#PiratesAhoy

With a thumping head we got up and headed to our boat day. The sun was shining in the clear blue sky, I was finally getting the weather the postcards promised me. Our first stop was monkey beach and I was not about to take my water bottle with!

I stood at the edge of the boat, it was my turn to jump. My heart beat heavily as I looked at the drop below. Probably not very far for most but too high up for me. “ahhh!” I screamed then PLONK, I was drowning, people were not designed to be dunked beneath the ocean! My nose filled with water making my brain fizz, there was salt in my mouth and water in my eyes...”how is this fun?” I questioned.

We swam over to the island, most of the monkeys were in the trees, a safe distance away! People snapped pictures of them in the trees, “ahh...naaww!” They cooed at them.
Splash! An evil monkey had descended from the tree, falling into the

water. His fur now soggy and messy, he paddled over to the long boat. More monkeys jumped and dived down hopping across people’s shoulders and heads.
I got a picture with one that was sitting on my shoulder then left quickly to avoid being attacked and joined Laura on the safe side of the boat.

We ventured next past a Viking cave that was never actually occupied by vikings. They told us of the bird nest soup that is grown in there, a mixture of bird droppings and disgustingness, this is then sold to the Chinese for 10,000 baht. Probably cheaper to steal a pigeon and it just follow it around with a bucket but anyway! They think that it is very healthy and will help men in the penis growing department. Don’t see that on eBay!

We weren’t able to go into the cave so we just sailed past and headed to our snorkel spot. The Cove was absolutely beautiful! The water shone like diamonds and it was pure paradise! I plunked my head under the water and was met by a shoal of fish with blue and yellow scales.

Above water level was actually more spectacular than below as I only saw about five interesting types of fish. One long one like a sword fish but with a soft round snout apposed to a sharp pointy one, some rainbow fish similar to the ones I saw in the barrier reef and one like the character Gill from Finding Nemo.

After snorkeling, I thought I’d give paddle boarding a go, I flopped on

the board like a frog and clambered to my knees. Mmm...how to stand. My legs wobbled as I tried to push myself to a stand. Once up I yelled continuously before losing my balance and splashing into the water again ( I say losing my balance, it was more never finding my balance.) An American guy shouted support and advice to me as I tried again. This time I jumped up as if it were a surf board, wobbled for another five seconds and fell in again! I eventually gave up and decided to just paddle on my stomach avoiding the whole situation altogether.

Once back on board we got lunch and watched as people jumped off the roof of the boat and splashed down into the water below. I was not doing that! I felt perfectly content with my cheese toastie and crisps without adding in any fear of death!

We sailed across to a different island and the boat got more of a party atmosphere with a few drinks and games to keep us entertained. This time Laura and I decided to kayak across to the island and we realised that we actually make a pretty good rowing duo. We quickly overtook a couple of Irishman and we’re making great advances toward the beach.

Once docked, we hopped out and went straight into the sea. The waves were quite strong and the tide pushed at our feet so we decided to go check out the forest. To avoid being lost we followed a group of guys, but they were lost! So we ended up back at the

beach. A guy from New Zealand was building a sand castle and I offered to help by getting him a stick for the hole in the middle. This meant that we had jumping rights so once it was finished we jumped and kicked it to the ground like ten year old boys.

As we walked we overheard the American guy talking to a couple of girls.
“How did you get so tanned?” He asked one of them.
“I’m black.”
We turned around to see him with the Indian girl, the awkwardness now hanging in the air between them. Not much more you can say to that. Face palm!

Further along the beach we met a brother and sister travelling together from Canada. Once back on the boat, we ended up sitting with them. I beat New Zealand at connect four. Laura beat Canada. We were on a winning streak! Then Laura beat me...sigh!

As the sun began to set they brought us our rice dinner. The setting was idyllic, with the ocean view and setting sun. It was one of those moments you hope to always remember. With the sun gone, the party started up again. More limbo, more dancing and more cocktails!