In stitches!

April 7th was an interesting day at Koh Adang of Thailand. Early in the morning, many longtail tourist boats passed Sea Turtle on her mooring ball heading to various shores for their passengers to snorkel in the nearby coral or stroll on the uninhabited beaches. We counted at least 20 boats, sometimes 5 all together!

Tourist transportation

We were excited to get into the water for some long-awaited coral reef snorkelling. But as Jordan was about to attach the dinghy wheels, he stumbled when a wave from a passing boat bobbed the dinghy and he stepped on a sharp bolt head which was part of the dinghy wheel bracket. It sliced and ripped into the bottom of his little toe. The diced flesh was bleeding profusely, and upon examining it, it was obvious that it needed stitches. Koh Adang was uninhabited so it was back to Koh Lipe for medical attention.

Back at the village, we went to the closer of 2 clinics along Koh Lipe Walking Street, later wishing we had tried the second one. For 8 stitches in a small toe, including doctor and nurse, it cost $350!! Plus they wanted another $200 for antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, which we succinctly declined.

We returned to Koh Adang immediately afterwards where I snorkelled for the next 2 days with Jordan following me, peering down below from in the dinghy. I felt so bad for him not being able to get into salt water because of his wound, but at least he had snorkelled this same area previously when I was in Canada.

Evening sunset

From Koh Adang, we once again returned to the white sandy beaches of Koh Lipe (N06°29.074' E099°18.009') for one last evening.