Sunday 22 April onwards - Koh Lanta and Phuket

Sunday 22 April:

We caught the boat to Koh Lanta and checked into a place called Lanta Pavilion Resort. There were a few locals on the boat ride giving out leaflets and we nailed the choice down to either Lanta Pavilion Resort or Lanta Paradise Resort. We asked for a sea view bungalow and we were assured that we would get one. We didn't but when we bent our head around the corner we could just about see the sea. This is called a sea view. When we entered the bungalow it still had evidence of last night's guests and I have no doubt that the smell was caused by the empty whiskey bottle in the bin. It didn't take them long to get our room ready though and in the meantime we walked along the beach. We stayed around the pool which was small but nice and then ate in the restaurant in the evening which was also nice.

Monday 23 April:

We caught a tuk-tuk to Lanta Paradise Resort and checked into a bungalow which had a full-on view of the pool and the sea. This is what we call a sea view. We went into the local town and bought the whole of Heroes Series 1 on DVD for six pounds. I'm not sure if you have heard of Heroes in England but it's fantastic. We got into it in Australia and had only seen three episodes. We liked it that much. We also visited Baan Resort and Spa and decided that we loved it so much we would book a room for a couple of nights.

We returned back to the resort to find that most of the island had suffered a power cut so we couldn't do anything apart from read on the balcony - which didn't last long because a couple were having sex in the pool - and eat under candle light. After we had eaten the power had returned. It took about three hours. We then moved into the bar and played Connect 4 with one of the barmen who just so happened to be the most stoned and best Connect 4 player we have ever seen and beat Carl hands down. The main excitement of the evening was watching the first two episodes of Heroes. At around 5am someone kept trying to get into our room. Luckily our door was locked but it went on for a while and we could see in the light someone running away. It really freaked us out and we were so glad that we had locked our door.

Tuesday 24 April:

A man from Baan Resort picked us up from Lanta Paradise Resort at 10am and we then checked into our wooden bungalow which was up quite a few steps. Wow. This is the best place we have stayed so far. The bungalow was beautifully designed and decorated and we had a view of the bay and the pool so it couldn't have been better. We spent the day by the pool which just so happened to be one of the best pools we have seen throughout our trip.

We walked along the beach to a bar at the far end and watched the sunset. It was perfect and is the first one we have seen which is ridiculous considering how many chances we have had. But we didn't have our camera on us so planned to return tomorrow night.

After some food and a couple of beers we retired to our bungalow and watched a further two episodes of Heroes. We can't watch too many at once because I don't think the second series is out on DVD yet but it's on TV over here.

Wednesday 25 April:

We had a dip in the pool before breakfast, after breakfast, in the early afternoon and in the late afternoon. We had a very bad storm last night which knocked off the electricity so the air con didn't work. It was very uncomfortable. Carl couldn't sleep because of the air con and I couldn't sleep because of Carl. So we both woke up at 6.30am. I don't even wake up this early on a workday so I wasn't a very happy person in the morning. We took a tuk-tuk to wonder around parts of the island and came across elephants walking down the road. They were with their owner who was taking them to a fresh piece of land with plenty of food. These elephants are used to take people trekking up to the waterfall.

I hadn't been feeling very well today. We ate in the bar next door to our resort and learned how to say thank you in Thai which we have been saying over and over again. Thai people love it when you speak even the smallest amount. Their eyes light up and they get really excited. If they had time they would give you a language lesson right on spot.

We had a three hour sleep and then went to the bar to have a few beers before food. We sat at the bar and the barman kept us occupied. He bought out a bottle of blood from a cobra mixed with tequila. It took Carl a while to get past the smell but he swallowed it in the end. I think with my poorly tummy it would have made me heave so I kindly declined his offer. That didn't stop him though. He then pulled out a bottle of lizard juice with the lizard still in the bottle for me to try. I declined again because I have become very fond of the lizards. Another two episodes of Heroes.

Thursday 26 April:

We took the four hour boat ride to Phuket today and saw a stingray jumping in the sea which we were very lucky to spot. We checked into Pacific Resort and Spa and this is where we have been holed up all day. We both have really bad bellyaches and bad toilet problems. Carl thinks it's because of the coffee he made in our bungalow yesterday. At the time I told him that we should use the mineral water but he said that the tap water would be fine because it was the drain that stunk not the water. So here we are. Carl asleep and me sitting in the dark doing our blog.

Friday 27 April:

Another day of starving ourselves and watching TV in bed.

Saturday 28 April:

We were feeling much better today after taking sickness tablets and, eventually, anti-biotics. We were careful not to do too much so we went into Patong and both got our hair cut in a shop called Hair Ways. While Carl was getting his hair cut I was having a vigorous head massage behind a curtain which was great but after about twenty minutes started to make me feel sick. And the women who cut our hair did a great job, although she almost cut my fringe back in. I also managed to buy my fly-electrocuting tennis racket for a little more money but this one worked.

Sunday 29 April:

We got picked up at 2pm and were taken to a sort of theme park where we did nine activities in one day. The activities were elephant trekking, Thai cooking, Thai boxing, ox riding, rice farming, monkey show, elephant show, kayaking and dinner. The elephant trekking was OK but the man was a bit cruel with the elephant when he didn't need to be so we didn't really like it and he was the world's worst pervert. The Thai cooking was just showing us how to make a simple Thai salad but they used fish sauce which was yuk. The Thai boxing was just a few kicks at a hand pad, the ox riding only took us round in a circle which took all of thirty seconds, the rice farming showed us how they separated the rice (that was fun because I got to sit on the water buffalo), the monkey show was a bit cruel but having my picture taken with Miss Monkey World 2007 was good especially when I got her signature, the elephant show was OK - a bit scary when the elephant put his foot on my back - but he gave me loads of kisses to say thank you and the kayaking was the best fun ever and we whipped everyone's ass although it wasn't really a race. The dinner in the evening was OK but we had about seven plates of different kinds of fish so it was all too fishy to eat. Oh and also on this tour was an English man in his 50s who had paid a girl from Ukraine, about 20 years old, to come to Thailand for a holiday with him for a week. It took her thirty hours to travel there. Duh!