Ray and I had every intention of finishing our trip in Laos and flying back to blighty from Bangkok but the Thai visa system scuppered that plan. The problem we discovered was that travelling back through Laos and down the Mekong River then over land and across the border into Thailand would only have given us 14 days on our visa but flying into Thailand would give us a month. So we made the decision to miss Laos and get a Thai airways flight back to Bangkok and head to a remote Island called Koh Phayam catching a night bus to the port at Ranong and hopping on a speedy boat to Koh Phayam. Koh Phayam is a kangaroo shaped small island which is only 10 km long and 5 km wide with population around 500 people. There are no cars on the island with just pathways that are wide enough for mopeds and bicycles. Electricity on the island is supplied by solar panels which charge all day and give light until about 7pm in the evening. Whilst on the little boat that chugged from Ranong to Koh Phayam we made friends with a guy who was not dissimilar to Benny Hill called Mika who came from Nuremburg. A really nice bloke who had noticed that Ray and I had run out of water and were sweltering hot and offered us a couple of bottles of his Evian collection. As we chatted to Mika it became apparent that although he seemed like his English was good, every conversation was about him and his friends in Germany and his penchant for big breasted German women. Every sentence was finished with oh yes zey are vunderfull people, zey are my friends, I like zem very much. (picture Benny Hill saying zis with a sideways look to camera, whilst rolling his eyes!)

When we first arrived on the island we hopped on a motor bike taxi and were driven to a resort on Aow Yai (Long Beach) and found a little pink hut in a resort called Frog Beach. The cost of the hut was about £5 per night so we decided to go for it until we found something cheaper.

Our first walk took us along the long beach of Aow Yai and a cut through the palm trees into a tiny village. It was cool season and the Thai apples had fallen from the trees ensuring a constant hot and fruity apply aroma wherever you walked..it was lovely. We walked through the village which consisted of a tiny path with colourful beach shacks on either side offering teas, massage, mopeds and bags of fresh fruit cut from the tress that morning as well as fresh cashew nuts and a for a small price you could buy a tattoo neatly carved into your skin using a piece of bamboo and a small hammer!!... we plumped for a bag of pineapple!

We stayed in frog beach for two nights and on the third morning we decided to go for even cheaper accommodation in the shape of a tent on the beach at Friendly Bungalows (no bungalows in site just tents!)

As we were leaving I noticed something scuttle of the bed we'd been sleeping in and scurry underneath. I thought it was a little gecko so pursued it only to find ...yep another big ol spider....it's ok..I'm over them now!!

Anyway we moved into our tent.

It was raised up on a wooden platform and had a little lounge area with table and solar lamp and a zip able bedroom area with a proper double bed inside. Our en suite was next door; a toilet and bathroom which was brilliant, four wooden walls and non-existent ceiling that looked up to the blue/black day or nights sky and was totally open to the elements. A cold shower trickled down onto sand and pebbles and was much needed in the heat with a large bucket of water and a scooper for flushing the unflushable loo......funny where you find yourself!!!

After a few days we decided to hire mopeds and explore the island. We drove down to the port along the tiny pavement sized roads then headed to the other side of the island. We parked up and walked down a treacherous slope which had been washed away by the torrential rain that poured down that morning to a beautiful beach. We watched as a trillion Jurassic sized ants march across the paths carrying scrummy bits of fruit back across the path, up the tree's down the tree's into and out of logs and back to their portacabin sized nest .

The water was again beautifully warm and stunningly clear. As we swam and wandered the beach collecting shells who should we meet?.... Mika. He had found himself a tree house on this beautiful beach and was sunbathing next to a shipwrecked boat. Can't imagine how the boat got shipwrecked??? The sea is just too lazy to do any harm!!!

On the way back to our tent, we zipped passed a jazz bar hidden in the trees called the Iirie Islands bar. A drift wood sign hanging on a tree outside said guitars to rent so in we went. Sitting on a bar stool playing a very beautiful Maccaferri guitar was the owner of Irie Islands, a Rastafarian guy called Thomo. His music of choice was gypsy jazz and he was brilliant....needless to say we hired a very ropey and battered six string and headed back to the beach Thai rum and Spanish guitar in hand!