Trip 1
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pros
Our first stop was the island of Nangyuan, a pristine, snorkelers’ paradise. It was fun to hike up to the viewpoint and later to take a kayak and cruise along another island’s shore and find my own secluded snorkel spot.
cons
Over 3 hours on a speedboat with 30 plus other people was a bit much. And as you can see by the picture in the slide show, apparently not just for me. On the way back, there were 4 inebriated passengers (predictably 2 Americans and 2 Australians) who turned the boat into a party boat, drinking up a storm and blaring the music…Guess I’m showing my age here, but none of the “younger set” seemed too enthused by this behavior either.
Trip 2
pros
Much more intimate experience with only 6 other people (3 couples) on a longtail boat. Made for some nice conversations and connections. Cave snorkel was incredible with a huge school of fish. Sunset BBQ was lovely. Fire show was an added perk. The night snorkel with bioluminescent plankton was magical. The light is a result of a series of oxidation reactions in the plankton. It was like having sparklers in the water. Unfortunately, my camera had run out of battery for this. (I was a little concerned about backing into some jellies that I might not see in the dark…)
cons
The guides spoke very little English and had to be reminded to hand out masks and snorkels. They could not identify the large white and pink jellyfish we saw, but did encourage us to get back on the boat. I know some jellyfish are relatively innocuous, but they do have Portuguese-Man-of-War here too… The guides did not point out the attractions on Railay when we docked. Having been there previously, I shared the info with my fellow passengers about the critters (monkeys and water monitor) and Princess Cave.
All said, I would do both again. Hopefully next time I’ll have a GoPro pre-programmed!
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