Chilling in the raft as we head towards the cave.

We woke up early, had breakfast in the hotel and when we arrived at the lobby, the guy was already there to pick us up. Though we were the first group on board the mini bus, 1 couple and 1 family joined us later. From Patong to the jetty, it was about a 30-45 mins drive.

Initially, I thought it would just be a small group but when we arrived at the jetty, there was a huge group of us (tourist) hanging around at the jetty. We were divided into 2 groups (2 ferries) and the boss, John Gray, joined us on board the ferry. I can't help but noticed that this tour attracted more couples and westerners. Don't get me wrong, it's a really enjoyable tour for families and friends, and I love people without comparing skin colour.

Captain Ina was given a chance to paddle around for a very short while.

For those of you who can't swim, you can request to have a life jacket as they have those available on board. Also, I can assure you that the rafts are super sturdy! I'm so glad that we do not have to paddle this raft on our own as we have our own guide. They would assign 1 guide per raft and the max load would be an additional 2 adults and 1 children on board.


We were brought into dark caves to see the bats asleep and in general, just enjoying nature. It's also good to note which month of the year you'll be going as the sea can be choppy at the different seasons. We were there in February and all we had was the wonderful calm sea!

Our finished Kratong

Our guide taught us to build our own Kratong and it will be let out in the evening when the skies are dark. We were brought into this cave for the last time to let out the Kratong and to also experience the bio-luminescence planktons (they're so beautiful). John Gray gave us a crashed course on how bio-luminescence planktons came about and why they glow. It's also good to note that not all guides have a strong command of English but I guess we were lucky as our guide could communicate with us fluently.

For food, we were provided lunch, tea break and dinner! Most of the food were cooked on board and I have to say that we were well fed and hydrated. After a hard day's work and good service, I was compelled to tip my guide as it isn't really easy paddling around the islands the whole day. It's not compulsory to tip but it's my way to saying "good job" and "thanks" to my guide who did their job well.

My favourite moments from this trip are enjoying the sunset out in the open sea, stargazing, making new friends and being able to experience the bio-luminescence plankton for the first time!