The area around Phang Nga on the mainland is surrounded by spectacular lime karsts both in the sea and on land. Amongst them is the famous James Bond island. A tall lime karst that featured in one of the films. A popular way to see it is by going on an very expensive tourist excursion by mini bus and speed boat,from any of the surrounding areas. The problem with these excursions, apart from the expense is that you end up being herded around like cattle and not spending too much time doing what you actually want to do. The trip is also combined with a visit to the floating village.that nestles between the lime karsts. We'd read about a public ferry that went from Ko Yao Noi, the island we were currentl on, to Phang Nga ... read more

We are now on the island of Ko Yao Noi. After six weeks on Ko Lanta it was time for a change. The journey here consisted of a four hour mini bus ride interrupted by a ride on the small car ferry to take us to the mainland then onto the pier at Krabi via Ao Nang. Unfortunately as we arrived in the mainland it began to rain and soon became a torrential downpour, flooding the roads. We bagan to dread the boat ride over to the island but miraculously 15 mins before we arrived at the pier it stopped and the sun came out. A huge troop of monkeys came from the mangroves and greeted us at the pier as our mini bus pulled up. The boat was an old large wooden long tail boat ... read more

We're not used to spending so long in one place but this time we decided to try it instead of rushing around from place to place, even county to country. Also the main reasons is that Sharon and Scott are here with the two children. The area of Ko Lanta we are staying in is beautiful in its own way and very lively so we never get time to be bored. Having said that after over a month here we began to feel a bit claustrophobic and wanted to see more of the island. We debated whether to get a bike or not, I wasn't too keen. Then we came up with the idea to rent a tuk truck and driver for all six of us. A tuk truck is a kind of open back truck ... read more

Happy New Year! As often happens in Asia the afternoon leading up to the new year turned stormy and the heavens opened! And I mean opened! the rain poured down for about 30 minutes drenching the beach. Many of the restaurants had spent all morning setting out tables and chairs on the beach adorning them with white and gold table cloths and pretty bows of ribbon on the chairs. I felt so sorry for the staff who had to dry it all off and start again! Luckily by 5pm the rain had cleared and the celebrations got underway big time. Sharon and Scott joined us and we all went to Thai cat restaurant together for dinner. Jake and Kyla performed their ' fire show' for us again. They're becoming little experts! We moved onto Funky Fish ... read more

There's certainly no shortage of parties on this island. Whether they be for Christmas or just any excuse for a party. We were caught out the first Thursday we were here. It was the turn of the Ozone Bar a few hundred feet away from us to hold a party. We'd gone to bed and were fast asleep when the music was cranked up at midnight. A rude awakening! We thought it would go on for half an hour or so then stop. But oh no! 4.30am before it finally stopped leaving us feeling exhausted the next day. We soon learned that this was a regular occurance every Thursday. After considering all the options we came to the conclusion that ' if you can't beat 'em....join 'em!! Not that we wanted to join in at the ... read more