KOH LANTA

After three days of doing very little it was time to leave Koh Kradan so we caught a high-powered speedboat with a group of other tourists which took us to Koh Lanta, a couple of hours north. Going against our usual instinct, we accepted the first offer we had of a hotel from one of the friendly taxi drivers touting for business on the quayside. And it proved to be a wise move as we found ourselves soon afterwards at Lantawadee, a perfect hotel with simple 'bungalows' built on stilts minutes from Long Beach. The 'taxi' here was our first experience of public transport in Thailand, a modified motorbike with a few wooden benches welded together to form a sidecar. Not quite a tuk tuk, but definitely from the same family.

The next three days were pretty hectic - sunbathing, review-writing and reading interspersed with drinks at one of the relaxing bars strung out along the sand. The Thais really know how to take things easy with low tables and comfy cushions dotted around on small bamboo platforms raised off the sand, enabling you to watch the sun set over the sea while you sip another Beer Chang. In the evenings we watched people let off Chinese lanterns into the sky, a beautiful sight which reminded us of the Tsunami memorials a few years ago. The one hairy moment of our stay on Koh Lanta (other than Duncan's rapidly developing afro) was when, getting short of cash, he had to cling on for dear life as our friendly hotel manager took him by moped on a high-speed emergency dash to the nearest ATM.