A day on Koh Rok

The run south takes an hour and there is nothing to look at for most of it, which makes the arrival better. The twin islands come up out of flat water and the channel between them is the colour people do not believe in photographs.

The sandbar is the first thing everyone walks to. It is a genuine bar of white sand connecting the two islands at low water, shallow enough to stand on halfway across.

The snorkeling

Hard coral, mostly, in two to four metres. That shallowness is why it works so well from the surface — you are close enough to see detail without diving down for it.

Blacktip reef sharks come through the shallows early in the morning. They are about a metre long, they want nothing to do with you, and seeing one is the highlight of most people’s day.

Lunch and the beach

Buffet on the sand under the trees, then an hour to do nothing. There is a short trail up behind the beach if you want a viewpoint over the channel.

Going back

The afternoon run home is usually into a light chop. Sit mid-boat, face forward, and let the salt dry on you.