With its modern conveniences, Samui is no longer the idyllic tropical paradise that it used to be.

Fortunately though, should you feel the urge to get away from it all, the answer is just a boat ride away -- Koh Nang Yuan.

You can get to Koh Nang Yuan by speed boat, catamaran or ferry. Seatran operates a ferry that plies daily between Samui and Nang Yuan.

I booked a Seatran seat three days before. And on that Tuesday morning, a van picked me up from my place at 7 a.m. -- promptly.

Loaded with Korean tourists, the van took us to Bangrak where the ferry was waiting.

After getting off the van, I walked over to the reception where a blue ribbon was tied around my wrist. I was also handed a boat ticket, before allowed to walk on a plank leading to the boat called Discovery 2.

The boat had a number of passengers. There were the cute Korean couples whom I spent my day with, some divers from the Calypso school and a few more who looked like they were just hitching a ride to Koh Phangan.

It took an hour and a half to get to Koh Tao. All the while I was staring out the window and the sea seemed to sparkle just a little more than usual that day.

Out of the blue, a small Thai girl with cropped hair slapped my shoulder, grinning. 'Downstairs,” she yelled. I asked why. Without bothering to answer, she just pulled me along.

On the lower deck, she told me to grab a seat. As soon as I was seated, she barked, introducing herself as Conan the tour guide. That got some folks giggling from behind because the infamous barbarian and our little tour guide could not be more alike than Zena the warrior princess and one of the squeaky clean boys from  Sync.

Conan, whom I later found was really a twenty something local named Ning Nong, told us we were heading for a great snorkeling place called Mango Bay.

Mango Bay was a serene little place. The water looked so peaceful from the boat I could not believe how much activity was going on underneath. It was like a burst of colors from all angles! I had little green fishes on my left, a solitary long jawed orange fish on my right and a school of long blue ones moving past right in front of me. Unbelievable!

I could barely take my eyes off the huge corals casting amazing shadows on the ocean floor  which I think I could see from where I was  just two meters from the boat!

I just kept spinning around and looking from left to right, trying to catch every inch of nature's wonder. It was a bit unnerving to stare at the huge corals, somehow I couldn't shake off the fear that a beast might swim out from behind and bite me. I almost ran out of the water when one of the guides came from behind to ask if I was doing okay.

Then I found out the crew had been worried because I had gone a little too far from the boat for comfort. I looked back and saw the boat looked barely two inches from where I was. I was a bit embarrassed and tried to ease the uncomfortable situation by trying a bit of Thai on the guide. 'Koh tot kha, ' (which roughly translated to English means

'Sorry sir.', I said smiling. He just laughed, just like most good natured Thais do, and motioned me to paddle my way back. I bet he was laughing because I pronounced the words wrong again. At least I tried!

Back on the boat, a wonderful lunch was ready and it was a feast! I think almost every Thai dish you could think of was there and they were all scrumptious.

I was so full after lunch that I took a cat nap while we headed for the main event  Koh Nang Yuan.

Koh Nang Yuan is a few minutes from Koh Tao. It is characterized mainly by the three little islands joined together by a huge sand bar. Yes folks, this is where that spectacular view you find on every postcard stand was taken  and I was seconds away from it.

When the islands were in sight, the engine stopped and Conan said we'll be getting on a long tail boat to get to Koh Nang Yuan. From there, my new Korean friends and I carefully hopped onto a long tail boat. Since there were roughly 50 of us taking the day tour, there had to be two trips because the little boat could only accommodate yi-sip-song, or 22 people at a time.

Within minutes, I was climbing a bridge made out of stilts cleverly wrapped around some huge rocks for support. The stilt bridge was probably about a hundred meters in length and it led us smack in the middle of the sand bar. It was about 1 o'clock then and we were told we were free to snorkel some more or sun bathe and even climb the viewpoint to take some photos.

I was still so full from lunch that I thought the best thing for me to do was to walk up to the viewpoint. It was not really a touch climb but it was scorching hot so the climb was not an easy one. I think it took less then 20 minutes to get to the rock point where the spectacular postcard perfect shot can be made. There I found other trekkers taking photos of each other and I joined right in! It was a fun little group of friendly strangers out to catch scenic memories of Thailand.

After making sure I had proof that I had climbed a mountain (to brag about to friends back home?) I walked back down for -- what else? -- more snorkeling. But boy, was I in for a surprise as I walked into the water I could see the fish heading straight at me! They were so friendly I was dumbstruck. I guess these little ones knew they were in a safe spot and looking to play  or maybe get some food. Whatever, I was having a great time trying to catch them!

At around half past two, Conan rounded us all up and we rode back on the long tail boat to the ferry where we all rested with huge smiles on our faces. The day was definitely wonderful and worth a few entries on everyone's personal blogs. The schedule was just right; I did not feel rushed, bored  it was just a nice, comfortable trip to a peaceful sanctuary. Koh Nang Yuan is a worthy getaway for both residents and holidaymakers of Koh Samui.