch black cave, guided by the headlamp of our guide. Then a beam of sunlight shown through, and we walked out into a hidden oasis.

That was the conclusion of our 4 island tour day. It was full of breath taking views and good photo opprtunities. But as can be seen by the large number of tourists in the last photo it was a bit too crowded for our taste. We both agreed it was worth doing, but we probably wouldn’t do it again.

For our last day on the island we found an authentic Thai cooking class. The class, Cooking with Mon, was taught by an energetic chef named Mon and his sous-chef Tak. The food turned out amazing, probably more due to their fresh ingredients (Helen plucked her own papaya for our salad) and good instructions than any of our natural talent.

Cooking with Mon was a great experience; we’re excited to practice the dishes when we’re back in the states. Thailand has taught us that you can never have enough curry.

For our last night on Koh Lanta we went to the Loy Krathong festival. This is a Thai tradition where people light candles on top of Krathongs, little floats made of banana leaves and bamboo, and send them out to sea. If the candle stays lit it’s supposed to be a good omen. It seemed like the whole island showed up for this festival. We waited a bit too long, but eventually found a Krathong to buy. The good ones had been taken so ours was a bit raggedy. Helen stole some flowers from a nearby tree to freshen it up and we walked out to the pier. We wished for a happy future and watched our little Krathong float out to sea. The candle stayed lit for a while due to our strategic launching point sheltered from the wind (in this family we believe good fortune comes to those who prepare well).

Koh Lanta was a great little island and with 7 days there we really felt like we got to explore it fully. Next stop, Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand.