We had to set our alarm today as we have arranged to go hiking to see the Rafflesia flower. We have our breakfast of banana porridge and Klaus introduces us to Kai, our guide for the morning. Kai has been a park ranger for 16 years and a guide for the past 10. Before we can enter the park we have to go to the park headquarters and pay entrance fees of 400 baht for Simon and me and 200 for the kids. Klaus takes us in his pick up and then drops us 1.5km away at the foot of the mountain with Kai.

Immediately we enter the jungle it is obvious that this will be a tough and tiring climb. The paths are narrow, very steep and there are lots of stones and roots to step over. We climb up for about a km and then make our way along a river bed. It is quite shallow as it hasn't rained here for 3 months and we get muddy rather than very wet. After about an hour of exhausting effort, Kai tells us that we are nearing the flower sites.

The Rafflesia flower is the one of the world's rarest as well as largest flowers. It is parasitic and only found in the jungles of Malaysia and Thailand. It only flowers once a year and once opened the bloom lasts for 4 days before the flower turns black and rots away. It was named by Sir Stamford Raffles when he discovered it whilst in Malaysia. When we were in Taman Negara the flower had opened but it was an 8 hour round trip hike to go and see it and we subsequently didn't.

At last we reach a small bamboo platform, Kai is ahead of us and calls back that the flower is closed. It is a huge disappointment after our strenuous efforts and we sit looking at a black rotting carcass of a flower and a massive unopened bud. Kai suggests that instead of turning back we continue on for another hours climb in the hope that we may see a Rafflesia flower in bloom at another, slightly higher site. We aren't too keen but he encourages us on with informative explanations of plant life in the jungle and shows us wild bee honey comb, scorpion holes and cicada nests along the way. The Rafflesia flower is fast becoming the holy grail of flowers and we keep going despite the heat and difficulty of the hike.

Suddenly Alister shouts out in excitement and there it is, at last a blooming Rafflesia flower. It is around 2 feet wide, with large spongy looking red petals and a spiky centre. It is on the side of an extremely steep and slippery slope and Kai has to hold my hand to stop me from sliding off. We take photos and are careful not to damage the surrounding area as we get close up .Its really great to see it and I feel lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity to show it to the kids. Nearly 4 hours after we set off we arrive back at the roadside and Klaus is there to meet us. We are soaking wet through with sweat and agree the hike was really difficult but well worth it.

After a cold beer back at Our Jungle House we set about moving. The tree houses have become available and we have decided to take them for our last night here. The houses are built in between 2 trees and very similar in construction to the riverside cottages. The rattan walls open up completely and we decide we will leave them open all night. Effectively we will be sleeping out in the open with only our mosquito net for shelter and it is very strange sitting on the bed feeling completely exposed to the elements. Having a shower in the open air also feels liberating ( I feel like a Herbal Essences girl) and slightly scary as you wonder if someone will come past despite the isolated setting. Simon says he has never had such an amazing view sitting on the crapper before!

Tomorrow we are leaving here and visiting a lake setting where we have planned to stay overnight in a rafthouse. I have enjoyed staying here in the jungle immensely and am looking forward once again to moving on and seeing what the next place has to offer.

We were awake before 5am and lie there in the darkness listening to the jungle around us stirring. I read that the different species of cicadas have different calling times and that their songs are so distinctive that some indigenous tribes still use them to tell the time of day with the accuracy of a watch. They are so loud and almost drown out the other noises of the jungle. Simon gets up and sits on the veranda, Langur monkeys swing along the bushes of the cliffs and gibbons call in the distance. I was always of the opinion that zoos and safari parks were as good a place as any to view wildlife and of course it is guaranteed. I wasn't prepared at all for the thrill of seeing animals in their natural habitat and how it would make me feel. Seeing a pair of giant hornbills in a tree beside our hut is really indescribably exciting and for me one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Despite the wonderful surroundings nothing can detract from the fact that I am feeling really shit and I go back to sleep and don't wake up until 10.30. We had planned to hike to a waterfall today but I can barely hike to breakfast and we give up on that idea quickly.
Always looking for the worst case scenario I wonder if I have malaria and the idea that I may snuff it in the jungle does cross my mind. Simon is completely unsympathetic to that idea though and reminds me that the likelihood of that is very low and I have in fact just got a cold. We have taken our malaria tablets religiously and I'm pleased we haven't forgotten them once so I guess he's probably right.

We spend the day very quietly; Simon does some science with the kids. The biology section of the science curriculum is now completed and I think what an amazing place to learn about plants and photosynthesis. We are ahead of schedule and have eight and a half months left to complete the chemistry and physics modules. It’s a satisfying feeling knowing that we have, despite our initial doubts taught our kids and I know they have been taught really well.

In the evening we eat by the light of oil lamps. As usual the food is really great and I have 3 glasses of white wine in a kill or cure attempt. Tomorrow we have arranged to go and visit the site of the flowering Rafflesia. This is an amazing opportunity to see the world's largest flower and we can't miss it due to me feeling crappy. I take Maisie off to bed leaving Simon teaching Alister how to play backgammon. A few years ago Simon won us a days bar bill in a backgammon bet, whilst on holiday in Turkey so I don't fancy Ali's chances much.

I wake up feeling really shite with a headache, blocked up nose and sore throat. Simon suggests we stay here for another day but I figure as we are now up we might as well get going after breakfast. We repack our gear and after some toast and fruit, Simon runs out to the road to get a taxi. We pile in the sawngthaew and ask the fella to take us to the bus station. The buses are every hour, on the hour and we figure we have plenty of time as it is only 9.40 but the guy at the station grabs our cash and chucks us on a bus that is leaving now. Still we check with the driver and it seems this bus does pass Khao Sok on the way to Phuket and I'm happy enough with that.

Two hours later and we are close to the park. We have passed lots of big lorries loaded up with beige coloured sheets of raw latex. The busy streets of Surat Thani, where the red lanterns hanging to celebrate Chinese New Year are being taken down, slowly give way to mountains, trees and small bumpy roads with occasional huts and roadside seller's.
We are called to the front of the bus and its time to get off. I'm in desperate need of a pee and am directed to a few sheets of plastic and a hole round the back of a hut when I ask where to go. Still I'm a hardcore toilet user now. Look out Nicky things could get worse! Hee hee!

A fella with a pick up asks us where we want to go and we tell him we have reserved a bed for the night at "Our Jungle House". Simon gets in with the driver and me and the kids sit in the back with our gear. Going over the bumps is an exciting experience as our arses jump up and crash back down on the metal. Luckily the most uncomfortable ride experience I have ever had only lasts for 10 minutes before we arrive. Oh wow what an awesome place, some of the places we have visit I really struggle to convey exactly how amazing they are and this place I don't even think the photos will do it any justice let alone my ramblings.

Down a narrow path, is a small wooden, single storey building with a few tables and chairs, a desk and a bookshelf. There is no one around but a fella appears down the stairs and introduces himself as Klaus. He asks us how long we wish to stay for and then suggests we leave our gear and "Let's go for a walk". We set of behind him in single file down a dusty path into dense jungle. I expected to see a neat row of wooden bungalows but there's none of that organisation in this place. We walk for a while and pass what Klaus describes as the" Thai house" first. This is a two storey structure but unfortunately not available tomorrow night. Then we pass 2 tree houses, they look great but are a long way from each other and we would rather be closer to the kids here.

