#kohtup

Our second day in krabi we headed out on a full day tour to visit a selection of west coast islands. We met some new friends from Vancouver, Jesse and Ty. Thanks for entertaining us guys!

We approached the first island stop on our tour for beers on the beach. Feeling excited at the prospect of cooling down in the water Jesse, Ty and I decided it would be fun to swim from the boat to the beach. The water was refreshing but things were about to take a turn for the worst. Roughly 100m from the beach I realised that I could put my feet down on the rock bed. The water was clear, however the waves made it difficult to see. I put both feet down the first time without hesitation and stood up, signalling to the others 'hey it's shallow enough to stand'. I moved forward; at first I thought I had scraped my feet on the rock. However, the pain came quickly and didn't subside.

I quickly ruled out a jellyfish sting as now it was starting to feel like there was something imbedded in my feet. I shouted to the guys for help and they had to carry me from the water as I could only put pressure on the ball of my right foot. Out of the water it was immediately obvious what had happened – I had stepped on a sea urchin.

Anna tried to remove some of the black needles with tweezers but they were just snapping off. Our tour guide came over to help and I was relived to here her say that they weren't poisonous. She told me that the needles were to far into the skin to get out so she would need to rub the skin to forcefully break them up to help them dissolve into the body. Two beers later she was finished but there was one more remedy that was required – Anna’s urine. She squatted down next to my feet and… Thankfully a trip to the toilet and a plastic bottle was used ;)  

The day could only get better from then on and it did! One of the islands was less of an island and more of a mountainous rock rising from the sea. A corroded rock face with a significant over hang provided an excellent spot for a well placed rope ladder. I managed to make it up the 6m ladder and part way along the rock face before jumping. This looked pathetic in comparison to one of the locals who must have jumped from at least 15m.

After more snorkeling in various locations around the islands we finished up with a fire show and BBQ on tiny Koh Tup. Heading back to the main land we were given an extra surprise – snorkeling with glowing plankton. The effect underwater is beautiful; with every movement hundreds of invisible creatures shine into view illuminating the darkness underwater. Jesse summed it up well ‘My body is a star machine!’

 Discovery

The Krabi night market we discovered the Khanom krok coconut dessert!These are amazing. I am sure there are a few different ways to make them but I found a good link to a recipe below.

 Link for recipe: