The Ride to Ko Rok was a smooth one. We hopped on the Pattaysia boat,next to our hotel at 8am. We were the first passengers on board. From there we picked up twenty more at various stops on Koh Lanta. Around 10am we arrived at Ko Rok. The boat dropped us off at the ranger station, and then took the rest of the passengers out to snorkel. At this time Ryan and I found ourselves a spot to set up our tent. There were about 40 tents already assembled; for 100 baht a night you could rent one from the ranger station. It was a good deal, and the few people that camped took advantage of this offer, but we didn't need it since we brought our backpacking tent from home. Within 30 minutes we set up our tent, hammocks, and unpacked our things. Around lunch time the Pattaysia boat along with six other boat companies came rolling back to the island with loads of tourists. Each company provided the same lunch; chicken and potato curry, veggies, rice, watermelon, pineapple, and water. We joined the Pattasysia group and ate our free lunch. The men working for the company were very generous; they invited us to join them every day for a free lunch. By 1:30pm all the tour boats left the island, leaving the Rangers, a few campers, and Ryan and I to have the island to ourselves. We spent the rest of our day exploring. The island was a true paradise. The water was warm and relaxing. The color was beautiful; baby blue and turquoise, with perfect clarity. I felt like I was swimming in a heated swimming pool;It was an incredible spot for snorkeling as well. The serene calm water, made it easy to swim. The view under the ocean was even more exquisite than above. Colorful coral, black tip reef sharks, Angel fish, Clown fish, sword fish, sting rays, sea horses, sea cucumbers, and bioluminescence, were just a few of the many creatures we discovered.With so many amazing things to see and explore, the days went by fast.At times we would unknowingly swim the entire length of the island,completely immersed in our exploration of the Andaman Sea; for this we were glad we had the gopro, to capture some of our amazing footage.In addition to the incredible sea life, the island was home to the second largest lizard in the world; the monitor lizard. These fascinating prehistoric creatures are around 6 feet long. Everyday we would see them wandering around the campgrounds lazily looking for food. Although they are pretty docile, if you get too close to them they would swing their tail in defense. Aside from all the wildlife exploring our time was spent; playing Frisbee, collecting beautiful sea shells, lounging in our hammocks, and hiking. All of our days followed a similar routine. We would eat breakfast around 8am, oatmeal or dried fruit. After breakfast we would swim, play frisbee, or snorkel. Around 11:30am the Pattaysia boat would arrive with lunch, and we would join them.From here we would sit on the beach and watch the tourists do their photoshoots. Everyday it was the same scenario; the girl posing a million different ways, and the annoyed boyfriend or husband playing camera man.The photoshoots would end by 1pm, when all the tourists and boats would leave. At this time we would have the island to ourselves, and we would spend a few hours snorkeling. After we would cook an early dinner; pasta, potatoes, or canned chili. Then to help digest our food we would go on an evening hike. Our twenty minute walk down a very long tile path, followed by a steep flight of tile stairs, would bring us to a cliff overlooking the andaman sea. We later found out that the path and stairs were put on the island in 2001, when the first French version of Survivor ,named "Koh Lanta", was filmed on the island. I thought this was an interesting fact. At the view point we would watch the most beautiful sunsets.Afterwards,we would take our time walking back to camp, stopping along the beach to watch the hermit crabs. Back at camp we would end our night with tea and chocolate bananas cooked over the fire. For seven amazing we followed this routine. During this time we made two friends; Bell and Mark. Bell was a gay thai man from Bangkok, with a great sense of humor and friendly personality. He camped on Ko Rok two of the nights we were there.Mark was a middle age man from Denmark, who smiled a lot and spoke with great passion about traveling. The four of us had some great conversations. Mark told us of some amazing places in Thailand and south east asia that we need to visit, and Bell gave us his cell number and email so we could contact him if we ever need him to translate, or if we plan a trip to Bangkok. Making two new friends on the island was a fun unexpected surprise. One of the many highlights of our trip was seeing the bioluminescence. On our last night at Ko rok we put on our swim suits,grabbed or snorkeling gear, and swam in the water. The experience was magical. Every time we waved our hands, stomped the ground, or moved, blue lights would swirl in the water.It was an incredible sight. I was having so much fun that I couldnt hear the park rangers in their boat, as they politely yelled "excuse me". I was swimming right where they were trying to park their boat. The rangers were nice guys.They were always intrigued by what Ryan and I cooked. They would come over to where we were cooking dinner and look in all of our pots, point at the food, smile, and nod. They didnt speak English, so all communication was through body language. Our dinners were very different from theirs. Every night they would bbq their daily catch. One night they gave Ryan and I bbq squid and tuna, it was incredibly delicious.Our Ko Rok camping experience was remarkable. Everyday it felt like we were playing the role of mermaids under the water, and adventure explorers on land. The setting was relaxing and romantic. It felt like we were on our honeymoon. The entire experience was a dream come true and one I will always remember and cherish forever.
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