Last we arrive at what Klaus calls the riverside cottages. These little wooden huts on stilts will be perfect for us, close together, in a little clearing, right at the end of a trail and on the riverbank. The scenery is truly amazing and across the river massive, sheer limestone cliffs rise 200 feet into the air. We are surrounded by thick jungle and as Ali says it is as noisy as a city, the cicades are ear splittingly loud and we all catch sight of lizards, dragon flies and other insects darting around. Maisie comes across a snake and wisely waits until it slithers off before carrying on skipping down the path!

The cottages are quite comfortable with cold water shower, clean sheets and mosquito nets. We are given a solemn explanation of do's and don'ts of the jungle including checking underneath our pillows at night before lying down. Oh my god!

We have our dinner, the choice is really good and we decide to be a bit adventurous. We choose pumpkin and bamboo spicy red curry, banana flower leaf salad, chicken green curry, tempura vegetables with chilli and steamed rice. It's really great food and we're all completely stuffed by the end of our meal. We make our way back along the path to our huts its only early but dark although not pitch black. The moonlight lights up our little clearing and we stare up at the stars and watch the bats swooping around. It is an eerie and wonderful experience. My imagination starts to run away with me though and by the time we get ready to let our mosquito net down I'm convinced there are huge bugs everywhere.

Although I knew before I started the trip I was scared of heights amongst other things, I never thought insects would bother me. As I am pottering around in the gloomy light looking for my toothbrush I tread on something warm and squishy. I shriek the place down and the kids come flying across from their hut to see what's wrong. I sit on the bed sobbing hysterically that I've trodden on a snake and insist that Simon looks for it. The snake turns out to be nothing more than the padded strap from my rucksack and eventually I fall into an uneasy and disturbed sleep.

Today we had planned to catch a bus to Khao Sok National Park but when we rang ahead to book accommodation the place was full for this evening. Simon then suggested we perhaps move to a better hotel for the day and night. What a stellar idea, the hotel we choose is only 190 baht more expensive than last nights place and turns out to be really gorgeous. The rooms are large and beautiful and there is a lovely lagoon style swimming pool, with overhanging trees and the kids spend nearly all day in it.

We also pay for wifi and take the opportunity to send a few emails and update the website. Not really a hardship as we are sat in our swimwear by the pool, sipping our drinks in the hot sunny weather. There aren't any westerners here which is good, as the huge number of tourists and travellers in this region was a bit overwhelming for us. We have a big American style breakfast when we arrive and my plans to diet again go out the window!

I check out the spa prices, for 20 quid you can have every inch of your body massaged, oiled, scraped, wrapped, manicured and pedicured and I am tempted. In the end though I'm too lazy to move from the poolside and don't do anything more than bake myself all day.

In the evening we go across the road to Tesco's. On the surface it is fairly similar to the supermarkets at home. The fruit and veg would either be discarded in England as too unshapely or alternatively sold as organic for 3 times more. The meat counter has some surprises, the meat is sort of sold loose and there is a huge selection of chicken pieces, scary looking fish with large teeth and our favourite, pigs trotters amongst other things.

We lose Ali as we always do in the supermarkets at home but rather than finding him by the toys we spy him engrossed in examining the selection of guns and flick knives on sale. We have dinner in the food court, a type of Asian instore eatery, this is a bit of a gamble as we have to point at things that look ok and see what we get with it! In this way we manage to get by and have some satay, fried pork, spicy noodle salad and steamed rice. Maisie and I have a pink donut for pudding.

We get back our hotel room and all crash out on the bed. Ali is really tired and makes me laugh when he says "The thing I like about this place is you don't have to worry about checking for cockroaches behind your pillow before you go to sleep"
On that note they are obviously having it far too easy these days, better get back to basics when we head off for the jungle tomorrow!

We were awake around 6.30am today and got up early to have our breakfast. We repacked all our gear and collected our laundry. Although we didn't ask for it we obviously got the super cheap service as our stuff wasn't even folded and looks almost as dirty as when we sent it!

Simon spends ages cutting bits of wool off our clothes, when stuff goes for washing they mark it by stitching on tiny bits of coloured wool. Presumably to stop it getting mixed up with other peoples stuff, anyway the system doesn't work as I find a pair of porn Speedo's and a t-shirt that isn't mine!

At 10.30 the van arrives to take us to the bus station, after a long wait we are herded onto our favourite mode of transport, the minibus. The driver has to be the rudest, horriblest person I have met since we started travelling and shouts at everyone to get on the bus. He drives safely enough though and when we stop half way and he gets out and gets himself a drink without letting us off I'm not surprised. I look out of the window on the way and listen to my MP3 player. The road is excellent very wide and not too busy and the landscape is industrial, with lots of trees, cream painted buildings with red roof tiles and run down looking shacks.

The drive takes just over 2 hours and eventually he dumps us 5km out of town. Simon starts to argue with him but it's not worth it as he just ignores him and tells 2 girls who ask him what we should now do "that he doesn't know, doesn't care and they should just get out"- friendly!!

I'm not surprised really as we have read terrible reports of "service" in these really touristy areas, including lots of warnings to watch your stuff as unscrupulous bus drivers steal whatever they can to make extra money. It is impossible to watch our big packs but they only have things in that can be easily replaced anyway. Anything of value stays with us at all times. We arrange a pick up to take us to our hotel and when we arrive I'm pleased to see it's really clean, with air con. The rooms can be paid for by the hour but I don't care about that as it is quiet enough at the end of the corridor where we are.

We have been thinking about where to go next. Our original plan to visit the larger islands has changed as we have realised we don't want to go to the busy places, rammed with tourists and travellers. The busier a place is the less Thai culture we experience and of course we end up paying more for everything. Although there were about 100 people where we arrived in Surat Thani only us and one other fella headed off to town. Everyone else is bound for Ko Samui or Ko Pha- Ngan.

We have discovered that the Khao Sok National Park is only an hour's drive from here and sounds a bit like Taman Negara in Malaysia. We decide that this will be a better option for us and plan to find out a bit more information about it.

We have some decent Chinese food at the restaurant downstairs and go for a wander round. There's nothing to do here and Simons hopes of watching the rugby disappear as everything starts pack up around 8pm. Although Thailand is considered to be very easy to get around, in our experience it is actually more difficult than India if you are travelling truly independently as very few people speak any English and it can be hard to make yourself understood.

We go back to our rooms and decide to watch a film. Wee have unfortunately realised today that we have lost our 8 discs that contained over 70 films. This leaves a choice of 5 that are stored on the hard drive and include Creep, Madagascar, Titantic and Alien Versus Predator which is what we settle on. As usual I see about half an hour of it before I'm asleep.

We have had such a quiet and peaceful day today. We very slowly made our way to breakfast, which seemed to take us ages to eat as we all had several courses! Simon then spent a few hours doing some science with the kids. I couldn't face doing it today and they seem to have no clue that it is as difficult for us to get motivated sometimes as it is for them.

The weather is very hot and overcast today and I'm not surprised when it starts to rain. As we have previously experienced in Asia the rain is torrential but doesn't last long and I guess the temperature hardly dips a degree.

We have a wander up the road in the afternoon and after stopping for coffee find a hairdresser. Ali has his hair cut for a bargain 50 baht (less than a quid). One of the things I am sure we will find really aggravating when we go home is the cost of simple things like a haircut. We then phone home on Skype. Mum ad Paul moved house from Plymouth to Burton on Trent yesterday and its great hearing all about their new place. I also have a quick word with my brother Will and catch up on the news of how our niece Hope is growing.

Then I speak to Dad and Pauline, its lovely to speak to them also and let them know how things are going. They said we all look a little bit wild these days on the photo's which I was pleased to hear.

