September 2: Today we have booked an arranged excursion to Anthong National Marine Park. The tour includes a trip on a three-story wooden boat to the Anthong Islands, where we can swim, snorkel and explore the beautiful nature. A light breakfast and lunch buffet are also included. The tour starts with a pick-up outside a nearby hotel at 7:30 in the morning and a transfer to Nathon Pier. Once there we get on the boat. There are a lot of people going on the tour and at first it feels a bit like that. Once the boat starts moving out to sea it feels better and the sea breeze feels lovely. The closer we get to the “other side”, the more beautiful it becomes. Green, high islands stand out everywhere.

The first stop on the trip is Wua Ta Lab. It is an island that consists of high green hills and the beach we dock at is small, white and beautiful. We get from the big boat with the help of a longtail boat. There is a lookout point on the island, about 500 meters above sea level. We (except Penny who would rather sunbathe) decide to go up. The way up consists of stone stairs, half built into the mountain. It is very steep and the heat makes it a real workout to get up! Sweat is pouring down and we all look like tomatoes on our faces when we reach the top. The view is absolutely incredible! The sea and all the small islands look like a painting from up here. We stop for a while to catch our breath, enjoy the beautiful view and take lots of photos. When we have gone down all the stairs, which was almost as hard as getting up, we jump straight into the sea for a refreshing swim.

After a much-needed swim, it is time to go back to the big boat for some long-awaited lunch. The lunch is a buffet consisting of rice, fried chicken, chicken drumsticks in sauce as well as two different vegetable dishes and fresh watermelon. We are all hungry after our workout up the mountain and the food is absolutely okay. It takes a long time for everyone to get their food, but since we managed to get far in the queue, we get our food quickly and can then rest on the boat for a while before it goes on to the next island.

The next stop is at another island, just as beautiful as the first. On the island is “the blue lagoon”, which you reach after climbing very steep stairs again. However, a much shorter way than the last one, fortunately! The lagoon is beautiful and so is the surroundings on the island. We then climb down again and choose to snorkel in the beautiful water until it is time to return to the boat and the trip back to Koh Samui. Everyone is tired and warm on the way back but also satisfied and happy about a nice excursion.

Fact box: To enter the national park, all foreigners must pay a fee of 300฿ for adults and 150฿ for children under 12 years old. The package tours we looked at market this quite harshly: “In addition to the trip, only 300฿ is added”. This should be taken with a pinch of salt. The national park is not a place untouched by man. There were settlements on all the beaches we visited and there are fees everywhere. 20฿ for a visit to the toilet, 50฿ to sit in a chair on the beach and so on. So bring extra money if you plan to do this excursion.

//Sabdreasworld