Our last day in Thailand was everything we had hoped for. Having been travelling for 3 months, we have been waiting patiently to get to the beach, and today we did some of the most beautiful ones of all. We started out by catching a boat alongside a family of four from Blackburn. They were really lovely, and looked out for us as we skinned across the water amidst the sea, and the beautiful floating islands of Phang Nga Bay. I never seen scenery like it, with miles of pure water stretching out all around, and little islands poking out everywhere like teeth from sea-green gums. Each one covered in trees, so that a thousand jagged mountains blended into the backdrop.
The boat pulled up next to a rickety old ladder made of bamboo shafts, and we all climbed out into a small opening in the rock. Armed with torches, we sank deeper into the caves, which glittered like silvery crystals in the light from where the dripping water above had solidified. The ceiling was heavy with the forms of great stalactites, and nestled in between each was a colony if bats, hanging upside down from the ceiling and curled into little balls of black wings and fluffy grey chests. At the end of the tunnel, a fissure in the rocks opened out into a tiny pool. This place was beautiful, water so still it felt like the wind had never breathed here, so untouched that the world in this moment felt eternally paused.
Reluctantly leaving this microcosm of paradise, we clamoured back into the boat and jetted on. And when we arrived, we were so excited! We hopped out into the beautiful sand, dotted with shells in coloured splendour, and ran straight into the sea for a long overdue swim. It was such a beautiful little patch of an island, so quiet, so peaceful, we didn't want to get back out again. Unfortunately we had to head off after an hour, feeling like we still hadn't had our fill, but venturing off towards the kayaks.
This was a lot of fun, as we piled in pairs into these little inflatable dinghys and paddled out into the gaps between the islands. We found small caves, so close to the water that we had to lay down to kayak underneath them, so close that you could reach up your hand and touch the glittered rocks just inches from your face. We headed back on the large boat through the mangroves, and were sad to say goodbye to Phuket as we raced towards the airport to catch our flight to Singapore.
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