Several hours later and I have earache so say my goodbyes and head for the bar across the road where Simon and the kids are waiting. We have a quick drink and decide to look for a bookshop. We buy Maisie a new book but can't find one for Ali and will try again in Surat Thani. The kids have enjoyed reading their books on bus and train trips but English children's books have so far proved fairly difficult to find.

We walk further into Krabi town. It is a lively and busy place with loads of touristy shops selling souvenirs, fake designer gear and sun cream. It reminds me a little of Hua Hin where we holidayed last year. We settle on KFC for dinner and over order by a mile, still it is cheap enough and eventually we do manage to eat the lot back at our hotel. We also bought some magazines at the book shop and I lie on the bed looking at photographs taken of the tsunami damage.

Although we have been to Thailand since the tsunami and the images of 26.12.04 were probably clearer in my mind then, nothing can prepare you for visiting those areas and seeing the damage caused first hand. The magazine shows terrible pictures from Penang Langkawi, Ko Lanta and especially the beach we visited yesterday at Railay. It makes me think about stuff, count my blessings.

Simon and the kids are downstairs watching Mr and Mrs Smith. We are moving on tomorrow to Thailand's East coast. Until this afternoon I had no clue where we were going, when and how we were getting there and am so pleased that finally I am becoming so less organised and anal about stuff.

Actually we are going to a place called Surat Thani by bus, it will take around 3 hours and from there we will head further north we think, I'm looking forward to seeing the other coast. Whether it will be completely over run with tourists though will be another matter.

Due to the heat we are awake around 6.30am and wait until 8 to rouse the kids. There is a breakfast buffet at this hotel and its very good value at 99 baht. We choose fruit, muesli and hot breakfast for Simon and the kids also. Ali, Maisie and I spend an hour doing literacy. They write a letter to the King of Thailand asking him to set up a karting track in every town. Simon then goes off to the post office, we have more stuff to post home and it costs us 20 quid to send it to Dad and Pauline's.

When he comes back he has booked us a trip on a boat and we make our way to the pier at 12pm. It costs us 1500 baht which is a good price for the four of us and we have the longtail to ourselves. We set off for Railay, this is where the most spectacular cliff faces are and we're not disappointed with the stunning scenery. The rocks are jagged and massive and rise up out of the sea. We were considering staying in Railay and we both agree we are glad we didn't. It is teeming with tourists and the restaurant we have lunch at reminds me of the cafés you get at theme parks like Alton Towers.

When we get back to our boat the fella has got 2 more passengers on it, a couple from Belgium .They're ok, they're on holiday here for 2 weeks and we have a bit of a chat. The cheeky boat fella has charged them 1000 baht and so Simon asks him to knock 300 off our price. He agrees readily enough and asks Simon to buy him a beer which placates him!

We stop off at a dive site, the snorkelling is good and we see live coral and lots of brightly coloured fish. The kids seem to love swimming in the open water and are very confident. I remember Maisie telling me only a few months ago that she couldn't swim in the sea as she was too afraid. Now she leaps straight in off the side of the boat and swims like a dolphin!

Next we visit "Chicken Island" a large craggy rock formation, shaped like a chickens head and neck named this island and if you squint at just the right angle it is reasonably obvious! There is more snorkelling to do here but I stay on the boat and chat to the fella.

One of the first questions Thais ask is how old you are, this is to establish who is senior and who is junior and is necessary for status and obligation reasons. Factors such as wealth personal and political power are also very important. All relationships in traditional Thai society are governed by lines of social rank and there are mutual obligations for both parties. The junior are expected to show a degree of obedience and respect and the senior grant favours etc. This doesn't apply to strangers but always comes into play with family and friends. For example the senior pays the dinner bill for everyone even if it empties his wallet.

We also talk about his family and he brings up the subject of the tsunami. He points out fallen rocks caused by the wave and tells me he lost his boat. Approximately 8000 Thais died as a result of the tsunami, many of them in this province. I try and tell him how distressing we found it also in the West and convey some empathy to him but I'm not sure he really understood what I was struggling to say.

In the evening we head to a restaurant with live music but unfortunately all the tables are full. Still we have a great Thai meal at the place next door. We are becoming much more adventurous with our food, although we will all try anything we have been choosy about salads but I guess the Thai salads are so hot and spicy no organisms could live for long on them and they are probably safe enough to eat if you can handle the chillies.

We head back next door for the live music, but Maisie and I are really tired and decide to walk back at around 10.30 before the music starts up. At 12.30am Simon and Ali appear back, Ali has been playing the guitar in the bar and they have had a great night.

Today we are travelling to Krabi, on the Southwest coast of Thailand; it is described as having some amazing scenic karst formations, which attract international rock climbers at all levels, tropical forests and over 150 islands that were once hideouts for Asian pirates.

We spend the morning having breakfast, waffles today and the kids have a last play in the pool. At 11.30 the minibus we have arranged turns up and we pile in. We stop off at a few more hotels and pick up more passengers. Eventually the bus is full, all but one remaining seat. To our dismay the bus stops again and it appears another 2 passengers are about to get on. Simon and I are having none of it and express our unhappiness at 12 passengers sharing 11 seats loudly. Unfortunately none of the other passengers seem to share our concerns regarding safety and eventually we get out.

We now have only 25 minutes to make it to the pier and luckily we get a lift in the back of a pick up for free. The ferry ride then takes 2 hours. As we approach Krabi, Simon gets the camera out. It is of course very hot and the rocks and cliffs of Krabi seem to shimmer in the haze of the boiling afternoon sun. The sunlight reflects off the water and the blue sky is dotted with puffy white clouds. It makes a "picture postcard pretty" sight and we sit on the front of the boat watching the sandy beaches go by and getting fried!

We arrive at Krabi Pier and commandeer a trolley to move all our gear. A pick up taxi costs us 150 baht and we head off to The KR Mansion in Krabi town. Hardly a mansion, it is an informative small hotel with an extensive menu and will certainly do for a night or so. We are amused to see that we are right opposite the courts, although our amusement is tempered slightly when the prison van leaves, packed with Thai men in pale orange t-shirts, hanging through the bars. A reminder of the need to, at all times stay on the right side of Thai law. As if we planned to do anything but. It is fairly sobering when passing through borders to see "Death penalty for drug smugglers" stamped across the bottom of your immigration card.

Krabi town seems to be a smallish and busy place, with wide roads, coconut palms and tiny food vendor stalls along the way. There are many guesthouses catering to British, German and Scandinavian tourists and travellers and we see shops selling everything from dried fish to toiletries to fake designer gear. We are becoming less and less organised with our itinerary and at the moment haven't even decided whether we are leaving tomorrow let alone where we may go next. Instead we have a few beers and some food and decide whatever will be, will be!

At 8pm Simon and the kids go back down to the bar to watch Chevy a Chase film. I lie on the bed after my 4th shower of the day and read my book and by 10.30pm we're ready for sleep.

Simon goes off on the coffee run and returns with 4 breakfast vouchers. Although I can't face noodles, sausages and French toast they all tuck in and I stick to yogurt and fruit.
We have been considering exploring the island a bit but decide as the main reason to visit this area is for the beaches we will stay where we are. Besides the kids are having a lovely time in the pool and don't even argue when I say we have to do some schoolwork. It is a beautiful place to have your lessons, over looking the sea and I think even they appreciate that.

We spend the day quietly, there is Wi-fi here so we answer a few emails and do a bit of research on the Krabi Province. I'm reading a book called American Gods which is very strange and keeps me entertained.

In the evening we catch a motorcycle taxi to a restaurant called Red Snapper, it is run by a Dutch couple and we have tapas which makes a change and the kids love it. We have had a lovely evening, chatting about their schoollife and playing memory games and catch a motorcycle taxi back around 10.30. These taxis are basically motorbikes with a wooden platform on wheels attached to them. You sit on a bench and pray, they don't go very fast and there is no alternative transport but I'm glad when we get back safely.

