A Snorkelling Trip to Khao Na Yak… and Back??

At the end of a holiday, what is the last thing you want to happen? Lose your luggage, miss your flight, leave something valuable behind… The list is endless! Jack and I had an unfortunate end to our Thailand adventure, and it was all due to two little words; snorkelling safari. Now, I know what you thinking… Snorkelling in Thailand is meant to be one of the best experiences you can have whilst travelling, and the excitement of seeing a shark, turtle, or even Nemo, is surely a highlight in itself. At the start of the day, it was safe to say that I was really looking forward to such a prospect, but unfortunately the day ended in disaster. This is the story of our Khao Na Yak snorkelling experience and how we ended a near-perfect holiday, and how it was all Jack’s fault…

The Khao Na Yak Snorkelling Experience

If you don’t know already, Jack studied marine biology at university, and so he absolutely loves snorkelling, diving and all things related. I however, am not the strongest swimmer, and snorkelling is definitely not my forte, but as I had chosen most activities during the holiday, I decided to let Jack have his fun and go hunting for sharks… Oh how badly he wanted to see a shark! We originally booked a tour through our hotel, the Devasom (blog post coming soon!), but after we blew a ridiculous amount of money on dinner along the beachfront, we unfortunately had to cancel. When explaining this to the lady at reception, she delightedly told us that there was a smaller local company that ran Khao Na Yak snorkelling tours for less than half the original price. Local, cheaper, what was not to like?? As it turned out, a lot, but naively we paid and awaited the adventure the following morning.

After waking up and helping ourselves to the Devasom’s incredible breakfast (with over 10 different types of jam!), we were sat in the lobby with our snorkelling gear, ready for the day ahead and our Khao Na Yak snorkelling trip. A taxi picked us up, and drove us to the local beach, approximately 15 minutes away. There, we walked to the end of a floating-pier (an obstacle in itself), where we were told to wait for our guide. After about ten minutes on the pier, battling against the tide and trying to remain upright, a traditional long-tailed boat pulled up next to the pier and we climbed aboard. Our guide, with a giant smile on his face, was sat at the back waving at us. We soon found out he could speak very little English, but could make out the basics. Leaving the beach and pier behind we set off, not sure of where we were going or how long it would take to, and continued to do so for at least a good hour. Along the way, we saw sleepy Thai villages waking up and preparing for the day ahead, and large white sea-eagles soaring overhead.

Eventually we stopped at a little cove, where quite a few other tour groups were anchored and enjoying a swim in the sea. Thankfully it wasn’t too busy – we had been warned that at some snorkelling locations there is barely room to move – and without hesitation, Jack jumped in. I, being the more sensible (and cautious) of us two, slowly made my way down into the water. I put on my mask, and there right beneath me, was a black-tip reef shark. It must have been at least a few metres down, and I only really got a glimpse of it, but it was enough to annoy Jack! We continued to swim, and saw a range of different tropical fish, coral and other marine creatures. Annoyingly, we both got stung by tiny jellyfish within the water (so we were told), resulting in numerous rashes along our arms and legs. Not ideal. After a twenty minutes or so, we got out, and the boat sailed on to our second destination.

