Thailand

We asked to be dropped off at Greet Beach Resort, which was nice but seemed expensive at 1500THB per room. So, we walked down the street to the next place: Nang Thong Bay Resort. The rooms were even better here, and though they cost 1600THB each, it was well worth it. The bathrooms were especially nice, with large glass-walled showers and a separate tub. They even provided umbrellas! Anyway, we decided to just spend the next day relaxing. We all slept in, then the girls headed to the beach while my Dad and I walked down the main street looking to find a better deal on a 3-day diving trip than the one we had found online. We spent the whole afternoon visiting numerous dive shops and tour agencies, but ended up sticking with our online choice: Similan Pro Divers. My girlfriend got badly sunburned and her nice tan would later peel off. She and my sister built a sand castle covered in seashells, and when it started raining, they retreated to our resort's ocean-side pool. We did some shopping in the evening and both my girlfriend and sister bought new sandals.

A minibus took us to the pier, where we met up with all the other tourists heading out with us. We boarded a modern speedboat for a 90 minute ride to the SeaPearl (the liveaboard ship). As soon as we arrived, my Dad and I were briefed on our first dive, while the girls remained on the speedboat to go snorkeling at a nearby beach. The 4 divemasters were knowledgeable and 3 of them spoke very good English. The diving in the Similans was unbelievable, and I can't even begin to describe all the amazing coral and fish. Some of the dives were made even more interesting by huge boulders and rock formations. We saw leopard sharks, moray and ribbon eels, a stingray, giant clams, lionfish, trumpet fish, huge snappers, and turtles that swim right up to you! During our 2 night dives, we saw lobsters on the prowl, a big crab, and huge morays (one was about 8" thick!). My sister joined me for one shallow dive, while Mom worked with an instructor to obtain her Open Water Diver certification.

Upon returning to Khao Lak, we decided to stay at the Happy Lagoon hotel as it was a bit cheaper, and conveniently located between the town and the beach. We didn't get to go back to the beach though, as our transportation to Krabi departed at 8am the next morning. We had considered taking a public bus, but we weren't thrilled with our previous experiences, and we would have had to change buses halfway. Instead, we managed to negotiate 5 seats on a scheduled minibus to Krabi for 1550THB.