20th Jan - Limestone cliff climbing!

Still very much in love with the island today and it's quiet charms. We had a late start to rest a bit then biked 15minutes up the road where we'd arranged to meet a climbing guide."Dude"- apparently his real name- was a Thai man from the island who learnt to climb as a young boy in order to work in the bird nest trade. Later he showed us a book of pictures of the bamboo structures built in caves in order to harvest the precious bird nests (mostly sold to the chinese) and the people climbing (ropeless up to harvest them). He now climbs less due to an injury sustained in the Tsunami and guides more, in partnership with an American, Mark who's is bolting (titanium only!) more and more climbing routes on the cliffs around Ko Yao Noi and climbing here is becoming better known.

Anyway, we took a boat from the pier and stopped by a 35metre + cliff, climbed from the boat up a ladder onto a platform built under the cliff- from here we were to climb! Just 6As seconding Gemma's lead for me but enough with the incredible height and the spectacular view, a beautiful cliff- I've never climbed up stalactites before! Gem loved it and could have carried on for hours I was rather scared most of the time!
Dinner on the beach of fresh crab. Power cut later- very common though apparently brown outs also major problem with insufficient voltage (we heard this from a very annoyed German restaurant proprietor the next day!) so we read by torch light under mosquito nets listening to bats in the roof.

18th-19th From Lanta to Ko Yao Noi

18th- I dived again after long boat trip to Hin Daeng from Ko Lanta, beautiful diving but sadly no Manta Rays which do sometimes hang about here. With a deep dive to 30m I completed the Advanced diving course- yay! and on the second dive improved my underwater photography skills a little. Storms and heavy rain hit us twice in the evening, the second time as we headed home from some dining al fresco in Salaban -in the side cart of a motorbike, facing the lashing wind and rain- Thai transport is crazy!!
19th- Away from Lanta and onto Ko Yao Noi for the next 3 days, we crossed the Phang Nga bay with it's incredible limestone karsts (flooded mountains formed many years ago when sea levels rose) and were pleased not to be mobbed by any touts, in fact we'd come across in a small long tail boat with just a few other tourists, some locals, 2 motorbikes crammed in and nearly a goat in a bag. 

It was quickly apparent that we'd arrived in a quiet paradise! As we took a Songthaew to our accomodation we drove along a road that gave tantalising views of white sand and palm trees without any buildings blocking the view. 
Our bungalow was basic- mosquito nets over the beds as the floor boards were open to the ground though raised above it and the shower just had the one temperature (though the most useful!). We had a much needed swim on from the deserted beach across the road but the water was so warm it didn't cool us down very much!
We'd decided with its quiet roads that this was the best place to join the natives in the Motorbike-riding habit, well mopeads really, the lady we hired from clearly had some misgivings but gave us the safest, and slowest (memories of learning to ride horses!) and a younger lady who spoke no English demonstrated, wobbly and uncertain we had a few goes (insisted that 1 each was less likely to end in disaster than sharing one)  and I suspect were the best live entertainment she'd ever seen! Still, we got the hang and pottered off to explore this small island....
Incredible place, still so unspoilt by tourism, a coastal road with the sea and groves of mangroves on the one side, placcidly grazing cattle and water buffalo backdropped by forested slopes on the other, altogether stunning!

15th-16th Diving

We caught a boat over to Ko Lanta from Krabi and arrived in time to hide in a restaurant for a torrential rain storm! Oh dear, not what we'd planned. But by evening the sun had come back enough to take tthe picture in the previous entry.

I'd wasn't well the next day but Gemma started her Open Water dive course as planned and dosed me up with Thai antibiotics in the evening. Luckily they did the trick.

The last 2 days we've been diving about 2 hours off the coast off Ko Lanta: Ko Ha and Koh Bida. It's been beautiful hot and sunny weather and we've had some great dives. I have nearly finished my Advanced Open Water and been enjoying learning a bit more about buoyancy, and trying to take pictures of fish underwater- not only do they move but it's hard to get the light, the angle, then a current moves you or you lose control of buoyancy! Hard work. One more dive day tommorrow. Today we saw a Leopard Shark which was beautiful- and big, it'd be hard to top that.

14th Jan

13th Jan- sea kayaking with Gemma

The 11th was a rest day and I didn't feel well at all, luckily able to sleep it off. Bit better for flights on 12th to Bangkok then down to Krabi. Gemma had arrived from England, made an instant friend and had a nice day at Railay. We had a basic room for 450 baht a night with fan and bathroom and made an early night of it.
We had planned to climb originally but Gem had seen the crowds, was feeling the heat and wasn't really keen. After some debate and some breakfast we arranged to go sea-kayaking. 
First experience of a Songthaew now, a sort of jeep with 2 benches facing each other in back for seats with the sides and back open, a little precarious at high speeds!
Along the road to Ao Thalen and first glimpse of the incredible karsts- huge rocky outcrops rising out the sea and also out of the land- we have yet to find out what causes these to be formed. 
We were lucky enough to have a guide to ourselves and set out paddling into the mangrove swamps- quiet at high tide, it was cloudy with some warm rain. Between trees growing out of the sea and huge tree-covered cliffs it was an amazingly atmospheric place. We paddled out into the open across a stretch of sea onto a small, deserted white sandy beach which was stunning. 

Later on, achy from kayaking we decided to have back and shoulder massages and this may have been a mistake as it was incredibly painful! Gemma's masseuse declared that she had a back like stone which I would have found more funny if I hadn't been having my shoulder knots pummelled into oblivion. 2 days on and still a little tender- but less tense!

10th Jan, templed out?

A final temple trip to Beng Melea another temple being reclaimed by the jungle in a big way, once again it was 2 fingers up to health and safety after we followed a sprightly lady Cambodian guide "rock-hopping" through the temple.
Down the road were two smaller temples but rather prohibitively close to landmine fields- a good time to call it a day!

9th Jan- Lets tomb raid!

Up and out by 7.30 to see Preah Khan by the morning light- stunning ruined temple in the jungle, trees growing out in places. Beautiful light and real peace about the place with just the bird song breaking the silence. An old lady made a prayer for each of us and gave us a lucky bracelet charm (old people are quite unusual in Cambodia at present). 
A hillside temple with a view of Ankor from the hill on which it resided then after lunch a quiet jungle temple, Ta Nei, Ta Keo plain but high up temple with the most terrifyingly steep stairs up to the top level (walking up fine, down felt like quite likely to fall off) and health and safety has yet to reach Cambodia! Then Ta Prohm the main site for the filming of Tomb Raider, an incredible place with giant silver cotton wood trees and strangler figs engulfing and in some places now actually holding up the ruins. There were inevitably more tourists here but by cunning timing we managed to get most shots without them in. 
Another hot, exhausting but very satisfying day!