SE Asia - Post Script

Long time no blog!
With time on my hands now, I should fill in some of the gaps from the SE Asia trip.

For starters, there's a previously unreleased snapshot of Koh Lanta here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/scuba50/KohLanta?feat=directlink

Koh Lanta was a 3 hour boat trip from Phuket (via Koh Phi Phi), but perhaps 10-15 years behind in terms of tourist development (and prices!). A great place to spend a week, with miles of quiet (& some empty) beaches, verdant mountains, and plenty of good value accommodation and eateries.
Like all developing islands, the roads were pretty dodgy in places - baked mud, with dusty ruts and large rocks - the little Honda step-through coped with everything though!

Aside from the natural features of the island, the main purpose of my visit was to use Koh Lanta as a base for diving Hin Daeng and Hin Muang. http://www.blueplanetdivers.net/hin.htm These underwater pinnacles famously attract a lot of marine life, but they are so far south that they're hard to dive from Phuket or Phi Phi, unless you're prepared to endure a long speedboat journey. Unfortunately, the windy conditions in January meant that our two attempts to get there had to be aborted - the ride was uncomfortable enough, but diving in open ocean conditions would have been too dangerous - a real disappointment. An adventure which will have to wait for another trip to the area.

More on the un-reported wonders of SE Asia soon!