12 October
Today I ate breakfast at Pin’s shop. After lunch I went to Rantee Bay. This was accessible only after an exhausting trek up a steep mountain jungle path and then down the other side. The path was more of a waterway rather than a proper path and involved lots of swinging off tree creepers and tripping over their trailing roots. There were lots of big mosquitoes as well.
However, the long hike was worth it. Rantee Bay is a quiet, lovely beach with powdery white sand shaded by leafy Caucasian trees. I was hot and sweaty after my trek through the jungle so went straight in for a swim. The water was crystal clear and colourful tropical fish swam around my feet. I couldn’t believe how many there were – I had never seen anything like it.
“I’m going back to hire some snorkeling equipment!” I decided.
I turned to go and tripped over a piece of coral. As I stumbled for balance in the waist deep water, my right foot brushed against something and sharp pain immediate shot through me!
When I looked down to see what it was, I saw a nasty looking animal with long black spines on the coral. I lifted my foot and saw that two of its spines were imbedded in the side below my ankle.
Fearing an imminent and painful death, I hobbled ashore and sought assistance at the little restaurant. Luckily, a very competent Aussie couple were eating there and took charge. They told me that although the fish was poisonous, I wasn’t going to die and rubbed lemon juice into my wounds. I was lucky that it was only two spines and that they were in the side of the foot. It I had trod on the beast normally then I wouldn’t have been able to walk. The black spines were deeply imbedded and could not be taken out. They would be dissolved by my body in about 3 months.
After about 15 minutes, the pain in my foot disappeared, although it was still swollen. I returned to the water with a kayak and my snorkeling gear. I paddled out to a likely looking spot and moored my kayak to a small fishing buoy. I entered the water.
It was the best snorkeling I have ever experienced. The visibility was excellent and there were big walls of coral literally teeming with life. I was surrounded by parrot fish, tiger fish, spear fish and all sorts that I did not recognize. When I returned to where I’d tied the kayak, I looked down and saw a solid mass of moving brown. There was at least a thousand fish in that shoal. They were brown on top but their underneath was silver so that the shoal sparkled as every now and then, one of them decided to turn over.
After many hours, I returned to the shore to find that I had missed the last boat back to the main part of the island. There was no point in attempting that long hazardous trek back through the jungle this late so I decided to spend the night.
The bungalows were simple, bamboo and wood affairs with electricity from 6pm to 4 in the morning. They cost between 300 – 400 baht per night. I took a 400 baht one, although there was very little difference from the cheaper 300 baht option. All had attached bathrooms but they had no roofs so were practically open air. It was actually very pleasant to take a cold shower and see the jungle all around. It really felt like you were “getting back to nature”!
The limited electricity meant that the place was dead quiet except for the noises of the jungle. It was an incredibly peaceful and relaxing place to stay. At night, I ate at the simple restaurant by the beach and watched the hoards of large crabs that chased the big heavy leaves that fell from the Caucasian trees.
Today I ate breakfast at Pin’s shop. After lunch I went to Rantee Bay. This was accessible only after an exhausting trek up a steep mountain jungle path and then down the other side. The path was more of a waterway rather than a proper path and involved lots of swinging off tree creepers and tripping over their trailing roots. There were lots of big mosquitoes as well.
However, the long hike was worth it. Rantee Bay is a quiet, lovely beach with powdery white sand shaded by leafy Caucasian trees. I was hot and sweaty after my trek through the jungle so went straight in for a swim. The water was crystal clear and colourful tropical fish swam around my feet. I couldn’t believe how many there were – I had never seen anything like it.
“I’m going back to hire some snorkeling equipment!” I decided.
I turned to go and tripped over a piece of coral. As I stumbled for balance in the waist deep water, my right foot brushed against something and sharp pain immediate shot through me!
When I looked down to see what it was, I saw a nasty looking animal with long black spines on the coral. I lifted my foot and saw that two of its spines were imbedded in the side below my ankle.
Fearing an imminent and painful death, I hobbled ashore and sought assistance at the little restaurant. Luckily, a very competent Aussie couple were eating there and took charge. They told me that although the fish was poisonous, I wasn’t going to die and rubbed lemon juice into my wounds. I was lucky that it was only two spines and that they were in the side of the foot. It I had trod on the beast normally then I wouldn’t have been able to walk. The black spines were deeply imbedded and could not be taken out. They would be dissolved by my body in about 3 months.
After about 15 minutes, the pain in my foot disappeared, although it was still swollen. I returned to the water with a kayak and my snorkeling gear. I paddled out to a likely looking spot and moored my kayak to a small fishing buoy. I entered the water.
It was the best snorkeling I have ever experienced. The visibility was excellent and there were big walls of coral literally teeming with life. I was surrounded by parrot fish, tiger fish, spear fish and all sorts that I did not recognize. When I returned to where I’d tied the kayak, I looked down and saw a solid mass of moving brown. There was at least a thousand fish in that shoal. They were brown on top but their underneath was silver so that the shoal sparkled as every now and then, one of them decided to turn over.
After many hours, I returned to the shore to find that I had missed the last boat back to the main part of the island. There was no point in attempting that long hazardous trek back through the jungle this late so I decided to spend the night.
The bungalows were simple, bamboo and wood affairs with electricity from 6pm to 4 in the morning. They cost between 300 – 400 baht per night. I took a 400 baht one, although there was very little difference from the cheaper 300 baht option. All had attached bathrooms but they had no roofs so were practically open air. It was actually very pleasant to take a cold shower and see the jungle all around. It really felt like you were “getting back to nature”!
The limited electricity meant that the place was dead quiet except for the noises of the jungle. It was an incredibly peaceful and relaxing place to stay. At night, I ate at the simple restaurant by the beach and watched the hoards of large crabs that chased the big heavy leaves that fell from the Caucasian trees.
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