We ask Maisie to get out and take a photograph of us on the thing and as she steps down she catches her foot and falls off face down with her leg trapped between the bars. Poor Maisie, she has really hurt her leg and will have a massive bruise on her thigh tomorrow. The taxi driver is so concerned and upset and Ali tells him we don't need the hospital just a bit of TLC. Simon carries her back to our bungalow and we examine her leg, she is very brave, a real hero and even laughs when Simon says how gutted he is that the camera is still working which means we still can't have a new one.

What a drama! I put them to bed, we are travelling to Krabi tomorrow and I think we have all had enough excitement for one evening. So lights out and off to sleep.

Today we are leaving for Koh Lanta. Simon has been talking to an Australian couple and they are going to share our boat which will reduce the cost to 300 baht each. We repack our gear and set off after breakfast. Maisie sits on the edge of the boat and although I tell her to hold on tight, she doesn't bother and looks so relaxed, like a natural sailor!
We all chat on the way; Andy and Angela are travelling back to Australia from England for their wedding in April and have recently resigned from their jobs. For the past four years they worked on a super yacht in Costa Rica for a man worth 800 million and its fascinating hearing about their time spent with him.

Koh Lanta was known long ago as Pulau Satak. This is a name of Malayan origin and means Long Beach Island. 100 years ago the island was important to trade ships, but the construction of roads on the mainland between Krabi and Trang meant that goods transportation now takes place by road. In the late 1980's the first tourist bungalows opened on Lanta and business was booming until the tsunami in 2004. Some areas of the island were badly damaged but according to our book the "Koh Lanta Ok" campaign has ensured it is now as "beautiful as ever".

The scenery is wonderful; the tall rocky limestone cliffs that rise out of the sea are very pretty and covered with bushes and trees, they make the seascape interesting. We also pass tiny deserted coves with golden sands. Soon we see Koh Lanta in the distance; we arrive at the pier and are helped out of our boat by some fella's. As we haven't arranged any transport or accommodation I'm glad to see a pick up truck and we all pile in. We drop Andy and Angela off at the end of the pier and head off in search of the beach. An hour later and we have tried at least 7 resorts only to be told they are all full. I'm just starting to wonder if we might have to catch a boat to the mainland when success!

The Lanta Long Beach Resort has 2 bungalows available ad we check them out. They are made of wood and have comfortable beds, air con and hot water. Great! On the other hand they are relatively expensive and will cost us 47 quid for the 2 per night but we don't have much choice if we want to stay on Koh Lanta and pay up slightly begrudgingly!

The resort is right on the beach and it is really beautiful with fine sands and coconut palms. Behind the resort are mountains covered with rainforest. There seems to be one main road and there are a number of bars and restaurants, although everywhere is full, it is busy in a low key way and I agreed with Alister when he said it reminded him of Goa when we first visited India 5 or 6 years ago.

We have a drink in the bar overlooking the sea, there is a decent sized swimming pool here and the kids enjoy having a splash around for a few hours. There are loads of tourists here rather than travellers and most people seem to be German or Scandinavian. In the evening we catch a motorcycle taxi to Ban Saladan to get some cash and then ask to go to Retro Restaurant. This serves good western food and we sit on floor cushions to eat. Ali has a New Zealand steak and the Thai waitresses are obviously impressed when he finishes it all! We make our way back and crash into bed completely knackered. I think we have 3 nights worth of sleep to catch up on and I go out like a light.

It absolutely threw it down overnight and the noise of the heavy rain on the roof was awesome. We woke up early enough though and try and plan our trip over the next few weeks. Originally we wanted to visit many of the islands in Southern Thailand including the well known Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan and Phuket. But have decided that we will probably give these islands a miss and concentrate on the quieter islands instead.
If we are to visit Laos which we are both keen to do, we have to gain some time somewhere and don't want to miss out on Kanchanaburi or Chang Mai. We also have to spend at least a few days in Bangkok getting our visa's to Vietnam and China organised, which is cool as we both adored it there last time we went.

Simon has bought both shampoo and a razor from the shelf of supplies here and subsequently we are going to stay on Ko Hai for another day. Today is Chinese New Year and we have heard reports that we may find it difficult and/or expensive to get accommodation on the busier islands.

Simon spends an hour teaching Ali maths and then half an hour teaching me. Being so crap at maths makes me feel dumb and inadequate but he's very patient and doesn't take the piss which I really appreciate. I spend some time doing literacy with Maisie and we concentrate on passive and active verbs and spellings. We take it in turns to do some snorkelling off the beach and Simon is lucky enough to see Nemo! I only see dead coral, parrot fish and a cat fish but still its good and we all have fun.

By now I am getting a bit stir crazy, there is so little to do here and Simon suggests we walk to the other side of the island. We set off through a wide and well marked path into the jungle and within 10 minutes are scrabbling through dense overgrowth and over roots. Despite the intense heat I do enjoy it and eventually strip off to my bikini. I guess I don't really look the part in my flip flops but we have brought water, repellent and a towel with us and make our way along quite well!

At last we arrive at the Koh Hai Fantasy Resort on the other side of the island, I quickly redress and we head straight to their bar. Complete bliss, we sit on comfy sofas over looking the lovely white sands and sea and drinking Gin. Love it!

The tide goes out and we make our way along the beach to The Seafood Restaurant, we have shrimp rice, a huge salad and a whole barbequed salted Red Snapper which is really good. We chat to an English couple and their 2 young sons; they are presently living in China and offer some interesting and insightful information to us. By now it is around 8.30pm and we ask the lady at the restaurant to arrange a longtail boat back to our side of the island. The weather is really stormy and although there are only a few spots of rain, the thunder is rumbling around and lightening constantly lights up the sky. Travelling back on the boat, in the darkness is surreal and scary. We crash through the waves and I'm glad when we reach our shoreline.

Ali has heard from his friend Kate that his best friend Woody has been hurt in a skiing accident and we decide to phone home to check on his progress. This is quite upsetting for us and we all hope he is home soon and back to his normal crazy self. Get well soon mate!!!

Maisie and I crash out, it is hot, humid and sultry and soon the rains will pour down. Tomorrow we are moving onto Ko Lanta, this is a larger and busier island and although I have had a great time here I am looking forward to returning to civilisation with easy access internet, a decent bed, running water and that modern miracle, all day electricity.

I wake up to the dawn chorus; there are no sounds here except the waves, the birds and the wind blowing through the coconut trees. I wouldn't say I have had the best night's sleep, as the beds are so hard we may as well have slept on the floor but when I look out of the door I feel so invigorated and alive. It's really fantastic to wake up on the beach in such a beautiful setting. Simon goes to get our usual coffee and we sit sunning ourselves in 2 battered old deck chairs on a completely deserted beach.

A young couple from the Netherlands called Eva and Jan have asked us if we would like to share a boat with them this morning to explore the islands around us. We are waiting to see if Maisie is feeling better before we make any firm plans but when the kids wake up around 8am she's ok and says she does want to go out today.

We have some pineapple, papaya and banana for breakfast and then set off in the boat. I chat to Eva on the way, like most people we have met they are travelling the other way round to us and we talk about their experiences in Cambodia and Vietnam. Soon we arrive at The Emerald Cave on Koh Mok, for many years this cave was used by the local people who gathered bird's nests from it and then used by pirates to store treasure. At low tide it is possible to take a boat through the caves but at high tide the only option is to swim through the 80metres in pitch black. We were expecting this so aren't surprised but I think it came as a bit of a shock to Eva and Jan.

