Emerald cave

I'm joining Hilmi today for a boat trip to the long islands. We get a minivan down to the pier and after a couple of pickups we sit waiting for other guests to arrive before boarding the long boat. Taking time with Thai people makes such a difference as they are in the know and will always help. So when I jump off to do snorkeling at Koh Ma the guy points to the other side of the boat and says here is good. The beautiful limestone landscape hangs over us as I swim around the coral clad shore. A picture doesn't do something like this justice and things are about to jump to another level. We stop the boat at the entrance to the cave and have to swim inside. After 10 minutes of swimming we turn the corner and there is light. A short swim takes us into a limestone surrounded beach its so idyllic but a photo can't encapsulate the raw beauty. Its called Emerald cave and is on the island of Koh mook. There is a girl on the boat who has her rucksack and is staying on the island. I'm very jealous because it is one of the most beautiful places I've seen. We get the opportunity for another snorkel before rocking up Koh Ngai beach its a little paddle to the beach where the guys carry the good from the boat set up a little picnic and I sit eating massaman curry and rice, and even a cold can of full fat coca cola I'm I my element. As i look up there are eagles and toucans in the tree above us. The natural beauty has really come back to the island with les tourists. The boat trip back however is not so great. We can see the rain coming in and it's literally waves bouncing up and swathing me in huge buckets of sea water. I put my microfiber towel up and it does a pretty good job of sheltering me and the young Thai girl next to me. Her and her partner have joined us on the trip and are related to the owners as we come closer to shore I ring the towel out and everyone laughs at how much water comes out. We arrive at shore and jump aboard a much fuller minivan to take us home. As me and hilmi are at the back we keep helping the lady driving by dropping the back tail gate and getting the step out so people can disembark. What she doesn't realise is we are both bursting for the toilet and the sooner we get back the better. I head to a local restaurant for dinner with Hilmi as they have brought fresh fish to barbecue and its so delicious although its huge I can't quite eat it all I enjoy what I have. I return back to the room early to watch the game and although I have to keep walking around the complex to get a signal I manage to enjoy watching the red men get another 3 points.Read more