Lazing Around Ko Mook

It never ceases to amaze me how little one can do during the day and how quickly the day passes away. Our time in Ko Mook can be described in no other way....we did absolutely nothing and the days sped past. Ko Mook is a fishing island with one large resort and several small places that offer bungalows or tentalows. There are very few people compared to other islands and it is small enough that you can walk around the entire thing. We didn't need to walk far because we spent most of our time on the beach or on the deck of our bungalow watching the waves, reading or drinking a few cocktails with our new Irish friends.

We met George and Christina when I dragged Kenny to a restaurant a bit off the beaten path, that was having a "ladies drink free" night. George and Christina are from Ireland and while Christina reminded us of my mom, George was a squashed version of my uncle Bill, complete with curly beard and a great sense of humor. They have been coming to Ko Mook for the past nine years and are well known on the island. We had a great time chatting and getting to know all about their experiences in Thailand. The day after we met them we went with them on a longboat for a day of snorkeling and to visit Emerald Cave.

Emerald Cave may be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Along the water are some high limestone cliffs and you can barely make out a small opening at the water's edge. We donned our life vests and then set out to see what we would find. Once inside, while there is still light, the water is the most vibrant, electric turquoise you can imagine. However, it is not long before there is no longer light and we only had one small flashlight for the entire group. We swam in the pitch black cave for about five minutes until we again could see the light. Since it was high tide the water was somewhat close to the top of the cave a a few times we had to swim underwater until the next air pocket. It was a bit scary at times but well worth it because the cave opened up onto a secluded beach surrounded by high limestone cliffs and dense green foliage. The cave is the only way to get to the beach, unless one is an extremely skilled rock climber.

I think that if there had been an ATM on Ko Mook we would probably still be there, but there was not and we are not yet proficient at spear fishing so we are heading to Khao Lak where we hope to do some scuba diving before we have to leave Thailand. This is the first country we have gone to where we will use every last day on visas. We will definitely be coming back here.