We were up and out of the hostel bright and early at 6am ready for our 7am boat across to Ko Lanta (none of us were feeling awake surprisingly), ready to spend the next few days catching up on our sleep and getting rid of the big bags that had appeared under our eyes over the past few days. We boarded a lot quieter boat than the one that had brought us to Koh Panghan and just as we were leaving the dock my flip flop decided to go for a swim in the Thai waters. Goodbye flip flop. After a couple of hours we arrived at the mainland of southern Thailand and waited for a bus to take us to Krabi, which is on the west coast of Thailand. The bus arrived after about 20 minutes (not long for Asia!!) and then we were dropped off again at another station, this time the wait was a little longer, 2 hours!! We were then shoved into a mini bus, with our rucksacks jammed onto our laps and all around us and taken a short 5 minutes to another stop. An hour and a half later and we loaded ANOTHER mini bus, this one was taking us all the way to Ko Lanta, but we still hadn't finished from modes of transport. 2 and a half hours of laying on everyones rucksacks, 2 car ferries and a tuk tuk to the bungalows and we had arrived at our destination, Leaf House Bungalows.

By the time we arrived it was about 6.30pm and we were shattered so didn't mind paying a very little amount for 2 mattresses pushed together on the floor for the 3 of us. We then headed out to the beach restaurants to find something to eat. So far from what we had seen, the island looked very chilled and just what we needed! We headed off to bed very early ready to sleep in our mosquito net den.

The next morning we had a bit of a lay in but the heat in our room was rising pretty quickly and the little fan in our room didnt exactly keep it cool! We grabbed some breakfast and then spent the day on the beautiful beaches 2 minutes from our bungalows. Lots of trips into the sea to cool down were needed today and obviously some ice cream to keep us refreshed! After a day sunbathing we went back to the bungalows to get ready for dinner. We tried somewhere futher down the beach for dinner and sat on a little table right on the beach. Not a lot was going on at night in Ko Lanta so we went back to the bungalows to read and catch up on our diaries and then it was time to sleep.

The next couple of days we pretty much followed the same routine of laying on the beach, topping up our tans, eating ice cream, drinking banana shakes (my new favourite drink!!), reading and sleeping. We were definitely feeling detoxed and refreshed after our party time. On the Monday, we decided to book onto a boat trip that took us to 4 different islands and do things like snorkelling and swimming. We were up bright and early for the taxi to pick us up at 8am and headed to the port where the long tail (a type of boat used in most of Thailand). The day consisted of going to four different islands, the first one being Koh Ngai where we did some snorkelling. We say lots of different fish and it reminded us of our diving days on Koh Tao, obviously not going down quite as deep! Next on the list was Koh Mook and the Emerald Cave. We got off the boat and swam through a cave for around 10 minutes with just a torch for light, we ended up opening up into this beautiful private beach which was surrounded by high rocks! The emerald cave was stunning and after lots of pictures we were back on the boat ready for some more snorkelling and swimming and a number of different spots. The other islands we stopped off at were Koh Korden and Koh Cheuk where we lay on the beach eating a lunch of curry, rice and vegetables that was provided for us. We headed back to the mainland around 5pm after a great day on the water! It was then time to pack our bags once again ready to move to the next Thai island of Koh Phi Phi the following day. Ko Lanta was perfect for our time after Koh Panghan and just what we needed. The beaches and sea were stunning and we had a lovely time here!

Lots of love from a detoxed pair of tired travellers xxxxxxx