We all don our life jackets and jump off the edge of the boat and into the deep blue water. It is warm and clear, the fella's are feeding small blue and yellow fish off the ends of the boat and they are all around us. The kids of course love it. We swim to the start of the tunnel, our guide has a torch but it is very dark and cool out of the sun. We start to swim along slowly, even though we're all so close together I can touch Simon and the kids, I can't see a thing. It is quite a strange experience swimming along in complete and total inky blackness.

Suddenly the tunnel opens out and we are in the sunlight and fresh air. It is I suppose, a bit like being inside a volcano with tall cliffs stretching upwards a hundred metres or so high. There is a small beach and the water is very warm. Although it is really amazing and beautiful it is slightly spoilt by the fact that there are loads of people in there. So much for getting an early start to avoid the crowds!

We swim back to the boat and set off for Ko Kradan, this is the most unspoilt of all the islands in the Trang province and has a lovely deserted beach. We try several beaches and use the snorkel equipment we have hired to look at the fish and underwater rocks. By now it is 2pm and we're all hungry. We set off back to Ko Hai and enjoy the wonderful scenery along the way. We managed to get some photos but it was difficult due to the large amount of spray coming into the boat!

Back at our island I have a quick shower and realise that I have left both our shampoo and razor at the guesthouse in Trang. What a pain, now I have to contend with dirty hair and hairy legs and that is enough to make me decide we should move onto Ko Lanta (A bigger island) tomorrow. Still despite the misery of that, the fantastic food makes up for it and I have chicken, coconut and ginger soup for lunch. So good, I can't tell you!

Simon spends the afternoon doing maths with the kids and I lie on the bed nursing my sunburn and reading my book. Later we have dinner of fried chicken and mixed vegetables and round it off with coffee and a packet of M&M's each.

Once again the heat woke me up early and although I hardly leap out of bed, due to my strained shoulder, I can't get back to sleep and lie there thinking about our plans for the day. After showering and breakfast in the café next door, Simon packs up our gear and goes to the ATM to get more money. The exchange rate is more like 70 baht to the pound and we realise although things are more expensive than we thought, we have more left in the bank also.

I try and do some schoolwork with the kids but can't get comfortable due to my shoulder and give up on the idea for today .At 11.30 the minibus comes to collect us, there isn't anyone else on the bus and it’s a very comfortable, air conditioned ride along a decent road. It’s a fairly rural area and we only pass a few huts made of wood and corrugated tin on the way. We also pass thousands of rubber trees planted in straight lines, I had read that the whole area is a giant rubber plantation and there are small black cups attached to the trunks of the trees about a metre off the ground collecting the sap.

After an hour we reach the pier, the boat is being loaded up with supplies to Ko Hai and we share a beer whilst the fella's finish packing up. The boat is a type of motorised wooden longtail boat and we are the only passengers. I'm really excited, this seems very adventurous and we sit on the benches together until the boat gets out to sea. Before long we are speeding along, the sea is calm and so blue and tall, sharp limestone cliffs rise up out of it. The film The Beach was filmed in this area and I sing the All Saints song Pure Shores as we race along. It's so exhilarating, feeling the scorching sun and spray on my face and the wind blowing my hair everywhere; we move and sit on the front of the boat.

We pass several islands and soon one of the fella's points out Ko Hai in the distance. As we near the island he cuts the engine and we drift in over rocks and coral. The beach is about 400 metres long with fine golden sand and at the back on a grassy flat area are about 20 small wooden huts on stilts. Thankfully I don't have to carry my pack as 2 fella's rush down to greet us and carry them for us. I'm apologetic when they nearly collapse under the weight of them though!

The huts cost 500 baht each and we decide to have 2 separate ones. We check them out and as expected they are really basic with simple wooden furniture, mosquito nets and cold water shower. Power is only available between the hours of 6pm and midnight and for the first time since we have been travelling we have western style toilets without a flush. Still pouring water down the toilet to flush it is an easy enough task and the peace and solitude definitely make up for it. It is so gorgeous here, with palm trees all around and a quiet restaurant with a good menu. There is a decent selection of books available for exchange and a few games for the kids.

I think maybe half of the huts are occupied and I'm looking forward to a few days of complete tranquillity and relaxation. With that in mind, after some fresh chicken, vegetable and noodle soup I crash out on the bed for a few hours and go to sleep. With the door and shutters of the hut open it is beautifully breezy and I have a complete doss afternoon.

Simon takes Ali out for a walk across the rocks, we are planning to do some fishing and want to hire a boat and do some snorkelling here also. An English fella and his Chinese wife who are very familiar with the island tell Simon there is an excellent seafood restaurant on the other side of the island and we decide we will pay them a visit there too.

In the evening we share a green curry, and hot and sour orange curry with shrimps. The foods really excellent and it would be good to think we can avoid fried stuff for a while. As Maisie is feeling poorly with a cold I put her bed early and Simon and I sit listening to Ali playing his guitar on our little wooden veranda. What a lovely end to the day.

I awoke very early today and must be still be on Malaysia time. We have gained an hour and are now only 7 hours ahead of the UK. The rooms are very hot even at 6.30am and I get up and have a shower to cool down. The kids are fast asleep but at 9.00am I can't contain myself and go and disturb them. Their room is small and the window opens internally and I am slightly worried that they may have boiled to death overnight but happily they're alive and kicking and as ever want to know when we are getting breakfast.

We catch a tuk tuk to The Meeting Place Café; according to the book this is a good place to arrange transport out to the islands. The difficulty now arises in having to choose between paradise and paradise we eventually decide on Ko Hai. This island is only 5km across and described as having palm trees, white sands, clear blue sea and almost entirely ringed by coral. It will take an hour to get to the pier and a further hour by longtail boat to the island and we agree on a cost of 900baht. There is one slight flaw in our plan and that is that The Meeting Place Café usually only arrange transport and accommodation together as a package. The Ko Ngai Resort does look beautiful but we want to see other (Possibly cheaper) accommodation on the island also.

As there is no transport on Ko Hai we will find it very difficult to get around with all our gear but decide to cross that bridge tomorrow and see what happens. After breakfast we return to The Yamawa Guesthouse where we are staying. There is a small seating area in the reception and to the kids disgust we get the schoolbooks out. Continuing on from the literacy they did with Toby we discuss the differences between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers. Sticking with their themes from their presentations I tell them that "all cats and guitars are banned". They write 2 newspaper articles each in the style of The Sport and The Times and although it's difficult they do really well and write some great articles.

In the afternoon we get some food in a decent restaurant, there is very little to do here and we are waiting for evening when it will cool down enough for us to go out to the night market. In 3 days time it will be Chinese New Year and there are lots of red lanterns decorating the streets of Trang, it looks very pretty and we would have liked to see the celebrations but as we're now hoping to visit Laos we must keep to a tight schedule and have agreed to move on quickly.

Back at The Yamawa Guesthouse, Maisie and I decide to have a foot massage. The Thai masseuses have the strongest fingers and before long I remember likening a Thai full body massage I had in Hua Hin to nothing short of torture. Still Maisie seems to enjoy it and once it's over my feet feel silky and I finish it off with clipping my nails and repainting them in readiness for the beach.

Predictably, as the alarm went off at 7am this morning we struggled to scrape our arses out of bed. Late last night we decided that if we felt too tired this morning we would stay another day but in the end we go for it and get a taxi to the ferry port at 8am. The ferry costs us 14 pounds for the four of us and the journey takes an hour. We arrive at the Thai port of Satun and immigration takes around another hour. The immigration officials are friendly and chat away to the kids but they are knackered, irritable and spoiling for a fight with each other.

We get in a sawngthaew (pronounced songlaw) these are covered pick up trucks with two rows of benches and the main way of getting around the towns of Thailand. We ask the driver to take us to the bus station but end up getting dumped at a bus stop, still that’s ok as we want to take 5 and buy a drink.

Eventually the bus to Trang turns up. We had originally planned to go straight through to Krabi but as the kids are being evil and we are also tired we decide to go halfway there instead. We get settled at the back of the bus which is comfortable enough and empty. Just as we are congratulating ourselves on rejecting the aircon bus and going like the locals our relative peace is shattered as 5 or 6 young lads get on. They are all pissed and chatter away to us, offering us their beer and fags. We tell them we don't drink and smoke so they get out a hanky and encourage us to sniff it instead! I'm not sure if it contained anything more than snot but we only put up with them singing and dancing around us for another half an hour before we move further up the bus and they take the hint and leave us alone from then on.

Two hours later and we arrive in Trang. It is a small town on the Andaman coast and apparently a really good place to get out to some of the islands. It doesn't seem quite as hot as Langkawi but the landscape is similar. We have passed many coconut groves and there are limestone cliffs, waterfalls and caves in this area. As soon as we get off the bus we start walking, we are trying to put a bit of distance between us and the fellas on the bus. Although they were friendly I had a bad feeling about them and don't want them to know where we are staying.

They don't follow us though and soon we are some distance away and relax a bit. We find the guesthouse we want and it's gorgeous, spotlessly clean with natural, rattan furniture, crisp white sheets and silk bed coverings. We have to share the toilet and cold showers but there doesn't seem to be many other people staying here and we virtually have the place to ourselves. I bargain the room costs down to 200 and 250 baht. This is around 5 pounds sixty total. We are working on an exchange rate of 85 baht to the pound until we know better and have checked with the money changers.

By now we are starving and go in the café next door. We have sandwiches and corn. In Asia sweetcorn is often eaten in bowls with added butter, salt and sugar and is completely yummy! We check our emails and let the kids have an hour surfing the net. Their internet requirements have definitely reduced recently and neither of them has complained too much about the lack of webtime whilst we were in Langkawi.
It is very hot in our rooms and we are all feeling heat exhausted. We decide to get take out and Simon comes back with some Chinese food and a red silk rose for me, we sit on the bed, sharing dinner, drinking Chang beer and eating with a plastic spoon- Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello from Thailand, we've crossed the border heading North so we'll see you on the Thai pages next.

As planned Simon set the clock and we get up early. We decided to let the kids chose what to do today and they want to go back to The Asiana Hotel where they spent yesterday afternoon. We have some yogurt and fruit for breakfast and make our way up the road. Although it is quite early it is so hot that my sunbed burns me and we have to keep diving in the pool to cool down. Before too much longer Barney appears but unfortunately hasn't left his sleeping parents and sister a note so Simon walked back to let them know Barney is with us.

Jon, Toby and Lois appear around midday much the worse for wear! Apparently they had a late night last night and their plans of going up the cable car in the afternoon seem to be rapidly evaporating! At lunchtime we walk back to our hotel, we have got a bit of food left in the fridge and we make sandwiches for lunch. I spend sometime explaining the legends of Langkawi to Ali and Maisie but they're not too interested and want to get back to their swimming!

Simon takes them back and I pack up all our stuff, again we have a parcel of things we have collected in Malaysia and want to post it home but as the postal service here is supposedly very unreliable we will wait until we arrive in Thailand tomorrow. We have planned to catch the ferry at 9.30am to Satun which takes around an hour and then get the bus to Krabi, a four hour journey.

Simon and Ali come back at 4.30 and we walk up to Lylia's Bar. Ali plays for an hour or so with the guitarists we met last night and we have some Tigers with an Australian mum and daughter who are holidaying here. Eventually everyone else returns and we light a fire on the beach. Jon and Toby have bought some burgers and the kids make us ice cream sundaes. We say our goodbyes and wish them good luck with the rest of their trip; they are heading off to the Cameron Highlands and Taman Negara before their flight to Australia. It has been great spending time with them and I will miss them but can't wait to get to Thailand tomorrow. We had a fantastic holiday there last year and we're hoping to explore so much more of the place all the guidebooks call The Land of Smiles.

The money situation has become quite desperate and the main aim of today is to get to Kuah and get some cash. The nearest ATM is at the airport but there will be more choice of banks in Kuah and Simon, Toby and Jon set off in a taxi and leave me with the kids. I'm so lucky and have definitely pulled the long straw as all I have to do is remind them occasionally to put on sun cream and have a drink - Yeh !

I lie under the coconut trees on the beach reading my book and day dreaming. I have really loved it in Langkawi and seem to have found the answers to some of the things I have been thinking about really easily here. I have met some really amazing people here too. The girl who runs The Submarine Shack is from Nottingham. She came to Langkawi on holiday, met her boyfriend, went home jacked in her job and has been here ever since!
I love hearing about stories like that, people who don't worry too much about the consequences of stuff and just get on with it. Eventually they return with cash, hurray and we plan what to do for the afternoon.

Simon and I found a lovely bar up the road for sale for £7000. We sat there planning what food we would serve if we owned it etc!! Don't worry mum we weren't serious! In the afternoon Jon and Toby offered to take Ali and Maisie to The Asseana Hotel, it has apparently got the largest swimming pool in Malaysia and we jumped at the opportunity to spend a bit of time on our own. When we arrived there a few hours later they had all had a fantastic afternoon. The pool comes complete with waterfalls, slides, a hot pool, (as if you need that!) wave machine and "relaxation river".

We head back to our hotel and stop on the way for the kids to ring their Dad and Nana Judy and Bob and quickly check a few emails. After a quick shower we walk along the beach. Jon found a bar yesterday where they have an acoustic jammin session at sunset and Ali wants to go and play. The two guitarists there are really great and tell me they have just met and are camping on the beach and busking around the bars for a bit of cash. What a great life! Unfortunately some drunken fella decides he wants to play and when he sits down in front of Ali and tells him "sit there and I will teach you something" I want to laugh. The bar owner soon sorts him out and Ali arranges to meet the buskers tomorrow afternoon.

We have our food and make our way back. Tomorrow we will be leaving Langkawi and we get to sleep fairly easily. I will be setting the alarm in the morning to get us up early to make the most of our last day.

Today I even surprised myself by jumping out of bed and making the decision to go for a run on the beach. It's early and I leave Simon and the kids asleep and set off along the wateredge. There aren't many people about, some of the locals are having an early morning swim (all fully dressed, laughing and splashing around) and I stop and watch the fishermen emptying their nets. I have my MP3 player with me and listen to Jack Johnson along the way. It’s a bit of a half hearted attempt at running though but I console myself with the thought that although it might not being doing my body much good it's certainly good for the soul.

When I get back they are all up and we sit having coffee and chatting with Jon and Toby for a couple of hours. I have decided to stay out of the sun today as my lips are still sore and burnt and Simon doesn't like to lie around too much anyway. Toby does some schoolwork with the kids, she gives them a topic each and Maisie and Lois share theirs. They are told to plan a presentation explaining why they feel cats are better than dogs. Ali has to present his thoughts on why the guitar is the best musical instrument and Barney tells us why skateboarding is the best form of exercise. They all seem to enjoy doing this and talking to her has given me some more ideas on how to structure literacy lessons.

We consider the financial situation, by now we are down to our last few hundred ringitt and decide the best option for lunch is to buy some supplies and make sandwiches for everyone. We have crisps and fruit also and enjoy having a simple homemade lunch.

