Khao Lak - week 2 in Thailand -

It was the very first time for both of us to visit this town, where we met up with our friend from Vietnam to experience diving and snorkelling. He is a certified diving instructor, and this city is his go-to destination every year, so we knew the beauty of the sea was guaranteed.

Our actual diving spot was at Similan Island, about a one-hour boat ride from a pier in Khao Lak. While my partner went diving with his friends, I chose to go snorkelling. The reason was simple: I was still afraid of the deep ocean because of a bad memory from a previous diving tour, when I nearly drowned.

Anyway, the underwater world was more spectacular than anything I had ever seen in my life. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful, formed by different communities of fish and coral, completely unaware of the wars and disasters of the human world. It was absolutely amazing. This unforgettable experience even made me think, “Maybe I do want to dive and get closer to you guys.”

Some snapshots from the boat — our friend got completely soaked after a huge splash, even though he was fully protected!

The night market opened every couple of days — not sure why it wasn’t held daily — but it was the perfect place to sample local cuisine and explore the bars. That’s where we discovered a lovely bar with reasonably priced beers and incredibly friendly staff. Later, when we happened to run into one of them sitting at a different bar, he recognised us immediately and waved to say hello. I was genuinely amazed that he remembered us.

Our go-to beach was a little far from the centre, which made it much quieter and the best spot to watch the sunset. The owner of our guesthouse kindly drove us there free of charge. She said it was “a piece of cake” and simply part of her customer service, especially since her guests had travelled such a long way from overseas. She had such a big, warm heart — and we already know we want to stay at her place again when we come back.

We went to watch a cabaret show because it sounded interesting, and ladyboys are so famous in Thailand. We had actually already bumped into some of them at the night market earlier, where we even took photos together. Their presentation was truly next level — the makeup, the outfits, the confidence — everything was stunning. The only thing that completely surprised me was how tall they were!

A little bit of bike adventure, but not many to see... This is 100% beach town.