Ang Thong National Marine Park

Today we set off on a speedboat to do some snorkeling and kayaking in Ang Thong National Marine Park, a collection of 42 small islands off the coast off the island we are staying on. We had only to walk about 50 feet down the beach to catch our boat, which was a 25 or 30 foot speedboat with twin 200 hp outboard motors. An hour of somewhat bouncy seas later, we arrived for snorkeling. Pulling up, you could see a couple other boats full of tourists already there, but it was a really beautiful and rather large reef so it was alright.

From Ang Thong National Park

We saw lots of really interesting coral formations, and quite a few fish. Christie headed in before me, and then I saw a small squid swimming super fast around. Aside from that, it was the usual tropical fish suspects: clownfish, angelfish, and parrotfish mostly.

Our guide took us to see a couple islands he thought looked like animals or other things, but its kind of like looking at clouds, everyone sees it their own way. Afterwards, we stopped at the headquarters of the park on the biggest island and went kayaking. It was pretty standard, not too terribly exciting because we were in a group of about 25 people and had a schedule to keep.

From Ang Thong National Park

We ate some lunch and then visited the emerald lagoon, which is an inland saltwater lagoon and it was really beautiful.

From Ang Thong National Park

Here is the full set: