Not a glimmer of sun and constant drizzle. Hmmm…..After breakfast we decided to brave to scooter and see go for exploring…Fortunately we had packed raincoats for New Zealand. Annelise was most chuffed as hers matched her helmet perfectly. First up was a trip to a waterfall we had seen signposted on the main street. We took a left and headed through the rubber tree plantations towards the jungle covered hills. The concrete road ran out and became a rough ...

Okay, so maybe this isn't the best time of year to visit the west coast of Thailand….. It wasn't really sunbathing weather so after some deliberations we set out after lunch to collect the laundry. Inevitably the minute we set off from the launderette, the daily downpour started. By the time we returned to the Orchid I was totally soaked. The pillion passenger had a small damp patch at the bottom of her shorts…. The rest of the day was a write off. We ate...

After a rather slow start followed by some pool lounging, we retired to the room as the cloud cover increased and the mid day temperature soared. The rain came early, just after lunch, so seemed high time to return to the room for a snooze. Back awake at 4, the weather was looking decidedly inclement, which suited us as we had some chores to do. First up was dropping off the laundry, being careful to find a service wash charging the industry standard 35baht a k...

Sticking to the mainland, next stop was a couple of hours North to Khao Lak. The resort was famous as the gateway to the idyllic Similian Islands with their world class diving. It was also totally destroyed by the Tsunami. Our driver, selected by tour procurement manager Annelise purely on his keen pricing, was waiting for us at 1030 prompt. We soon left Ao Nang behind and drove through the Phang-Nga province with continuous dramatic towering limestone cliff...