Day 3 of beach recon we hiked from our bungalow to Sai Thong or San Nuen beach (not sure as signs listed both names). It was only 800 meters but John had hurt his ankle wakeboarding yesterday making the terrain of rocks, roots and makeshift planks a bit difficult. So by the time we arrived we nearly had to turn back around as we were meeting our friend Deb that afternoon to head to Shark Bay. Sai Thong was a beautiful find, only accessible by hiking or boat taxi. Along the way there were other small beach areas which would have made for perfect private picnic areas. But we had a date with the Sharks.
Shark Bay was down one of those rutted dirt roads but when you arrived the beach opened up with a long stretch of sand and a couple of beach bars, one of which had a monkey addicted to french fries. 
We grabbed a quick bite - need to be well feed if you are going to be shark bait - and started off on our snorkel in search of reef sharks. The tide was going out and it was already quite shallow. You skimmed the surface holding your breathe to add some buoyancy as you floated what felt like mere inches over coral, sea urchins and fish heading out to the reef some distance from the shore. Then we spotted our first shark, then another. They were about 4 - 5 feet long, except one which seemed a bit longer and plumper ... Hmmm. One even swam right under us, exhilarating! But I must admit trying to float back into shore over that coral was scarier then swimming with the sharks.
