6 May Up at 07h00, we want to see the Big Buddha before having to return the scooter at 09h00. We drove around quite a bit before finding the island where it was located, strange how not even the locals could direct us. The Big Buddha is a 12 m high statue which is gold plated, in essence it looks exactly the same as all other Buddha statues, but it's the biggest attraction of the island. We were harassed by a black dog following us around and jumping on us the ...

5 May We spent the morning either in the sea or tanning outside it. Strange thing in Thailand and Malaysia we found that one could lie in the sun for large parts of the day without burning, nothing like back home. Later we took the scooter for a spin around the island. It's much larger than we thought and exploring it with the motorcycle really added to the island experience. Driving around we stopped at the famous Chaweng beach. It's really a beautiful beach wi...

4 May The morning the lady's husband, a retired police commander, gave us a lift to the bus station. Every 5 minutes we would be approached by an agent who wanted us to take their minibus to Surat Thani. When we told them we wanted to take the local bus because it was cheaper, they would tell us there was no local bus or it was more expensive. We waited for 1 ½ hours before a bus came, checking that it went to Surat Thani, we boarded and paid the mone...

3 May We were up early again with the idea of another walk, shorter than the previous day. We had to be there before 08h15, else we would have to purchase another entry. We lay in bed a little longer as we always did before getting up, but the weather was not on our side. It started pouring outside, when it was evident that a decision had been made for us we climbed back into bed for some prolonged sleep.The rest of the day was spent lazing on our porch, reading...

2 MayIts an early start to the day, we have to be at the park gates at 08h00 for what lies ahead. We head to the shop about 400m away to first stock up on water, lots of water. The evening before we had purchased ample supplies to keep us going through the day. Today will be a test, at Taman Negara we had marched like army recruits and completed a mere 8 km in 5 hours. Skeptical I calculate how we will fit in the days travels. The first stop is 3 km from headquar...