Which beach to head off to? Over breakfast we decided on Koh Lanta, quickly packed and the hotel driver took us to the ferry terminal. We soon got wise to the fact that most people here have some angle they want to play and here was no exception, with tourist touts posing as officials.

The cheap ferry was obviously the preferred backpacker mode of transport and A-lo's wheelie bag stood out like an air con unit at a 400 Baht a night resort. The real comedy moment came when one girl got out her yoga mat and did a few contortions to pass the time.

The ferry was poor: the old plastic office seats attached to a metal bar were most uncomfortable and the 1.5hr scheduled journey time was somewhat optimistic. The "bar" at the back sold water and Singha, but you'd have to wake the barman up to get any service. Many opted to sit out on the roof……

Arrives at Saladan on Koh Lanta and rented a Suzuki jeep for a couple of days until we were settled. Ate top notch seafood fried rice at one of the restaurants on stilts in the port (another fiver lunch) and set off in search of somewhere to stay. After a couple of hours investigating good looking accommodation we reached the spot where the road ran out. Fortunately we had a 4x4 so carried on along the very bumpy dirt road. Too remote, so we settled on Sri Lanta, a trendy looking beach/pool/restaurant area with bungalows the other side of the road in a jungly bit of hillside. Looked OK except a fairly basic bathroom.

Once checked in, the ladyboy showed us to out shack and started telling stories about bad mosquitoes and frogs in the room. Great! I took the washing to the lady down the road, bought some water and checked out the local, a beach front establishment called the "Mong Bar". It also served as a travel agency offering good trips.

Back in the room, it became clear that the construction was a little suspect and as for stopping mosquitoes, we might as well have left the door open with the light on.

The strip of beach we were staying on had some nice looking restaurants - most kitted out with arty driftwood style furniture. We chose a popular family run joint on the other side of the road - the food was awesome: Tom Yum was the most tasty ever and the seafood fried rice delicious.

On the dark path back to our bungalow it was clear the place was infested with giant frogs and geckos just a bit smaller than komodo dragons. Uh oh! Back in the room, the mosquito coils had done the trick and we settled in for a good night sleep.