This trip came about during the long weekend in early May. My senior colleague at work had planned a trip to Koh Tao, so we had a casual conversation about it.

- Hey, I just got back from Koh Kood, can you give me a break?

- Okay, if you go now, I'll drive the van. There are 4 people already. If you go, I'll drive the van.

This trip will take us across the Gulf of Thailand for diving. We will be in Trat from May 30 to June 2, and in Chumphon from June 4 to 8. http://pantip.com/topic/35144419

Boat fare to Langkawi - 3000 baht divided by 9 people, 334 baht per person, rounded up to 340 baht.

Phraya Lan Boat Fee - 1150 Baht round trip

The cost of the Pinnacle Hotel is 1800 per room.

The cost of a submarine to Ao Muang, Koh Nang Yuan is 4500 baht, divided by 9 people, which is 500 baht per person.

Hotel prices in Bang Saphan range from 500 to 600 baht per person, depending on the room type.

The hotel in Kui Buri costs 1800 per room.

I forgot how much fuel I put in, but I think it was 3 rounds of 500 each.

Food expenses are not much, we can split the bill. It shouldn't exceed 6,000 baht for the whole trip.

The summary of the diving trip is that there were 9 participants who had previously dived together at Koh Chang. There were actually more people who wanted to join the dive, but the car couldn't fit them all. 9 people were comfortable sitting in the car. The hotel had been booked in advance for this trip, so there was no problem with accommodation. However, there was a problem because they forgot to book the Lomprayah ferry, so the program had to be rearranged.

We started our journey on Wednesday night (Hey, I just came back from Koh Kood on the 2nd, so I only had one day to rest) at the Port Authority of Thailand. My colleagues gathered at 9 pm and we set off. We took turns driving and sleeping. We woke up in the morning in Chumphon. Actually, we didn't really wake up, we just took naps here and there.

1. Koh Larn Chiew. I must say that the reason I came to Koh Tao was because my senior lured me here. He said that if I came, he would find a way for me to come to this island. We made an appointment for the boat at 8:00 AM. After we had breakfast, the boat was waiting for us at Sairee Beach. The boat rental fee was 3,000 baht. We took the boat for about 30 minutes. The waves and wind were not strong. We went diving for half a day. We told the boat to take us for half a day because in the afternoon we had to take the Lomprayah ferry to Koh Tao.

2. Koh Tao was the island that our senior had already planned to stay at. We booked a room at Pinnacle for 1800 baht, which was considered cheap for a sea view room with a high corner view that could see all the way to Koh Phangan. We arrived at Koh Tao in the evening, exhausted because we hadn't slept the night before. We woke up early, ate breakfast, and prepared to go diving at Ao Muang.

3. Koh Nang Yuan Early in the morning, I contacted a boat to rent for diving at Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan. The boat fee was 4,500 baht for half a day, the same as before. Because during the diving trip, the water level would be low in the morning. So, the water level that we went down to see would not be too deep. We went diving at Koh Nang Yuan.

4. Koh Taloo - This was my 3rd or 4th time diving here. It's a bonus island because after leaving Koh Tao on the 6th, I arrived at the Lomprayah pier in Chumphon in the afternoon. In the evening, I continued on to find accommodation in Bang Saphan because I had booked accommodation in Kui Buri for the 7th. So, I had the morning free, so I planned to go diving at Koh Taloo for another half day.

On Saturday night, I slept at Kui Buri Resort. I relaxed by soaking in the pool and slept comfortably for a day before returning home.

The cost per person is 6,000 baht. We stayed in good hotels, ate plenty of seafood, and went snorkeling at 4 islands. Due to a planning error, we forgot to book the Lomprayah ferry in the morning, so we had to move Koh Langka Jiew to the first island.

Note: Personally, I focused more on Langkawi Island because I had already planned to visit this island. The other islands are not really a priority for me.

After opening the warp card, I woke up in the morning in Chumphon. My senior woke me up to watch the sunrise.

The boat has been waiting since this morning. The departure time is scheduled for 8 am at Hat Sai Ree.

