Shark Attacks, Angthong Marine Park
Replies: 22 - Last Post: Aug 27, 2012 7:25 AM Last Post By: Tuesday
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Shark Attacks, Angthong Marine Park
Can anyone advise me if it's safe to do the Kayaking around Angthong Marine Park, Koh Samui? I am PETRIFIED of sharks and the water for that matter unless I can see to the bottom. Do you know if there have been any shark attacks on people doing the kayaking there? Has anyone done this before and if so, did you find it scary? I know it's quite silly doing something that your scared of, but i have a few boxes i'd like to tick off and this is one of the things i would love to do.. HOWEVER if there is any sharks in and around this Marine Park i wont even dip my toes.Edited by: Redbullet13
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I know a french woman who snorkeled in very deep waters off of Koh Pha Ngan for 4 hours every morning and she never had an issue. And I know someone who Kayaked from northern Koh Pha Ngan to Koh Samui and back and almost didn't make it. But sharks aren't running around dumping kayakers. Let go of this fear. it isn't doing you any good.11
I think you have seen "The Beach" once or twice too often .....To get over your phobia, perhaps take a snorkel and mask to Shark Bay on Ko Tao. Black-tip Reef Sharks are commonly seen in the bay there. The ones in the bay are young sharks (up to about 3 or 4 feet long) and completely harmless.
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oh maybe i didn't mean tiger shark
The leopard shark is much more common. The leopard shark is named for its spots, so you might call it the "polka-dot shark", because besides resembling them, it's about as dangerous as polka-dots.
There is a tiger shark -- it's called a tiger shark because it eats people -- and it's "cosmopolitan", which means it can go wherever it wants to, including the Gulf. Fortunately (for us) it generally prefers to go to Hawaii and eat tourists there.
Worldwide, approximately as many people are killed by elephants as by sharks, which is say, one every year or two. The most dangerous animals in South-east Asia are
- other people
- mosquitoes
- dogs
I use my native charm, DEET, and a safe distance, respectively, to deal with those (real) threats. Sharks (and elephants and pythons and cobras and UXO and other hypothetical ways to die in Indochina) I don't worry about.
