Wouldn't you know it? The last bit of the holiday and you'll be relieved to hear that we have indeed arrived at the very best of the best islands. Koh Lanta is a little gem. Far enough away, and sufficiently complicated to reach from Bangkok it feels remote, yet not deserted.

There are long soft sandy beaches backed with small bars and restaurants in which to watch the sunset whilst sipping a cold Singha beer and nibbling a Pad Thai. As you move down the long thin island the beaches become emptier and the roads quieter. We stayed near the top when we first arrived, hired a bike and explored the island, taking the road over the mountainous middle to visit Lanta Old Town, a higgledy piggledy cluster of wooden shuttered houses that could have been there for hundreds of years. It's a relaxed little island with enough to keep us busy and we couldn't be happier, especially after the nightmare that was Koh Jum, or Koh No-Fun as we have renamed it.

It's getting hotter and hotter though since we arrived, and most days we spend either in the pool or enjoying the air conditioning. I'm not expecting sympathy. Riding a motorbike was like driving into a hair-drier with the heating turned up to 11.

After a few days in the north of the island we drove south to Kantiang Bay, which is even quieter, with only a handful of hotels and restaurants. We moved into a 2 bedroomed villa on a hillside with sweeping views of the beach and waited for Dave to join us from Argentina for the final part of our holiday, and the beginning of his. He was due to fly down to Krabi on Monday and get a minivan from the airport straight to the island, a journey of about 3 hours that involved crossing two bits of water by car ferry. It sounded relatively straightforward, provided he could find the minivan and the first of his texts to us confirmed that he had indeed been located by the minivan people but was in the process of being told off by a large thai woman for misdemeanours unknown, so he was keeping a low profile and hoping for the best. The next text told us that he was now on the minivan and 'on the road'. Hurrah. The angry Thai woman had obviously been appeased with Dave-charm.

We texted him to let him know we were on our way to meet him at a place called Klong Nin where, we had been reliably informed, he would be deposited at the side of the road with his belongings like some war-time evacuee. We hopped on our bike and drove 10 minutes up the road to try and find him. A short while later we received another text. 'In minivan. Where are you, why have you not texted me?' He was starting to sound a bit lost and whiney, and night was falling. It started to dawn on us that he was not receiving our texts. We tried calling him, but for some reason his Argentine mobile was un-contactable by our mobile or skype. So there he was, stranded in a minivan hurtling down a road somewhere in Thailand, and we had no way of communicating with him to arrange where to meet. And of course the chances of him remembering our address were close to zero. That's why he has staff.

The phone beeped once more with another message. 'Still in minivan', he wailed. And with such a lack of secondary information he was probably destined to remain there until the driver got bored or went home. With no detail as to where he was or how long he had been on the bus we propped up our bike and waited at the side of the road squinting into the darkened windows of every passing van in the hope of seeing his bewildered and pathetic little face peering back out at us.

Luckily, yippee, we did find him - through our super-sleuthing methods of van scrutiny - and we hurried him back to our new home where, like a new puppy, he almost immediately turned it into a right pigsty with a scattering of newspapers, electrical components and items of clothing. But over the course of the next few days he went from being a bit sniffy about his new quiet and peaceful surroundings to declaring himself totally in love with Koh Lanta, and working out how soon he can return.

We all went elephant trekking one day and both Dave and Brian had a turn at 'driving' by sitting on the elephant's neck and shouting 'Oy Oy' every time he paused to eat or fancied a bit of a rest, as instructed by the official driver. They became quite competitive over who was exercising the most control of our beast and would make the better elephant handler, but it was evident to all of us that the only person in control of where we were heading was the elephant itself.

The next day we hired bikes and rode around the island again stopping off for banana shakes at a hillside restaurant with a stunning view. Then we went back to Lanta Old Town and ate spicy noodles in an old teak house overlooking the sea.

The following day we drove along a rough dirt road undulating with potholes - almost to the end of the island, heading for another beach to watch the sunset and drink more beer. When we got there we were astonished and delighted to find another elephant outfit operating from the edge of the beach offering 'Swimming with Elephants'. What an amazing experience, to watch the sunset from the back of a water-borne elephant! The bumpy old motorbike ride had been enough for us though and we were content to pull up a chair, dig our toes in the sand and order another cold drink. All this travelling really takes it out of you.

And so, we come to the end of our trip. It's been a great time of exploring beaches, islands, villages, restaurants, bars and of course the uninvited wildlife. We have almost finished the first edit of the film and will no doubt be planning the premiere someday soon. I have read more books than I can shake a stick at (39 at the last count) and we have watched a film almost every night from our collection of Bangkok-bought dvd's. We have swum, ate, drank and laughed (particularly watching Dave trying to control an elephant) and now it's time to go home. A couple of days in Bangkok where the taxis are cheap but the roads are grid-locked, will see the end to our little Thai adventure. We will storm the shops, get lots of cheap massages, raise a final glass of Singha and be home on Wednesday. I can barely believe it.

See you soon…..

p.s. Koh Lanta is going to be my tip of the week for DCBaber Travel, let's hope they pay their invoice on time, our bar bill is huge. Hmm, I wonder if they do airport runs?