The Rambling Writer Visits Thailand, part 16: Baan Kratig

Join Thor and me for the next leg of your virtual Thailand vacation, the coastal getaway lodge of Baan Kratig with snorkeling right off the beach.

NOTE: “And now for something completely different.” Thor and I made our first trip to Asia — the beautiful country of Thailand.  We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures in January/February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Since more travel has now become a distant prospect, we hope you’ll take a virtual vacation with us in the following weeks. (This blog series started on June 13.)

Having wisely decided that our hair-raising drives on the crowded island of Koh Samui was the last time we would rent a car in Thailand, Thor and I were pondering options to travel from Our Jungle House (see previous posts) to Phuket farther south. Our hosts at the lodge simply ordered a van and driver to take us on the 4-hour jaunt, and it cost less than train and bus tickets would have run. We love how easy the sweet Thai people make things for travelers!

Our drive took us from virgin jungle through some crowded towns and the usual tangled traffic jams, and we were starting to wonder if we would achieve our desire to keep escaping the “madding crowds.” Past another packed cove and beach, we suddenly climbed into the wooded hillside and passed gates into the beautiful-sited complex of Baan Kratig.

Once again we were surprised at the luxury our reasonably-priced reservations had delivered. We had a gorgeous room and deck right above a pocket cove with direct access to the shallow corals we’d been hoping to snorkel.

After all my earlier years of shoestring adventure travel, I’m starting to get used to the notion of a little luxury and comfort.

That said, we managed to mess up this immaculate room as we immediately tore into our bags for our snorkeling gear and headed for the cove. After we’d negotiated a shallow labyrinth of sharp coral, we emerged into deeper water and headed for the reef that stretched along immediately offshore. The visibility, with lots of floating sediment, wasn’t terrific, but the amazing layers and types of coral and abundance of sea life made us very happy.

Swim along with Thor and me in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EB5JFHXlIM

In addition to so many different sizes, colors, and types of fish, we also saw starfish, urchins, clams, and other creatures. We were amazed that the shallow reef was in beautiful condition, despite a fair number of snorkelers. (Sometimes tourists can really wreak havoc on delicate corals.) There was plenty of space to spread out over the extensive area.

Thor spotted this rugose spider conch, something we hadn’t seen before. Since it was alive (tucked up inside), we did not keep the shell, but returned the creature to the bottom.

At times, we were swimming through dense schools of fish, here a lot of sizeable parrotfish of different colors, and some striped sargeant-majors. Those are the kind of crowds we welcome! Join us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNbr_SWBjqQ

We enjoyed following this cuttlefish as it rippled along and changed colors:

Back to terra firma, enjoying the lush foliage surrounding the buildings. I’ll be back next week with more explorations, on land and underwater.

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection. It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com