Koh Khai Day Trip

Phuket has are lots of smaller islands scattered around its coast line of various sizes, some of which I plan to visit over the next year or so. The other day we went to one of the closest islands which is situated just off the South Eastern Coast called Koh Khai or Khai Island. Koh being the Thai word for island.



The island has a somewhat special meaning to me as it shares the name of my eldest son, although is spelt slightly different. Living in Asia for so long means I am now exceptionally far from Kai and haven’t seen him for an awfully long time.

The day we decided to visit Koh Khai was quite unfortunate as the weather was not at its best. Well to be perfectly honest the weather is hardly at its best these days as we are currently in the rainy season, but we decided to go anyway.

We were picked up from our house at around six o’clock in the morning in a mini bus which already had another couple inside. After which we proceeded to drive toward the pier, which only took around 20 minutes.

 

It was still raining when arrived at the pier so we were a little bit worried that the trip would be canceled, but we were welcomed by the staff there and helped ourselves to free coffee and biscuits while we waited for the other passengers to arrive.

The tour guide there was rather amusing when she was trying to explain about the weather conditions and then went on to describe our itinerary for the day. After which we made out journey toward the speed boats where we will commence our voyage to Koh Khai.

Because of the bad weather conditions the crossing to Koh Khai was not very smooth and we were up and down like a yo-yo. Quite fun for me but for most of the other passengers they felt a bit sick, but it didnit last long an as the further we got from Phuket the smoother it got.

Khai Island is a cluster of three islands called Khai Nok, Khai Nui and Khai Nai. Our plan was to visit Khai Nui first for some snorkeling for an hour or so then proceed to Khai Nok where we would spend the rest of the day sunbathing and more snorkeling. Unfortunately the waves were too rough for us to snorkel at Khai Nui, so we just continued straight to Koh Khai Nok

It was a bit cloudy to begin with but by lunch time the sky cleared from its grey dullness into clear blue skies and we were finally able to catch some sun rays. Throughout the day there was some amazing snorkeling just off the cost of Koh Khai Nok and I got to see some really beautiful fish, but please don't ask me the names of the fish because that I don't know.

  

 

Everyone was able to buy a loaf of bread from a small stall on the island where we would get the chance to feed the fish. This was quite an amusing experience as they literally swim all over you to grab the bread from your hands. Some nibble a bit on your fingers but don't be afraid as it doesn't hurt. 

 

 

I spent most of my time swimming out in the deeper parts and diving down to see the coral. It is truly a beautiful feeling to be able to swim amongst the fish and admire their stunning colours and different varieties. Even without the bread they still tend to swim fairly close, making the entire experience amazing. I was swimming down about three metres deep in between the coral with hundreds of fish of various sizes and species swimming around me. This made me want to try scuba diving even more than ever.

By about four o'clock in the afternoon we had to return to our speed boat and bid our farewells to the fish and to Koh Khai Nok but hopefully not for the last time and head back to Phuket once again. The journey took the same amount of time as it did on the way out which was roughly 25 minutes. Luckily on the way back it was nice and smooth and none of the other passengers felt any sickness this time round.

 

Upon arriving back to Phuket we washed our legs and feet of the sand using the outdoor showers provided before boarding our mini bus for the drive back home. All in all we had a great time during our trip to Koh Khai and I would recommend it to anyone. Low season is probably hit or miss with weather so try to check accurate forecasts before making your booking to avoid any disappointment.