We chose Khao Lak in Thailand as a good place to break the long trip to Australia because of the opportunity to visit the Simulan Islands, one of the world’s top dive sites. With no accommodation permitted on the islands access to the snorkelling involved a bumpy 60 minute speed boat ride, and even the slightly slower dive boat felt like a two hour fairground ride! The snorkelling was good for fish but sadly the coral bleaching that occurred two years ago had yet to show much progress in its recovery.

Having come to snorkel we also thoroughly enjoyed the inland expedition to Cheow Lan Lake. The highlight of this was a trip on the lake in a long-tail boat which gave us a close up view of the imposing limestone islands that rose vertically up out of the water and towered over our little boat. The limestone had beautiful red colouring too, complimented by the green of the trees clinging to a precarious life on a sheer vertical wall of cliff and overhanging the water. Some of the islands have developed cave systems and we visited one which had spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations, the iron giving them a rich red colour that invited comparison to the marble cathedrals of Italy.

Although we were only in a small part of Thailand for a few days, we really enjoyed our stay. Thai people were universally friendly and genuinely welcoming of tourists. The absence of pushy street salesmen that are commonly found in tourist areas the world over was also very pleasant—I look forward to returning.