We left Ko Phi Phi and carried our bags back down the narrow streets to the pier. We had already brought our tickets for the journey as it seems the only way was to buy them from travel agencies so we picked them up in town cheaper than at the pier. We must have been early as we were nearly the first ones there and were lucky that we were allowed straight on to the boat. As soon as we got on to the deck even before we had time to put our bags down we were targeted by the accommodation touts waiting for the tourists on the boat. We were given loads of leaflets and information and not really hassled too much. The guys took a lot of time to describe their places and sell it to us and most of them places seemed similar. We were shocked at the low price, 250 baht for a bungalow with a pool and restaurant on the resort. It seemed a case of just picking one and going with it, which is what we did! We decided on Lanta Riviera on Klong Khong beach as the pool and rooms looked lovely and the big selling point was the guy talking about the food his mamma serves in the restaurant! At Ko Lanta dock, Ban Saladan we were transferred to a songethaw, transport was included. We were driven down the main road through the island and I was a bit worried when we went a lot farther down the island that I thought we would be. The resort was right on the beach but there was not a lot around the area although we were happy as we just wanted to chill out. We were shown around a few rooms but decided that we would have a little luxury so we were offered a room, with TV, AC, big bed and hot water bathroom for 500 baht so we took it, we later found out that some people had paid 700 baht for the same rooms so we were really pleased with ourselves. After dumping our bags we immediately went to sit by the pool, I thought it was a bit cold to get in as it was fairly cloudy but Wayne jumped straight in. We managed to sit out in the cloud for about an hour when we decided to have some lunch, Wayne had Phad Thai and I had Tom Yam noodle soup which was delicious and spicy. As we were eating it started to rain so we just ended up hilling for the rest of the day. Dinner was delicious we opted for the Thai/Indian style curry. It was a Thai Massaman curry with mint Riaita and a nan bread, delicious. The area is heavily Thai Muslim which is why there is a lot of Indian food influence. After dinner we then took advantage of having the TV in our room and spent the evening watching films and sport.

The following day was really overcast so we did not really know what to do. After we had a nice breakfast of muesli and cornflakes we decided to rent a motorbike to have an explore of the island. After our last bike outing we made a pact that if we came to a dirt track we would not go down it!!! We rented a bike from the resort with helmets and off we went. The main road travels the length of the island so initially we set off to the main tourist area near us. We didn't stop as there was not much going on. We then set off towards the South where apparently the best beaches are. The small resorts are really spread out and there is not much on the main roads or in the villages it seems that the only thing to do is at the resort you pick. The roads we were on were all tarmac which was good as we ended up going through the centre of the island which was pretty steep in places. The road took us to Lanta Old town village although there was not much there only a boat crossing to get over to the mainland. We stopped for a break and then decided to go back over to the other side of the island and down towards the South. We got back on track pretty quickly, then we saw signs to the the caves and waterfalls so we thought we would take a look. We turned off and after travelling for about minutes up in to the hills we were stopped by a Thai man travelling in the opposite direction he told us that the caves were closed as the Muslims we there for a ceremony so we decided against going up. We set off again on the coast road and by this time had been going for 1 1/2 hours so we tried to find a resort to stop and get a drink, this proved quite difficult as most of the places we went past seemed to be closed or else they were extremely quiet. The high season obviously had not started yet. We managed to get to a small village, but further on was a hill but it was a dirt road so we turned around and headed back stopping at a couple of the beaches on the way. I think if we had continued on the dirt road it would have been tarmac again and this led to the Ko Lanta National Marine Park where the lovely beaches are! We got back and had some lunch and then it rained really heavy so we chilled out reading and chatting to some of the other guests. The rain did not clear up at all and most of the guests were sat in the restaurant, the food was really good and the tout was right! That evening I had beef with chill and basil leaf and Wayne had a mixed grill. We had a quick drink in the resort bar with a couple from Bristol who had been here a week and had travelled from Australia. The music in the bar was supplied by residents Ipods and

Our last day in Ko Lanta was wet again so we decided to book our travel onto Malaysia. The best way for us to get there was to go overland to Penang. We booked with the resort so we would be picked up from the door in the morning. We spent some of the day on the internet and also in the restaurant catching up with my diary and reading. The whole place is really relaxing with a little bar on site which everyone tends to go to in the evening as there is nothing much in the area. We took a walk along the beach which was wide but unfortunately deserted. We were a bit disappointed that the weather has been so bad, but next time we will have to come at the right time of year, even though the start of the good wheather should have started. Thet evening we went to a bar just at the end of the track leading from our resort to the main road to watch the football, Liverpool. The bar was full with all the people from our bugalows, it was a good game and ended up chatting to a Norwegian Liverpool fan. We went back to the restaurant after the game and had another Indian/Thai curry and went to bed. We had set our alarm for 2am so that we could watch England in the rugby world cup final, but the only channel we could get in our room was in French so we sat bleary eyed watching with French subtitles and we still got beat!