Koh Kraden

To get to Koh Kradan, we needed to take a boat, but the only one going was a tour boat. So in-transit, we were forced to stop at some of the best sights in the bay… for FREE! First, we stopped at this uninhabited karst jutting up from the open floor and surrounded by pristine coral reefs! Luckily, we had found a snorkel and mask on “The Beach” so we only needed to borrow 1 set from the crew. They didn’t want to because we had only paid for a ride, but Mike did some schmoozin’. Hello, clown fish! Now I know I’ve been saying this about all the places that we’ve snorkeled, but this could have been one of the best!
Next we went to an underwater cave. We were all given torches and a life jacket and told to swim through the dark cave. It was pitch black and we were thankful nothing nipped our toes! We came out into a secret lagoon. Surrounded completely by huge cliffs, we felt like we were at the bottom of a volcano shaft. So the secret’s out now, but at one time, pirates used this place to bury their booty. Arg!!!
After this just about perfect tropical afternoon, we made it to our last stop in Thailand. Koh Kradan has no roads, not mo-peds, and no power between 4am and 6pm. However, it has perfect sandy shallow turquoise waters, atoll surrounding the island, and great snorkeling that goes on forever—so it was perfect. Not too many Americans ever make it here (it’s a bit off the beaten path), and we got more than a few strange looks that were gladly accepted. We spent our days snorkeling, playing rummy, and walking along the beach—exactly what we wanted to do!
One day we found a green snake that was actually STUCK in a hole in a tree. I couldn’t believe it either. His tail just hung there out of the hole into thin air. Later that day, it died and Mike pulled it out. Everyone was a bit melancholy because we weren’t able to save this graceful creature.
We befriended an adorable and spunky 4 year old girl who lived at the bungalows. We climbed on fences and trees, looked at sea shells, and drew pictures. However, when she saw the snake, she wasn’t sure if she should be happy or sad. So we told her that it was sad so she made a sad face. Later we told her to be happy and she made a happy face. This girl should be an actress! She sure kept us laughing!
We loved Thailand. It was beautiful, tropical, green and full of interesting things to see and interesting people to meet. It is not an undiscovered spot, though, and there were many times that the farangs (foreigners of European decent) out-numbered the locals. Sometimes it was a bit rough around the edges, but that added to its charm. The people were nice and the food was FANTASTIC!