Swimming With Sharks
I’d only just jumped into that shimmering turquoise sea, snorkel and flippers on, when I saw it gleaming below. A leopard shark basking on the sea bed about 7 foot long with big black spots over its back. I was right over it, pretty stunned, but not knowing that we are far more dangerous than it is. I later read the leopard shark is used in shark fin soup and Chinese medicine, a terrible practise robbing the sea of 700 million sharks a year who are turned into flavouring. Get your head round that one. After we’d recovered from the awe of seeing it and carried on swimming amongst all those electric vibrant shoals of Angel fish, parrot fish, nimos, pufferfish, I was the one suddenly encircled by mother and baby black tipped sharks, and they can become aggressive in the presence of food and have attacked people. No good being frightened as they’re too fast to think of leaving behind. The baby was swimming right beside its mother and they shot right past me a few times, sort of whirring through the water. It was all pretty special, like watching Jacques Cousteau on the big screen, but you know what, I was very relieved to be back on the speedboat half an hour later heading for a picnic on Bamboo Island. It’s totally exquisite there, above and below water, the great limestone stacks rising up, warm silky crystal clear water and sun on your back. Thailand is the promised Land.