I spend the afternoon reading and we start to consider where and when we might move on. We had originally planned to stay in Malaysia for 3 weeks and have been here 3 weeks today so need to plan how we are going to spend the next 2 ½ months in South East Asia. We want to travel around much of Thailand, but have heard conflicting reports about Cambodia. The consensus about Vietnam is unanimously good and everyone we have spoken to seems to love it there. We have also been considering going to Laos as we have heard such excellent reports but will have to see if we can fit it all in.

After a quick shower we head off up the road to phone home, get some dinner and watch the rugby. Mum has been looking on the internet at pictures of Langkawi and tells me she is really jealous as it looks so lovely! Simon has found a bar where the England / Italy game is showing and we order some food and settle down to watch. 15 minutes later there is a sad realisation that it was actually shown at 9am this morning not 9pm as we thought and we have missed it by 12 hours!

We head back and have an early night; it amazes me that doing nothing has the ability to tire you out completely. Tomorrow's job for the day is to get some money; else we will have to resort to sending the kids out fishing for our dinner.

Simon and I went for an early morning walk along the beach today. We left the kids asleep in bed and crept out. There are a handful of people out walking and it’s a tranquil and romantic stroll along. We stop to examine some of the beach kill along the way. There are 5 or 6 jellyfish washed up and they vary from the size of a dinner plate to about 4 times bigger. We also see a baby shark and some starfish. The shark and some of the jellyfish are still alive and I want Simon to put them back into the sea but he wouldn't touch the jellyfish and the shark was apparently some fisherman's catch and had disappeared by the time we came back.

I swap my book for a new one, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. This is Aron Ralston's true life account of how he became trapped by a falling boulder whilst hiking in Utah and subsequently amputated his own arm in order to free himself and save his life. I read really quickly and soon get into the story, it is a compelling read and I admire his strength of character that enabled him to do that.

Someone told me I was inspirational and amazing for following my dreams with this trip. I'm not sure whether I agree with that, to be honest in some ways I feel like it's almost a cop out, running away on a huge adventure for a year. One thing I think I have learnt from the trip already though is that most things are possible if you want them enough and are prepared to be brave and work at it.

In his book Aron Ralston talks about a fella whose book he read who dropped out of mainstream society to travel around the US. He wrote that "Many people live within unhappy circumstances but won't take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which might appear to give you peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the spirit than a secure future."

I'm hardly going to become that type of mountain climbing adventurer myself so perhaps shouldn't comment too much! But one thing I hope is that I have become a bit braver and have the balls to take a few risks. I think that’s important and a fantastic quality that not everyone has.

All that said I have done nothing braver or more adventurous today than brave the fierce sun. I asked the sunbed fella to pull my bed down by the waters edge and lay reading and listening to Duran Duran and The Scissor Sisters on my MP3. The sun is too hot to go out in for long and I stayed under my umbrella all day. Despite this I have still got burnt and my lips and cheeks are really sore. Simon said I look as though I have been skiing as I have got panda eyes where my sunglasses have been. I also have the perfect Angelina Jolie pout.

Everyone including us is short of money, the visa system on the island has collapsed and no one has been able to access any cash for 5 days. We decide therefore to eat at The Delta Motels Restaurant, the food is pretty basic and cheap and chicken fried rice is probably the best they have to offer but it will do and goes down ok with a few Tigers. Usually a lack of money would completely freak me out but I am more relaxed about it than I would have thought possible. Maybe finally I am listening to the words of The Serenity Prayer that I know so well.

Its 11.15 and I'm sitting on the bed. There is so little to do here that I feel very lazy. I have decided Langkawi is a place for reading, listening to music and thinking and not much else. Today has been one of those perfect days that nothing could spoil and I can't wait for tomorrow.

Despite our relatively late night we all woke up early except Maisie (of course) and when I opened the door and looked out at the gorgeous beach I couldn't go back to bed even though I still felt tired. Ali and Simon went off to get some fruit for breakfast and a squid for the days fishing and I cleaned the place up which basically consisted of sweeping the sand out. Toby and I were chatting last night and both agreed we would be making some lifestyle changes when we get back. ie less housework, more fun at the weekends!

I have 2 jobs to do today, firstly I want to go and swap my book for a new one and I want to answer a few emails also. Internet access here is easy to find but it has been easier to sit on my arse for the last few days and not check them. There are some good attractions here such as Underwater World but I think we will just spend our time on the beach for the next few days anyway.

Its 6pm and we have had a great day. I spent an hour teaching science to 4 kids this morning who responded to my teaching methods with varying degrees of enthusiasm. (Not much from Maisie!) Still we seemed to get through it quickly which is good as I have hoped that each section won't take as long as the human body took.

I then went and checked all our emails and wrote some back, this took ages as I had quite a few to catch up with but it has been too hot to sit out today and even scorching in the shade so I didn't mind catching up a bit. We had some lunch at a beach shack, mixed satay, Greek salad and tiger prawns .. yum! It feels like being on holiday here and for the moment I am loving it!

There is a huge yacht moored just out to sea, I have been talking to the girl who runs The Submarine Shack who tells me it has been there for 2 weeks. I'm not surprised as it is so pretty here and really quiet. There are a few English couples here, older people and honeymooners but not many other tourists and we couldn't wish for a nicer resort to be in.
Along the main road it's busy with loads of shops and restaurants but we're in a good place at the end of the beach and nothing has disturbed us.

Ali and Simon went out on Jet Ski's this afternoon for half an hour, it is the first time Ali has been on one on his own and it felt scary watching him flying across the water on it. Still there is hardly any sea traffic around and I guess it is good to practice in open, calm and empty water. I curse him though when I see him standing up on the thing, but keep my mouth shut as he is so proud when the Jet Ski fella says he can tell he's been on them before and looks confident.

I sit sunning myself and talk to Toby and the kids, its nice talking to other people, although I really love Simon and the kids for company and we certainly haven't got bored of each other at all. It seems amazing that the days go so quickly but there are always things to do and plans to make about the trip and our future when we get home. Although we try not to talk about going home too much I have a few things in mind lined up for us!

The kids and I are all exhausted and we just nip across the road for dinner. We have pizza's and pasta and although it's relatively expensive its good food and worth the cost. By 9.30 we are in bed, all knackered which sounds like a bit of a joke as we have done jack shit all day and actually to my shame I have only managed to accomplish one of my 2 simple jobs. But hey it’s a tough life and someone has to do it.

We set our alarm today and got up around 9am. It was really amazing to lie in bed looking out of the door at the waves gently breaking at the edge of this beautiful beach. What a gorgeous place, it really is wow, and I can't believe we're actually staying here. Although we've only booked 3 nights I'm sure we will stay longer.

We walk up the road to The Red Tomato Garden Restaurant and have a lovely breakfast Maisie and I have fresh mixed fruits and homemade yogurt which makes a nice change.
We walk back to The Delta Motel where we are staying and get the schoolbooks out. Jon and Toby haven't been teaching Barney and Lois quite as much since they started their trip and this has caused a bit of dissent amongst the ranks with our kids as they think it is wholly unfair but I stick to my guns and we have a couple of hours science. We have completed the human body and today moved onto classification and variation of species, this is interesting and the time flies.

Simon goes to update our website; we have had a problem uploading pictures but it seems to be sorted out now with the help of Gary who set it all up for us. What a star! I get settled on a sunbed on the beach although lying in the sun without an umbrella for even a minute is completely out of the question. A fella at the beach shack bar tells me it is 39 degrees and when I check Ali's watch it says 38.5 in the shade. We bought factor 20 sun cream and plaster the kids in it although by now they are now really brown and I'm glad to see at the end of the day they haven't burnt at all.

