My last days in Thailand

My time here in Thailand is coming to an end, at least for now, I would like to return at a later date to continue working here as I have gotten to know some amazing people during my months here. Not to mention, there is still so much left to see and experience in not only Thailand but also the rest of SouthEast Asia. 

To finish the year in the best possible way, we decided to all of us go and take our boat out for a staff trip to the Similan Islands, filling the boat with tanks, dive equipment and the food and drinks we would need to enjoy the islands.  The best part about working next to all these instructors and dive masters meant that we don’t have to worry about organising or booking with another company, we would just get out and do what we wanted and when we wanted it. 

Not long after we left the harbour, we had a couple of fishing lines in the water, finding some additional fish to add to the meals. 

We started our trip at Koh Bon (island 10) where we did our first dive, looking for Manta Rays, however although we were unsuccessful, the dive was still great. We also located a dive boat that had sunk recently (not due to the tsunami) and couldn’t resist snapping a few playful photos inside the boat.

After diving at Koh Bon, we decided against travelling south to the rest of the Similan Islands, and instead went north to the Surin Islands. Our dives here were just as good as in the Similan, with the big difference that there were almost nil other boats or tourists in this area. 

The only few boats that we did see belonged to the local tribe of Moken Sea Gypsies. We had a few of them come up to our boat where we traded with them and were invited to join them on their main island which we accepted. On the island we saw the damage that the tsunami had done to their village, but also go to see how they had managed to rebuild most of their island. This was a great way to visit and it was even better knowing that we were the only foreigners on the island. 

The rest of our tour continued in the same way, we spent time on the boat and in the water diving and had an absolute blast. By the time we returned to the mainland, I was so tired that I fell asleep straight away and slept all night. 

I had a great last outing with friends before time had come for me to leave the country. Most others were getting ready to leave as well, due to the season ending and the rainy season was just around the corner. 

I packed all my things, said goodbye to everyone and went out to the main road to wait for my bus. Here I waited for almost an hour with no bus in sight, at which point I started to get a bit nervous. I was in luck however as a local stopped and asked if I wanted a lift to the airport and offered to take me for 600 baht. Considering a taxi is at least 1000 baht I agreed to the price and soon after was at the airport.

I flew out with AirAsia, almost boarding the airplane with a large dive knife in my carry-on. A quick change of luggage and I was on my way to via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I had a 5-hour layover before boarding my final flight that took me to my next destination, Sydney, Australia!