Island islands and more islands

Okay, so by this time the course is done. I've finished my Open Water certification and am certified to dive anywhere. But I had been thinking about doing the Advanced Course, which includes a night and deep dive (to 30 meters, nearly 100 feet). But I needed a change.

So the next day, I grabbed a boat to Koh Nangyuan, a slightly more upmarket resort sitauted on this beautiful three part island (i didn't take the photo):



The three islands are all connected by gorgeous sandbars that come out of the water when the tide falls every day. The small middle island has the reception, the dive shop, the restaurant, etc. The northern island has cabins strewn about the hillside via a series of complicated walkways. To get there, you walk across the sandbar. From early morning to about 5/6 PM, the sandbar is underwater...ranging from about knee deep to ankle deep. The southern island has the same situation, but the sandbar emerges from the water much earlier, like about 12 or 1 PM.

No problem. I head over from Koh Tao with Jo, the only member of the group who seemed interested in doing the Advanced Course as well. I check into the resort and get a sweet deal of my own isolated cabin for 400 baht ($11-12). They take me over in a little boat past the underwater sandbar. Its a stormy day, so they don't want me to get my luggage wet.

Here's my cute little cabin up in the hills:


And the view from the cabin (and through my feet):

Meanwhile, the storm that blew in a couple of days earlier is still raging. November is supposed to be the monsoon month, but this year they had great weather. December is supposed to be the high season, nice weather...but you should have seen this storm. Monsoon rains. 40-50 mph winds...

In the afternoon, I head back to the middle island over the sandbar to hang out with Jo and 2 friends who are hanging on the beach. The water is ankle deep but the waves are rolling in fast...so its not an easy crossing:

The beach is nice, and the whole place has a tropical island feel straight out of the TV show, "Lost":

In any case, its all quite nice and quiet and isolated and pretty, just what I needed after Buddha View's crowds and party scene. When I walked back to my cabin that night, the sandbar was completely dry. Nice:

The next morning, I started my Advanced Course with Jo at 7:45 AM. But the nice little sandbar I strolled across the night before had now turned into a raging whitewater current, with huge waves rolling across. I walked to the pier on my island and looked across to the main island where the dive course was. How was I to get over there?

Well, not being particularly daunted by most situations, I hoisted my small backpack over my head and started my walk across. It quickly became clear that I was literally in over my head. The water was up to my waist and very rough, washing nearly all the way over me. But I didn't think there was any other way over.

About 20 struggling steps into the walk, I see a frenetic activity on the main island. They're all waving at me, and pointing at the little boat heading over to my island. Of course. Makes perfect sense that you don't walk across every time. Would have been nice if someone had told me.

I walked back out of the water and dripping wet over to the little pier, where I rode the small boat over to the main island. after that, every staff member had a smirking grin when they talked to me. That's the funny thing about the Thais...most of them smile and laugh easily, and sometimes laugh at you rather easily. I guess I deserved that one.