Beach Bums

Okay, I did it. I went snorkeling again. Sort of. Lindsay, Kathryn, and Sandra signed up to go snorkeling and I planned on just going along for the boat ride. We piled in with a half dozen other people and headed out to the first location, K.K. Bay. I sat in the boat while the others checked out the underwater life. I almost fell asleep from the rocking motion of the boat. I could see bright yellow and blue fish swimming around the edges of the boat as I dangled my feet off the edge.

After a good 15-20 minutes, we headed over to Shark Point. I was lying in the boat, about to fall asleep, I heard the voice of our guide, "You want to see shark?" I pretended I was sleeping until he climbed into the boat and pulled out a mask and snorkel. I eventually stood up and waited for him to clean out the mask. I put it on with little enthusiasm and followed him into the water. After seeing that I was uncomfortable with the snorkel, he led me back over to the boat for a lesson in breathing underwater. I got used to it after a while, but felt nervous heading away from the boat. I ducked my head under the surface and saw a blacktip shark about 25 feet away. I kept swimming and came across a school of colourful fish, followed by a single, bright parrot fish, then another shark near the ocean floor. The coral below was a greenish-grey colour and made up all sorts of shapes. We headed to the right and I almost crashed into the boat. I freaked out a little and took the snorkel out of my mouth. I told the guide thanks, but I want to go back in the boat.

After Shark Point came Turtle Point. It wasn't much of a point if you ask me; it was a spot between the two islands that, at the time, had two massive turtles swimming around in it. I watched from the boat as a dozen or so snorkelers followed one of them as it swam around in big circles, eventually making its way up to the surface for a breath before ducking back under again. It's shell had to have been at least a foot and a half in length.

The rest of the week wasn't nearly as eventful. It included several days of reading, eating, and sleeping on the beach. We ate a one restaurant every day for dinner. They had a beach BBQ everynight. I had barracuda, kingfish, prawns, and more. The food was so good that as we ate, we discussed what we would have the next day.

Sandra and I are now back in Kuala Lumpur. We flew in with Lindsay and Kathryn last night, but split up when we arrived. They headed to a hotel near the airport to sleep before an early morning flight to Bangkok this morning, while Sandra and I headed downtown for a dinner out and a visit to the Petronas Towers, the highest twin towers in the world... until Dubai builds taller ones, unless they already have.

We're just a few hours away from boarding a plane to Bangkok. We'll be heading over to Sandra's old apartment, where Kathryn and Lindsay already are, take a quick rest then head back to the airport to pick up Simone and Sandra's friend, Andrea.