---

After being picked up in a land cruiser and driven the 2.5 hours from Bangkok to Banphe (Rayong District),our driver was a friend of Tony's and also German - we spent most of the drive assuming this was Tony only to discover that he was waiting for us at the jetty. We then jumped on a speed boat with the actual owner of the bungalow style guest house we had booked, Tony runs Baan-Pra-Kai-Kaew with his Thai wife. After arriving it was clear our driver, who we spoke to the whole way, would prove to be the only German we had a full conversation with during this stay.

The accomodation is basic, we spent the first 3 nights in a small room with a hard bed and a fan, then upgraded to a bigger room - balcony over the water, fridge and cupboard space. The shower/toilets are shared and only cold water, which wasn't a worry due to the heat. The food was great although a bit over our budget. The nights we ate here we never finished hungry due to the size of the servings.

This Island trip was recommened to us by close friends Alan and Yuko who had stayed here for the best part of a month some years back. Our first 2 days were spent getting to know the island and purchasing some essentials such as beach towels and a frisbee, as well as hiring a moped for 300 baht ($9 aus) a day to get us around, as the island is only 13.1 square km - 7km long and 4km wide and is a National Park.

The main attraction on the Island is the main beach, which is jam packed with chairs, ball games, speed boats and vendors selling anything you need for a day out. At night patrons eating at 1 of the many resturants will be treated to a fire show by local boys some as young 8 or 9 - and a small donation is easily given after you see it live.

3 days into our stay we met a Canadian couple Lance & Paddy who reside in Bangkok and came down for a weekend away. It seemed like a good idea to have a night out with them as a new bar was having an opening that evening. We enjoyed Beers and Breezers on the beach before realising the new bar was a fizz (and not because it was called "Thaibiza"), but we found a reggae bar - yes!!

Due to this night 3 firsts happened:
1. I rolled my ankle which would prove to hamper my walking for around 3 weeks
2. We got our first hangovers of the trip; and
3. I got food poisining. The next few days were spent hobbling to the shared bathrooms far too often and sending Bree on the moped to get whatever possible to make me feel better.

---