“At the end, three hours later on the island,

I have to say that Koh Bubu did live up to my imagination.”

“So, what is our plan for today, Mr. Cruise Director?” I asked the main man as we all sat around the dinning table sipping our morning coffee and tea.

The game plan for that day, as the CD explained, was very simple and straightforward: to cruise down to the heart of Krabi sea and hop on as many beautiful islands as we could.

Being a Jim Jam veteran by now, I knew exactly of what I had to do. After the breakfast and as the boat cruised further south towards Koh Ma for an early morning dip, quickly I went back to my cabin, got on my swimming trunk, changed my brand new (but fake) navy Polo shirt for a ragged tank top, and went back upstairs. The two Swedes apparently did just the same.

“Today is going to be very wet, yeah, very wet”.

Koh Ma is a relatively unknown island. In other words, it is just perfect for a small private group like us. No crowd, just us dipping and swimming in the calm morning sea with a mountain backdrop in the background. Koh Ma is only a small island, but that does not seem to matter.

We stopped at Koh Ma only for a short while, only enough to get our blood circulation going. Then it was time for Lanta, the up and coming island of Krabi. We however were only going to cruise along, and not get on, the lengthy Koh Kwang Beach of the island. Lucky for us, the breakfast on Jim Jam served until 10:00 so, again, we went back to the table and tried to finish what we had left off a while ago.

Koh Lanta seemed nice from the distance, but it has nothing to compare to Koh Kluang when it comes to the whiteness of the sand and the clarity of the water. Like Koh Ma, Koh Kluang is small. But also like Koh Ma, size does not really seem to bother.

I had heard of Koh Bubu, our next stop, for a long time and always wanted to go there, but had not a chance. So my wish, as I told the CD at our lunch, was to spend as much time as we could on and around the island. Basically, I just wanted to see if it is as pretty as what I saw in a travel magazine years ago.

Although it was my wish, the other members seemed to enjoy what is on Koh Bubu just the same. Once again, we hopped on the dinghy and motored our way to Hin Bai, and Koh Kam Yai. Limestone, stalactite, turquoise blue reflection of water on the rocks were the theme. The others constantly looked left and right, above and below, and pressed their camera shutter like there would be no tomorrow. For me, I was just enjoying the big picture, the scenery, the sky, the air, and the smile on their faces, with the lager in my hand. At the end, three hours later on the island, I have to say that Koh Bubu did live up to my imagination.

By the time we got to Koh Ngai where we would stop for the night, the sun was already half gone into the horizon. Most of us were wreck-tired from the activities, the swimming, and the heat of the southern sun. Showered and dined, we decided to stay on the fly bridge, but only just for a little bit for a punchy taste of cocktail. And while the others went straight to bed, I headed to the common, listening to soft music amid the cool of the air-conditioned room.