The boat ride took about 30 minutes, passing by the swiftlet's nest island. During the journey, we enjoyed fried chicken with sticky rice on board.

We've arrived at Langkawi Island, a newly opened island. From the boat, you can already see the coral reefs. Let's go diving and explore the underwater world!

Jumping on the boat, putting on masks, putting on fins first, swimming to find an underwater angle, encountering a school of fish, and being amazed.

Swimming to the deep part, oh my god, there are so many fish! I quickly dived down to take pictures. It's quite deep, the picture is a bit blurry because the water is murky and the filter makes it difficult to get light, but the image is still stuck in my mind.

Let's continue exploring other areas. There are a lot of sea anemones.

The table corals are all big.

This place is teeming with a diverse array of fish, offering a constant source of wonder and amazement.

The strong current makes the anemone sway, doesn't it?

The colors are very contrasting, it's a pity the water is very cloudy.

It's like swimming through the nooks and crannies of the mountains.

Swimming and taking pictures like they're one of us.

Following that flock with this flock, what kind of fish is this?

Let's move on to the more exciting part now.

This fish is quite big, about the same size as a sea bass.

Proceed with caution, as this is a shallow water area.

The first island, we snorkeled for almost 2 hours, it was fun to be here. It's a pity that the water is very cloudy. There are few tourists. The park's boat cannot land on the island because it is stuck on the coral. Small boats can enter. We walked around the island for a while before returning.

Getting ready to go back to Koh Tao, boarding the boat at Lomprayah Pier. Actually, if we take the Lomprayah boat, we will see Koh Larn, but we just don't know that there are interesting diving spots there.

We cut back to Koh Tao because the Lomprayah ferry was delayed and didn't arrive until after 4pm. We had arranged for the hotel car to pick us up at the accommodation, but it didn't arrive until almost 5pm, so we didn't have time to go anywhere. We just took some photos of the view from the balcony of our room and relaxed.

After taking a bath, I got dressed and lay down to rest my eyes for a bit. When I woke up, the sun was already setting. I quickly grabbed my camera to capture the beautiful view.

I fell asleep at 10 pm and woke up at 3 am. I went to the bathroom and walked out onto the balcony. The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots. Since I was using a 35mm lens and didn't have a tripod, I had to rest the camera on the ground to take the pictures.

I was planning to take a picture of the Milky Way and the sea at night, but I fell asleep and woke up in the morning. I hurried to eat breakfast because I had an appointment to go diving at 8:00 am.

Going to dive at Koh Tao, I asked the boat where the popular spots were. We started at Ao Muang because we only had half a day of diving due to the Lomprayah ferry leaving at 2pm.

Sometimes it hurts to see what I see.

Let's cut to Koh Nang Yuan. We didn't go up to the island because this trip was all about diving.

Continue to find the beauty of coral reefs.

There are a lot of fish, especially the "Pla Salid Hin" (a type of fish). People who go into the water, the fish will swim towards them because they think they will be fed.

Koh Nang Yuan has a lot of fish and the coral is as shown in the picture.

The second and third islands were not very impressive. I tried my best to take beautiful pictures. I went back to sleep at Bang Saphan. The next day, the last island, Ko Thalu, Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Koh Taloo is a place where we often go diving, so we let the officers introduce the rules and regulations to the tourists, while this group went straight to diving.

Personally, I like to dive here at Koh Taluh because of the way they teach tourists what not to do.

No matter how many times I come here, there's always something new to photograph. This is just the first spot, and there's already so much to see.

The first point is passed. Now, let's take you to the second point. There are 2 diving points here.

The group on this trip took photos at the second dive spot.

This shallow water point is clearly a tiger conch habitat, and they're big ones too.

There is so much for us to see here.

To conclude this trip with a picture of a flower fish (someone told me) I used to eat it regularly. The meat is delicious, but when I saw it swimming alive, I must say it's very beautiful.

This trip showed me both beautiful and depressing sights, but I still believe that the beauty will return to the Thai sea. The pictures I posted are just a selection of the nearly 1,000 photos I took on the trip, both underwater and with a regular camera. It was tiring but fun.

Thanks for following!