The Adventure's of Mattie and Julian!: I Shall Not Pay You And You Cannot Make Me!

We have another crazy travel story for you! As we are getting on the boat to come to Ko Mok, we are told that it's actually a tour and we are just tagging along for part of it and getting off at Ko Mok. Fine by us! We were told that we would even get to go snorkeling for free! Well, we didn't end up getting to snorkel, but instead we got to go to the Emerald Cave. It is a very narrow horng, which is an open area surrounded on all sides by sheer limestone walls, in this case about 100 meters tall. To get there, we had to swim 80 meters through a cave in pitch black until we reached the opening, which led to a small lagoon with white sand! It was great! We were planning on going there anyway, so that part of the trip worked out well
Here is the entrance

Chinese tourists being towed on a rope!

Swimming through the cave

Entrance to the horng!

There is no animal life in here, as there is no way to exit. This picture is taken from one wall looking at the opposite side. Very small, very narrow, and very peaceful due to its seclusion. Pirates used to use it as a place to bury treasure!

Looking straight up

The next stop on the tour was Ko Muk, our final destination. When we bought the tickets, we were under the impression that we would be taken to the pier on the island, but we weren't. Instead, they put us and ten other people on a longtail boat to be taken to the beach because the water is too shallow for the big boat. This wasn't alarming since taking a longtail to shore is fairly common. The fun part begins when the big boat pulls away and the guys on the long tail start demanding that we pay them more money to take us to shore. But we had already paid to get to Ko Muk, not to a random point in the middle of the ocean. We paid a travel agent, who had already paid these guys their share, so they were trying to double dip by charging us extra. At this point we are about 100 meters out and it's too deep to just jump ship because our bags and, most importantly, the iPad, would get wet! We and another young couple flat out refuse to pay because it's a scam but there was also a family on board with small children. We felt bad because us not paying was holding them up and they already paid, but it was just too big a scam for us to give into. We were prepared to sit in that boat all day - time is something we have plenty of! The boatmen eventually gave in because the family was getting pretty angry so they finally took us all to the beach. When we got out they proceeded to chase us as we walked off, demanding to be paid or they would call the police. We encouraged them to call the police and now we are writing this from a holding cell... Just kidding! Any police that existed on this small island would have been on our side, so they finally backed off. We later verified with villagers and other tourists that it is a scam and we did the right thing by not paying.

Unfortunately, these sort of experiences really put a bad taste in your mouth when you are arriving somewhere new. First impressions matter, but we tried to put it behind us and give Ko Muk a second chance. As we walked past the fancy beach front resorts, we were in a hurry to be out of sight just in case the boat guys decided to come after us again. We stopped at the first little shack restaurant we saw and decided to eat and chill because we were hungry and irritated. While dining, we learned that they also had bungalows for rent and they were cheap so we stayed there.

Now lets talk abut these bungalows. They were situated in the jungle and they provided only the most basic accommodations.

Our mosquito net became our best friend since our room wasn't exactly sealed from the outdoors - there was plenty of space between the roof and the wall for creatures to come and go as they pleased. Because of this, and the heat, we thought it may be a good idea to just sleep with the window open to allow the breeze to circulate. This idea was quickly abandoned after a bat flew in our room and got stuck, not knowing the way back out again for five interesting minutes. We were spared an up close and personal encounter only by the grace of our mosquito net. Besides that incident, the rest of the night went smoothly, as we fell asleep to our au naturale jungle sound machine.

I also must mention the restaurant. They weren't stingy on the portion size and it was really good and cheap! The drinks here cost less than the mini mart - and they serve them to you cold! We would strongly recommend anyone to try it out if you happen to be in Ko Muk.

Ko Muk is a very small island and most people only come here one day to see the Emerald Cave - few stay for the night. There is really only one beach area worth staying at, which gives the island a very intimate feeling. Besides that, its all locals in huts, rubber trees, and dense jungle.

Once the boat guys left the beach to go home, we thought it safe to wander out and enjoy. We were accompanied by a friendly dog and a nice sunset.