Islands!

Since last we spoke we've been all over. Unfortunately a proper update will have to wait until I find a computer that will recognize our card reader so I can get some photos up. In the meantime we'll make do with considerably fewer than a thousand words.

After leaving Prachuap Khiri Khan we headed to Phang Nga, a quiet little town next to a beautiful national park. We took a boat ride through mangrove forests and around several small islands and limestone caves. The trip included a stop-over on "James Bond Island", where scenes from The Man with the Golden Gun were filmed, and which is now inhabited primarily by seashell vendors.

Next we headed to Phuket, the large island in the south-west of Thailand. We spent a couple of days at some beautiful but overcrowded beaches swarming with pizzerias, pasta restaurants, and Europeans.

Next was the somewhat windblown island of Ko Lanta, which was supposed to be our quiet getaway. It certainly didn't disappoint in this regard, as we were quite literally the only people staying at the resort on our first night. The place was largely closed down, and so for about 14 dollars we were given a luxurious bungalow with private bathroom, four poster bed, and satellite TV. Oh, but the satellite wasn't hooked up and the power was off during almost our entire stay, so the staff brought us candle lanterns instead. It was really quite great.



From Ko Lanta we went straight to Ko Tao, on the east coast. It is a small island popular with divers and famous for its clear waters. We had fun exploring and motor-scootering around but the experience was dampened a little by the overcast and rainy weather and by the fact that we both got sick while we were there.



Now we are in Bangkok once again, about to head east. More interesting possibilities are brewing, so we'll try to update again soon.