Stop number two is where things start to go downhill. We stopped around 50m off the shore of a deserted beach, surrounded by sheer cliffs and rough waves. Our guide instructed us to ‘swim!’ and so presuming that this was another snorkelling location, we took to the water armed with our snorkels, our GoPro and our other camera equipment too. Whilst we were swimming, we realised that the current towards the shore was rather strong. Being a weaker swimmer, I really should have turned around at this point, but the drive to explore a deserted beach compelled me to move forward. When we first stepped foot on the beach, we were met with total serenity. Nobody but us, and in all honesty, it was rather peaceful. That said, after a few minutes we had seen all there was to see and decided to head back to the boat where we could relax and enjoy a drink in the sunshine. Turning back towards the boat, which had moved and was now over 100m away, we quickly realised that there was a large scattered reef between us, as well as exceptionally large waves, meaning that we could no longer see the floor beneath us due to disturbance in the water. Immediately we felt rather isolated. There was no way that I thought I could swim over or through the waves; they were at least the height of Jack! Fortunately, Jack grabbed all the equipment and told me to hold on to him, and together we walked into the white water in front of us. As we got closer to the break-water, Jack yelled out in pain, and the water beneath turned slightly red. He had sliced his foot on a piece of rock or coral. Getting flashbacks of the film Cast Away, as well as thinking of the shark I saw earlier, I began to panic slightly, however I was told by Jack and another group, who had just arrived, to just keep swimming. I led the way, whereas Jack who was carrying all the gear in both his hands and over his face, was swimming far slower than I, despite him being a very capable swimmer. It was at this point that a passing boat sent a rubber ring out for us to use to keep float and returned us to our ride. Clambering aboard our boat, we recovered from shock and thought to ourselves what a silly idea it was encouraging people to swim back from that island. Not to worry though, as the guide, feeling rather sorry for us and guilty, gave us a can of coke.

Leaving the desert island behind us, we then went to the third site. This one was far more remote, and we were told to prepare to see turtles, eels and maybe even Nemo! Jack and I went in a lot slower this time, however the visibility was once again quite poor. The waters had clearly been disturbed from the tropical storm the night before, and so we couldn’t see a thing. Not what we expected having googled pictures of ‘Thailand snorkelling’ the night before. Sensing we were getting fed-up, the tour guide jumped in, and shouted ‘turtle’ or ‘moray eel’. Both times, Jack and I dived and swam over, but saw nothing. It must be said that a few weeks after this, Jack was told he needs glasses, but he is adamant that there were no turtles or eels, and the guide simply wanted us to get excited. He did however take us over to an an-an-anemone, and showed us Nemo (we found him!!).

We then called it a day, but on the way back, made a detour via an island which had been made home by monkeys, including some very cute baby ones! The not so successful morning was slightly made up for by the sight of the wild monkeys..

We swiftly made it back to our hotel, and realised that our reddening faces and limbs implied that we may have been slightly burnt. However, quite quickly, this ‘slight’ burn worsened, and we both turned a bright shade of red. On top of this our skin was burning hot, and Jack was shivering quite a lot, even in the Thai heat. It became very clear that both of us were experiencing acute heatstroke, and were not in a good place. Ringing reception for a doctor to come and see us, we were greeted by the hotel manager. She stayed with us for hours, giving us ice-flannel massages and made sure we were drinking plenty of water to help us rehydrate and cool down. That night sleep was difficult and painful, and we just had to accept that we could only rest in one place and position. The next day we awoke looking like lizards, sore and scaly, and we had both developed blisters along our shoulders. The 16 hour journey home was not going to be fun..

They say hindsight is a wonderful thing, and on that flight back home, we wished we had gone to a national park instead, or that we had put on more sun-cream. One positive did come from it however… it makes a fantastic story to tell at a catch-up, dinner party… Or in a blog post!

Here’s a sneak peek at what else we got up to in Thailand:

My Travel Tips and Recommendations

Flights

My usual go-to for booking flights is Skyscanner, the flight search engine. What I love about Skycanner is that you have various options depending on your situation. If you know where you want to go it’s easy – all you need is to search for your destination and dates, and you are provided with all flight options to choose from. If you haven’t decided on your next trip yet, you can use the Everywhere tool for inspiration and to find the cheapest places to fly to.

Accommodation

Whenever I plan my travels Booking.com is my best friend. The website is super easy to use and provides a whole range of accommodation from fancy resorts to budget hotels. Jack and I also regularly use Airbnb – in particular, for staycations in the UK.

Things I can’t travel without

As a travel blogger and keen photographer I never travel without my trusty technology. Always packed are my

Canon EOS M3
GoPro Hero5 Black
I’m also saving for a DJI Mavic Pro

Travel Insurance

It is so important to be prepared for all possibilities when travelling and you simply shouldn’t travel without insurance. When looking for cover I would personally recommend World Nomads or the Post Office – both are affordable and certainly won’t break the bank.