Airborne in the Gulf of Thailand

Today we embarked on our last big adventure. Boarding an actual modern looking plexiglass boat, with a modern engine, we took off at full speed. What a pleasant surprise after the aging spare part wooden "boats" that sound more like helicopters we have grown used to. Or so we thought...

The ride to the island was fast and fun. Our guides spoke no English so we were left to figure things out as we went. The beach was beautiful and our guides grilled us whole fish and chicken kabbobs for lunch which they served on banana leaves. After eating, Ngoc hunted (and trapped) little spider crabs and I got burnt in the sun.

The excitement came with the ride home. The tide had moved in bringing large waves. We fought to get the boat off the shore and to even get inside without soaking our camera bag. Once on the water the driver needed to push the speed ahead to get us out to sea. We fought 6 foot swells moving most of the boat above the water only to slam back down once off the wave. At one point the wave was so high we became compeletely airborn, slamming back into the water with great force. Ngoc and I screamed and laughed like it was the last time we may do so. In the back of our minds we were also aware the boat had no preservers and Ngoc can't swim! Luckily for us, the captain knew what he was doing and after stalling a few times later in the journey, he got us home shaken, but safely.

Tomorrow we head back to Phnom Penh super early in hopes we can connect to a Saigon bound bus in the afternoon. This will give us a full week to wind down in the city were it all started for us.