My first adventure on Koh Lanta was a speedboat trip to Koh Rok. I was a bit sceptical about the whole thing. This could be hit or miss. I was picked up by a minivan and then we cruised towards long beach, picking people up along the way. The second person was another solo traveller, Nora from Switzerland. When I started waking up a bit, we started talking. The rest of the group on the boat consisted of friends, families and couples. When we actually left, the boat was making so much noise that talking wasn’t really an option.
It took us an hour to get to Koh Rok. We stayed in that area for 2 snorkel sessions of about 50 minutes and then had lunch with some time to relax, before going to a third snorkel spot. I was amazed. The snorkel spots kept getting better. It started great and I loved taking photos of all the cool fish I’d seen on my diving trip. Then I was too deep to take my camera, but here a lot of them were right at the surface or within snorkelling range.
The third snorkelling spot was an underwater paradise. It was low tide so we had the chance to be very close to the corals. There was a gigantic underwater garden. This was really like I was floating above a well decorated aquarium. It also happened to be a beautiful day, so if you dived down and took a picture in the right direction, you got some gorgeous results. One of my favourite underwater things, the Christmas tree worms, was here as well. They were everywhere!
Besides that I got some nice shots of anemone fish, saw whole school of different fish and watched parrotfish eat the corals. I also saw a sea snake that was swimming away from me, but I got a nice shot. At the very end of the day, I was just swimming around, turned my head and saw a moray eel swimming right underneath me! I must admit it scared me at first, but then I remembered my camera. When scuba diving I’d only seen their mouths, their bodies hiding in some hole.
Let’s just say I thought the snorkeling was spectacular. We had lunch on the beach, which was your typical white sand, tropical island beach. It was gorgeous. The water was so clear you could see the fish swimming around your feet. This island also had some camping facilities and bungalows for people who wanted to stay longer. I think it is still so pristine because it is not as busy as all the other day trips. There were a few boats, but it is nothing compared to the 4 islands or Maya bay. I am so happy I got to see and enjoy this on a beautiful, sunny day. I can only hope that they will take care of this piece of paradise. It seems to be one of a few places left.
