October 6th-October 9th

So after the shenanigans on Phi Phi and in particular Declan and Kieran's night of death cocktails the trip to Koh Lanta was a traumatic one for Deccy. The boat trip was a blur however when we disembarked (fancy word for getting off a ship) not one, not two but three totally random strangers offered to help carry Dec's bags thinking he was seriously ill. When told it was a hangover they laughed and resided these offers however offering to do it meant a lot and shows there are nice people out there after all. When we arrived at our little resort Declan retired for the day while Mel went off exploring the area.

The resort was a short way out of town and totally desolate, a stark contrast to Phi Phi, and more like some the places we had stopped at previously with only a handful of other people. The resort had its own beach with white sand full of shells that stretched for miles along the coast. The strong breeze made the beach refreshing and easy to relax on. All this however changed at night!!!

When we finally made it out to eat something, we found a lovely Greek restaurant. It was slap bang in the middle of nowhere and people came from all over the island to dine there. The owners were lovely, the food was excellent and the portions plentiful. Declan managed a few bites and then left back for the room, leaving Mel dining for one. This is where the pleasant resort village turned weird and eerie. The walk back for Declan included a man asking if superman was ok, in some sort of bizarre reference to his t shirt. Mel's walk was equally peculiar, with mopeds and mini taxis slowing to a crawl, then whizzing off again.

The following day we relaxed on the beach and made preparations for our month in Malaysia. Strangely no one we know has been there and it had taken a prolonged search of many books shops up and down Thailand to find a book on it. That evening we walked further from the resort in search of something other than Greek. We eventually found another restaurant that seemed to only play terrible songs from the 1950's . The food however was lovely and after a few photos of it being incredibly warm we decided that Declan needed a hair cut! (see photos).

The following morning we took a tuk-tuk down to the town. Initially we were looking for Barnet trimmers or scissors for hair, but neither were available. Yes, Declan was going to let Melanie cut his hair as he was so terrified of a Thai person giving him a buzz cut. Eventually we stopped walking past the hair dressers and went inside. We tried our best to explain what sort of cut we were after to a woman who just kept nodding, even when the question needed words and not a nod. She went about prepping the chair for surgery. This was a proper barber's chair, like from the past, red leather with a foot rest. She wheeled out a cart of instruments and we hastily pointed to the one's we'd like used. After she had draped over the cape for our client, she then put on a surgical mask! Sweat started dripping and the fear factor went through the roof. She went about cutting, everything was fine, she often stopped an asked if it was ok, and it really was!! That was until the end. She pulled out a flick blade and began giving Declan a clean shave. With the blade in hand, the surgical mask and her pigeon English and creepy nod, it all felt a bit Sweeney Todd. She shaved not his whole face, just the sides and cheeks, the end result being a goatee! No one asked for or even mentioned this; she then stopped and said 'done'. We were quickly on our way, baffled by the end result, but happy with the cut. The cathead had gone!

That night we ate on the beach and watched the sunset. Our Thailand adventure had finished.

Hi-ho. Hi-ho. It's off to Malaysia we go!!