Sometimes it’s easier to have a day planned for you. In Koh Phangan we wanted to try some kayaking, so we booked a tour that would allow us to do so. We spent most of the day on the water, exploring a few islands we never even though to visit.

We booked a tour with Viator that included kayaking. When the day came we found the start of the tour at one of the boat companies near the Raja ferry port. There was free tea and coffee with a few snacks, which I took great advantage of.

The waves were pretty high that day, so the speed boat taking us to the islands was a bumpy ride. Luckily my motion sickness isn’t that bad, but I did have to focus a little to keep my nerves. When we got to Mu Ko Ang the water surrounding the islands was a lot calmer, and that’s when we were really able to take in the views and enjoy the ride.

On arrival to the islands we were taken to a small shoal for some snorkeling. I was weirdly nervous at first – I’d never just jumped into the ocean without diving gear and I’m not a strong swimmer. I got over it quickly and was able to enjoy seeing the tropical fish and sea urchins.

We boarded the boat again and our next stop was the blue lagoon. This lagoon was incredibly beautiful and worth the (very) short hike to see it. Unfortunately you can’t swim in it since the locals understandably want to preserve as much of the natural environment as they can.

Back on the boat to the next island for dinner. The food was pretty decent, but otherwise nothing to write home about here. The island was obviously set up to handle multiple tour groups as they came through. We ended up having a conversation with some of the other tourists with us that day.

Finally we got the boat to the last island and were able to kayak. Unfortunately due to the choppy waters we couldn’t do the whole tour around the island as was the plan, but we were able to kayak around the bay. It brought back memories of kayaking in rivers when I was a kid, but the sea is a very different beast. It can be much more powerful than the strongest river, and on that day it was tough getting back to the beach. We had to fight both current and the wind, leaving us exhausted when we finally made it back.

All in all it was a fun day. After getting back to Koh Phangan, we said our goodbyes and tried to find a good place for a pint.