Activity level: 🌶️🌶️
Modes of transportation: 🚗👟🚤
We figured we couldn’t make the early ferry, so we set our sights on the 1:30 speed boat. We had seen online that we could buy tickets in person, but we were slightly worried that it would fill up (and the tickets online said none available).
A tourism booker on the beach the day before gave us a good tip on how to get cheap taxis with the app “Bolt”, which is essentially Thai Uber. Side note: it’s actually pretty cool because you can still pay with cash, but it gives you a price up front.
So we ordered a taxi on the app because we were running a little tight for time. While we waited, Eric tried to give the taxi driver from the day before his IOU, but he couldn’t find him. So Eric left the money at the front desk. Hopefully he got it!
The taxi driver for this trip was so nice. She asked if we had our tickets already, and we said no, so she said she’d bring us to the ticket stand since we were going to be very short on time.
When we got there, they said we could still make the 1:30 speedboat (it was 1:24) and quickly sold us the ticket. So we leapt back into the taxi and sped to the dock. We tipped the taxi driver for being so helpful, and she seemed really appreciative, which was nice.
We got there right in time, and Eric was even able to get a cheese croissant for each of us (though they started heating it up, and we had to make them pull it out of the toaster). We were the last ones on the boat, but we made it!
The ride was about an hour, so we sat back and relaxed, taking in the views.
We booked our hotel for the night while in the cab, and we weren’t sure how it was going to be. Some reviews said it was nice, but some also complained of roaches (though it may not be possible to avoid bugs on this island).
It turned out to be pretty nice and simple, so we had three things to accomplish: find out how to snorkel on the island, eat, and buy a new swimsuit for Sarah.
We booked a day cruise for the next day that hopped between many of the smaller islands and had some snorkeling spots, so that was one chore down. We also ate at a small stand in the middle of the city, which was delicious; and Sarah got a new swimsuit for cheap. With all that accomplished, we headed out to see how the beaches were.
It was getting pretty close to sunset, so we picked a beach, set up, and went for a swim. The views of the jagged cliff faces were sublime, and the sunset was beautiful. The swimming spot was sort of shallow, so we just laid down and relaxed in the warm water (85 degrees!).
We had a nice dinner on the water, then called it a night. We had an early tour the next day.
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