Today was what we postponed yesterday: snorkeling at a nearby island.

When we woke up we quickly realized we were without power in our Airbnb, which meant no coffee. I went downstairs to the coffee shop, and it turned out the whole neighborhood didn’t have power. We were slow going without our coffee. We finally got ready and headed towards the main boat terminal at about 10.

This was a confusing place, with hawkers trying to sell you tickets, and about 16 different “official” boat tour counters. We finally figured it out and got our tickets. We had to wait about an hour on the dock until our vendor’s boat was ready. It all felt very inefficient and Millie was bored with all the waiting. If I had a dollar for every time she asked if the boat was almost here… I’d have like forty bucks.

Our boat guy asked where we were from in America and when we told him Texas he made a big deal about cowboys. This is so common when people hear we live in Texas, they really think it’s all cowboys and Indians. They also then always look at Nick’s dorky sun protection hat and say “ah that’s why you are wearing a cowboy hat!” Even though it’s definitely more crocodile Dundee than cowboy.

Anyway, eventually we got on the boat and rode the 20 minutes over to the island. They dropped us off and we tried to figure out where the best snorkeling was. All the coral was fenced off for rehabilitation, which is great for fish, bad for snorkeling. We have been so spoiled by great spots, and this wasn’t one of them.

Despite it, Millie and Nick spent some time in the water while I read my book. Then I built a sandcastle with her while he swam out further in search of fish.

It’s looks empty in these two photos but was actually quite packed. Loud boats kept dropping off large groups right next to the swimming area. There was a lifeguard who had a loudspeaker that he used anytime anyone went near the protected coral area, so it was all very loud and busy. These photos more accurately represent the vibe:

There was a purple flag which is a jellyfish warning. I spent 10 minutes googling jellyfish stings on this island, and didn’t find much documentation of them. Then I looked around and noticed most people in the water had full body suits, which sent me down a worry spiral of wondering if these were for jellyfish or sun protection or religious modesty. It’s exhausting being me. We were all fine.

We had lunch at the one little shack on the island, fried rice and noodles.

Then at 3 we walked with the masses to get a boat back to the mainland. For some reason all boats out leave at 3 so it was chaos.

Our boat ride back was an adventure. It started slow and it seemed like there was something wrong with the motor. The driver shut it off and took it out of the water to inspect it. I worried we’d have to float there and be picked up. Finally he fixed something and then spent the second half of the journey pushing it to its limits. He was going so fast, and the water was so choppy that we were slapping against it. I had to hold Millie tight so she wouldn’t fly out. The group of 4 girls we were sharing the boat with screamed every time it happened. I shot the driver a look and he smiled at me, like he was being very entertained by our horror. When we arrived at the dock I was soaking wet and Nick looked at me and said “I hate men”. Yep.

We haven’t loved this city. It’s all a bit grimy and there isn’t much to do. Instead of trying to push through it, we decided to just head back and get takeaway dinner from the Chinese restaurant downstairs.

We ate, packed, I did a little computer work on the budget and this blog (see new navigation!), and Nick and Millie watched The Land Before Time.

One last random observation:

Everyone, everywhere, is on their phone. Always. I’m not immune to this, though I try to at least be conscious of it. We have been in multiple taxis where the driver will pull up TikTok at every red light, and then minimize it while they are driving. That’s how incapable of being bored people are. When every pocket of downtime is filled, there is no time for reflection. There are plenty of things going wrong with the world right now, and I wonder how many of them can be traced to the fact that we’re becoming a society without any introspection. Terrifying.