Breakfast the next day was pleasant. Like any other 5 star hotel, they laid down the usual continental spread. I guess most hotel café around the world prepares their spread the same way. Almost everybody accepts continental breakfast. That explains why I have never complained about hotel breakfast all this while. They are consistently the same.
We were on time for our tour van to pick us up. 8pm was the meeting time and they were 15 minutes late. We got into the van and sat ourselves down amongst two other couples. We did not speak much; rather spending those times anticipating what was prepared for us. I was nervous for Eddy as she can’t swim and guess what…we were on our way to the open seas.
Half way we stopped on a hill. There was a temple on it and we came to realize that most Thai drivers honk as they pass through. My observation tells me that they were paying their respects to the spirits of the hills. The road was steep and windy and I am almost certain that this trail had its share of past accidents.
At the peer we were dropped of at a small hut to wait for our little bus. The bus was to take us to our boat which was used to bring us to the nearby islands. It was steady and inviting. Bright colors adorn its sides and a Thai flag was placed at the front to symbolize Thai pride. I suffer from sea sickness, good thing I had taken an anti seasick pill 30 minutes before. I was as steady as the boat. Engines roar. Black smoke came from it, signifying that we were heading towards God’s splendor.
The guide on the boat was pretty funny. He had a heavy Thai accent. Having difficulties pronouncing the English words, he was able to crack some dry jokes. He advised us to be aware of our surroundings. “For white people take care of nose, for women cover breast, for men cover penis and for lady boy cover both breast and penis”. Well he did not say it exactly that way but his actions did most of the talking. Some laughed and some looked towards emptiness.
The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, better then those found near Hanoi. I just love boat rides by the islands. It gives me a sense of calmness. I love to sketch them as we pass them by. The first two islands we visited had us going on our backs to enter its low ceiling caves. I got Eddy to wear her life jacket but she complained that she felt uncomfortable. So she took it off. Goodness I was not only worried about her; I was also worried about the sharp rocks scraping our faces. It was high tide and they had to deflate our air-inflated kayak to squeeze trough the caves. The scratch of hard rock against the resistant materials gave me chills of Eddy in the water. Oversized white male was having a hard time going through the cave too. After a long squeezed in the cave we finally got to the center of the islands. It was bright and beautiful. It was like a hidden world within. The sun shone trough it with lust vegetation surrounding its core. I was astounded and decided to my skinny ass into the water. Eddy stays! We took pictures and we learned how to kayak. Yen Ping and Geh Wynn were exploring the rest of our surroundings. After an hour we headed back to our mother boat and to the next island where we didn’t have to worry too much about getting wet. Cause we were already soaked in salt water.
The third island was beautiful. It was the famous James Bond Island. They had shops to welcome us. I thought it was just another tourist island until, I was not impressed, not until we got to the back of it. The view was absolutely gorgeous. I have never seen anything like it. We were so close to the other nearby islands. The only thing that separated us was the ocean. The winds hum to us and the sheer beauty brought me to wonder how God came up with such great ideas. I would have imagined heaven to be just like this.
The last island left us to do whatever we wish. Some jumped of the boat and some kayak around. An elderly Korean lad wanted to perform a dive off the boat. The boat was two stories high and he tried. Dear me, he landed chest first. Eddy and I took to the kayak without performing a jump. The guides were showing us their ability to perform multiple tricks in the air. One had himself act like a dolphin flipping in the air. Another got himself into awkward human positions in the air. Positions I never knew humanly possible. It was a great day! A beautiful day with my two friends and Eddy.
