Back in Bangkok

After a day of traveling we are now back in Bangkok. We left the resort at about 7:15am, caught a very overloaded ferry to Krabi town, then a flight to Bangkok. Our flight to Hong Kong leaves tomorrow morning so we have just been doing some last minute shopping and not much else. Tomorrow is a national holiday because it is the King's birthday, and we have been assured that there will not be bad traffic jams.

Yesterday we thought we would tempt fate again, this time by swimming with sharks. They were of the black tipped reef variety, so there was no significant danger. Still, we had to stay in groups of at least three people because they have been known to attack. The sharks were between 1 and 1.5 meters long, and tended to stay in schools of three to eight. They were located in surprisingly shallow water - only 1 to 2 meters deep - and were very shy. With a guide we practically had to chase after them. Luckily the water was quite clear because they tended to keep their distance. I think only two or three times did one of the small ones venture close. There was one large shark in particular. It was at least 1.5 meters long and very wide, and even had a couple of remora swimming along side (those sucker fish that you see on TV swimming along with sharks). When this guy swam by we were all very aware of its presense, and direction.

This was a first time experience for both of us and a great way to cap our visit to Thailand. Now on to Hong Kong!