Southeast Asia

Today, Craig and I took a boat trip to the islands of Pakbia, Laolading and Hong. Our pick up at the hotel was at 8:30 am, and we were taken to our registration point at one of the beaches further away from our hotel. We met our tour guide “Ice” which was the pronunciation but I’m sure was not the spelling - she was nice and very organized!

As we boarded our speed boat off the mainland, excitement was in the air as we watched other motorboats, and colorful long tail boats pass by.

The weather was perfect; sunny, nice temperatures, and a gentle breeze, and just like that, our boat powered out to the glorious Andaman Sea!

Our first stop was Pakbia Island. A beautiful island with a beach surrounded by water on both sides, interesting coral, and unique lime rock formations, seemingly reaching for the sky and then curving to one side to form an arch over a small cove. Peaceful shallow waters up to our knees with little fish swimming around. A delightful first stop!

Our next stop was Laolading Island. This island was larger than the first. We had some time to swim and snorkel before lunch. I practiced snorkeling in the shallow areas as Craig explored the reef areas. Beautiful and calm waters made for such a fun experience. We then had lunch consisting of rice, chicken curry, a semi spicy squash with curry, and glass noddles - it hit the spot!

On to the main event - Hong Island. This island is the largest of the three we visited. Hong had about perfect water (like warm bath water), a nature trail, and a lookout point with amazing views. The water around these islands are teeming with aquatic life. We were delighted by the sight of parrotfish, needlefish, sea urchins and other fish. I was told you even spot sea turtles, which can occasionally be sighted if lucky. I didn’t want to leave this perfect beach with crystal clear water.

We did the 400 plus steps up to the lookout point. On the way up, there were stops with information about bird life, and the different trees kept us in the shade - much appreciated. Once we reached the top, we were greeted with 360 degree views! The views of the surrounding islands, and boats cruising in almost slow motion due to distances apart was something else. The ocean breeze up at the lookout point made it very comfortable.

Before leaving the island, we explored the nature walk. The different trees and how they adapt was quite fascinating. The sounds of the birds chirping was welcoming and soothing - the birds didn’t seem to mind us. There was a point marked where people survived the tsunami that struck in 2004. A somber reminder of nature’s wrath and all that perished during that tragedy.

After boarding our vessel, we proceeded to one of the highlights of our tour - a stop at the hong at Hong Island. As our boat left the beach we traced the island towards the left and approached a small opening between to giant rock formations. As we cornered around the opening we were slowly drifting in a formation much like a crater. This can only be reached by boat during high tide, and even then the water was quite shallow. There were rock formations that looked liked elephants and their trunks, trees growing on cliffs, people standing in knee deep water, an amazing thing to experience and see.

After exiting the hong, we proceeded back to the mainland. The clouds rolled in some and the temperature was quite pleasant, and our timing couldn’t have been more perfect. What a fantastic day exploring a few islands!Read more