Days 15, 16 and 17

We decided to head to the main beach (Long beach) in Koh Lanta. We had been warned by the guesthouse owner that it could get quite busy but when we arrived via a 2 minute tuktuk journey we realised that the Lanta people's defintion of busy was very different to our own. The beach was amazing with crystal clear water, white sand and little beach hut sunbeds that were free as long as you brought a drink at the owners bar. We were both already enjoying Koh Lanta far more than Phuket. We ordered a Barracuda steak for lunch and it was really nice to sit in our beach hut and eat it by the sea. The beach was great for swimming as you only had to walk a few steps out for the water to be up to your neck.

We enjoyed the beach so much that we came back to the same place the next day! We found a great place to eat at that night, called The red snapper. Michelle was over the moon as they did a chocolate cheesecake and after a few weeks of weaning off chocolate, she decided to have a relapse.

On our third day in Koh Lanta we booked a boat trip to 4 islands around the local area. We've noticed that when Thai people give you a pick up time and location it is more of a guestimation than fact. After some confusion the boat picked us up pretty late and from a different part of the island to what was planned. As it turned out it was a speed boat and the first part of the journey was very bumpy! Our first stop was Koh Cherk which was a big lump of rock sticking out the sea. We stopped for 30 minutes for snorkelling and we were not disappointed. The reef below was spectacular with colourful corals and fish (including some of Nemo's friends). Our next stop was Koh Ngai, about 10 minutes away. It was another chance to jump into the water for a swim but it wasn't as good for snorkelling as the first stop. The third stop was a larger island (Koh Kraden) where we could get off the boat for lunch. Lunch (Thai Green curry) wasn't great but edible, Michelle wasn't impressed and only ate her rice and pineapple. The beach here was the best we've seen yet, especially with all the smaller islands dotted across the horizon. Our final stop at Koh Mook (The emerald cave) had a surprise waiting. We were all handed life jackets and shown a small gap in the vertical rock face, which we were told we were going to be swimming through. The guide grabbed a touch and the group followed him into pitch black cave! It was scary and went on for about a 5 minute swim until we saw light at the end of the tunnel. We emerged in a small bay which was surrounded on all sides by shear cliff faces. The location had previously been used by Asian pirates as a place to store their treasure (hence the name emerald cave). After the daunting swim back through the cave we headed back to Koh Lanta. The trip had been a very good end to our stay on Koh Lanta and we were definitely sad to be leaving the following morning.