Visiting Islands via Long-tail Boat

We’ve been looking at options for tours. We found a private driver for a long-tail boat. He would take us to some islands. Up until we were picked up by a tuk tuk this morning (Wednesday July 12) and delivered to the dock, we were worried we had been scammed. Ahh, coordinating with strangers over WhatsApp with a huge language barrier. But! We made it and there was a boat and driver waiting for us!

It was fascinating watching how the motor and propeller mechanism on these boats worked. The driver could lift the prop out of the water to pass over others anchor ropes. He could move the prop to nearly parallel to the boat to turn us around. And move the prop anywhere to steer. 

Ko Pada Island

Our driver dropped us off and suggested we take a picture of the boat number so we could find him again and said we had 2-3 hours here. Off we went!

The water was incredibly clear and just the perfect temperature to swim and relax in. 

I asked Farrell to please let his hands dry since he had longer arms for better selfies. We have laughed SO much on this trip. 😊 

“Guess what I found on the ocean floor mama?”“Ooooo let’s see!”“Sand.” 
Also. The sand is soooo fine and soft. 

Ko Kai (Chicken Island)

I love these boats. But I must admit, I’m slightly disappointed in our boat. It could really use a fresh coat of marine stain/varnish. Ha! Doesn’t this view feel like you’re in a pirate movie or something?? 

See the rock that looks like a chicken head? Thus the name of the island. 

We snorkeled here. Note to self: bring own mask next time. Our guy pulled out the snorkel gear. Euw. No worries! He “sanitized” them by putting them into this gnarly murky slush and used a sponge that was half black to give the snorkels a good wipe down. Euw. Euw. I had wipes and we sanitized the best we could and then decided to go for it. 🙈 

We saw many fish, giant clams and black long-spined sea urchins. The clams were fascinating and many looked like a black light was shining on them creating a blue luminance on their flesh. The sea urchins felt like we were looking at something from space. Down at the bottom of the spikes on its body, there were 5 glowing white dots, like the tips of a star. And a light in the center—the mouth? It was awesome. 

Railay Beach 

When our guy dropped us off at Railay he said “1 hour.” I asked “2?” Okay. 😊

What are these patterns on the sand?? They were everywhere. Little balls of sand, a little smaller than dipping dots ice cream, moved about into patterns. Like crop circles. Ha!



We studied them for a bit. Little crabs live in the center hole. That’s why you see a main “driveway.” As we walked along, they would zip back into their hole.
It totally looks like I photoshopped Melissa in. I did not. 
It was such a beautiful day. We could have stayed forever…