Ko-My-Goodness

Plan: Take a long boat tour to several islands including Ko Gai (Chicken Island), Ko Poda (no idea what that translates to), Ko Buddha (scratching my head on that one), and ending in Rai Ley.

Our “captain” happily took us to the respective islands. Just a heads up: you have to pay a fee to park at Ko Gai/Ko Poda because they are protected national park property. At first we thought it was a scam, but turns out it’s legit. Or just a well-coordinated conspiracy.

On our way to Buddha island we saw a small group of people climbing the rocks, then jumping into the water from a perch on the cliff. I’m pretty sure this is the definition of Deep Water Free Soloing? DWFS was a must-do, so we eagerly jumped out of our boat to join them. Climbing over water was actually pretty nerve-racking!

After climbing/jumping/swimming, we hung out on the beach for a bit and eventually had plans to snorkel. The clouds started to change, however, and soon our driver was insisting that it was time to go.

We quickly saw a complete mood swing in the heavens. The brilliant blue skies converted to ominous grays, and the intense thunder started to roll in. Of course, the height of the storm didn’t hit until we were already a lonely boat. In the middle of the electricity-conducting salt water. Did I mention the roof was made out of metal?