Island of the Bats:

An old bat on her way to the Island of the Bats. (It has another name but I can't think of it: Ko something or other. "Ko" means Island and is pronounced something like "Go-h!"


The last island where we snorkeled had soft corals. However, there was a lot of sedimentation and the coral did not look as healthy or abundant as at the previous two spots. The island itself was pretty cool, however. The whole entire side of it was hung with bats. Large black bats dangled from every available surface. They apparently fly in and out of caves high up on the cliff face. As we snorkeled, we could hear them screeching and squeaking overhead. I would like to have seen them all take off at dusk—as long as they flew high above my head!

Approaching the island.



Best close-up I could get of the bats.



Snorkeling near the rocks, looking for soft corals. First place we snorkeled that I was aware of a current pulling me away from the boat and out to sea. Didn't prove to be much of a problem though--but did remind that this was not just a big bathtub of lovely warm water!




Boat moored near ours.

Looking down at a long tail boat.

Close-up of a long tail boat "tail" and motor. They can lift the tail and spin the boats around--or anything else they want to do with the boat! This one had to be towed back to the pier, however, as the engine had gone out.





Return to Pak Meng:

After a day of sun, sea and being in and out of the water at least four times, we headed back to Pak Meng Pier. By then, our tails were dragging. I had just enough energy to crank out a few departing shots.

Side Notes: The tour included a buffet lunch (even had some non-spicy items for the farangs on board) and the boat had an actual toilet (which flushed into the ocean). Total cost including transportation to and from Pak Meng was about $28.







Good-bye to Pak Meng!