The sea is perfect for swimming, very calm and shallow but there are some big jellyfish which are quite scary. I ask the fella at the bar if they are dangerous and he tells me they are quite dangerous but not to worry as they are fairly easy to see and avoid. This isn't particularly reassuring, as I have already walked into one in the water and we have seen a dead one at the waters edge, but there are a few people swimming and I decide to let the kids in but tell them to be vigilant. In the end they don't spend much time in the sea but this is actually due to tiny fish that nibble them and draw blood occasionally.

We bump into Jon, Toby, Barney and Lois later and the boys go out fishing again. They are more successful than yesterday and catch 3 small fish. Jon goes shopping and comes back with rice parcels wrapped in banana leaves and a bunch of bananas. We light a fire on the beach and cook the fish with limes, the rice parcels, and the bananas in their skins with slices of Toblerone. Simon gets the Tiger beers in and we all agree it makes a fantastic and cheap meal. The kids of course just love it and are all running around barefooted like 4 little wild creatures .They look so happy and healthy and we have a great night, Ali plays a few songs on his guitar and Toby and I sing along, not too tunefully!

We head for bed around midnight, before we go I ask Barney and Lois if they want to do a bit of schoolwork with us tomorrow and they say they will. Toby says she will do it with them the next day in that case - hurray that will be great! She is a classroom assistant as well as a nurse and it will be brilliant to have someone else teaching them a bit and I'm sure for Ali and Maisie a welcome change too.

Our taxi driver arrived on time at 7.30am and we caught the ferry to Langkawi as planned. The ferry ride took 2 and a half hours but it went quite quickly and Ali enjoyed watching the Jackie Chan film showing on the way.

My first impressions of Langkawi from the ferry are good and it looks beautiful. I'm sure we will have a good time here. We get in a taxi which costs 20 ringitt to Pantai Cenang, this is the main tourist area and we decide as it is early we will check out a few beach bungalows to make sure we get somewhere really nice.

Eventually we settle on a bungalow which is right at the end of the beach, it's a really good room with air con, 2 double beds, hot water, a TV, a fridge and a kettle. It will cost us 110 ringitts which is just over 15 pounds a night. As we are checking in an English family arrive and we get chatting to them. They are from Essex and have a 14 year old son and a 10 year old daughter, Barney and Lois and are also travelling for a year. It’s a great coincidence to meet them and they tell us we are also the first travelling family they have met since they started in September.

The kids all get on well after an initial bit of shyness and all go and play in the sea. Maisie and Lois play cards and Ali and Barney and buy a squid to use as bait and then go fishing. Its really great to swap stories, they also started in India but ended up staying for 4 months as Jon became very ill and needed 2 major operations. They then spent a few days in Singapore and have just spent a month in Thailand. We sit having a few beers and chatting all afternoon and I really enjoy it.

We have a toast to travelling with kids and all agree we're having a fantastic time. As Jon put it "Why wait until your kids have left home and go travelling, it's nice to look out of your window and admire the beautiful mountain but much better to get out there with the kids and climb it" I admire his sentiments and although I don't think mountain climbing is on my agenda quite yet it might be sometime and I never thought I would say that in a million years!

This must be the loveliest beach place I've stayed in; the beach is fine powder white sand and stretches for about a mile. There are beach shacks, A frame huts and bungalows along the back but it isn't crowded and although there are very small clusters of sunbeds it is quiet and peaceful. There are small uninhabited islands in the bay and the water is clear and blue. What a perfect place! It was my choice to come to Langkawi as I had heard good reports from friends Nicky and Amanda and I'm so glad we didn't head straight up to Thailand as I think we would have missed out on somewhere really great.

We have a quick shower and head off out for some food, unsurprisingly its expensive to eat here as Langkawi is deservedly one of Malaysia's finest tourist destinations and we wander along for a while before settling on a Pakistani restaurant where we have a cheap enough curry, rice mixed vegetables and naan bread meal. We visit the 7- 11 on the way back and get a few supplies and then have a drink at a The Submarine Beach Bar. We make our way back and are all asleep by 10.30 have a busy day on the beach ahead tomorrow.

Similarly to Singapore, Penang Island has a long and interesting history .In1786 Captain Francis Light (Thomas Raffles's brother in law) first set foot on Penang. It was almost completely uninhabited and the story goes that he loaded his ships cannons with silver dollars and fired them into the jungle to encourage the workers to clear it faster.
A trading port was established here and Light hoped to lure trade from the British East India Trading Companies rivals the Dutch.

By the mid 1800's Penang was home to a large Chinese population. Its main economies included opium growing, gambling and prostitution and it had become a dangerous and violent place. In 1867 10 days of rioting by rival Chinese societies left 100's of people dead. When British administrators finally took control they fined the societies heavily and used the proceeds to build police stations which subsequently kept the peace.

We are going to Penang Museum today. Although the kids have learnt the history of Penang we have found that visiting museums helps them to retain the knowledge and often use visual aids to reinforce information.

We have learnt the majority of facts about present day Malay politics, issues and culture by talking to taxi drivers. Although many of them seem quite surly and unfriendly when you first get in they will often start chattering away. The biggest bone of contention is the preferential treatment afforded to the Malay people. The Chinese and Indian people although they may be 3rd or 4th generation Malaysian born still have to pay many extra taxes including when buying a house, getting a business licence etc. ( around 10%)

Until the early 1980's there weren't any high rise hotels on Penang Island, now there are hundreds. I'm glad that we have visited now, as it continues to be promoted as one of Malaysia's top tourist destinations. I can see that it was probably once very pretty but for me it seems a shame that the trees have all been chopped down to make way for concrete.

It is really hot today probably I would guess around 35 degrees and the temperature seems to have shot up since yesterday. We catch a trishaw which is a type of bike powered rickshaw to the museum. Unfortunately the air con has been switched off on the top floor so we spend about 5 minutes flat there. The ground floor level is very interesting though and as well as explaining Penang's history there is a gallery with Chinese wedding outfits and beautiful antique Chinese furniture including mahogany opium beds.
Opium smoking was legal until just before WW11 when the British outlawed it on moral grounds. There were also pictures showing men lying on the beds, with the opium pipes in hand getting off their faces.

From the museum we walked to The Eastern and Oriental Hotel, this fantastic old hotel was built by the Sarkie brothers who also built Raffles in Singapore and we have read that a visit to Penang isn't complete until you have had tiffin on the lawn. As we hadn't long eaten we had a ginger beer instead but it was a pleasant enough break from the burning sun sat under the umbrellas.

Next we got a taxi to The Snake Temple; apparently home too many poisonous snakes who laze around doped by the constant burning of incense and only venture down later in the day when it is cooler. We did see a few snakes coiled around candlesticks and Ali had his photo taken with one round his neck and one on his head but for me I thought it was a bit of a crap attraction lacking in both snakes and spirituality.

After a quick shower we decide to go out in search of some hawker food for dinner and don't have to walk far before we find a really good place. We have chicken satay, crispy duck, fried rice and dim sum. I can't remember when the kids last ate with a knife and fork and are expert chopstick users now.

Tomorrow we are moving on to Langkawi, originally we planned to skip it but we are very close and have heard lots of good reports so plan to go get a bit of beach for a few days. We booked our ferry tickets this morning which cost 170 ringitt (around 27 quid) and have arranged some beachside accommodation so I am looking forward to moving on and catching a few rays.

We set our alarm today and woke up feeling quite bright and breezy. There were a few drunken characters around last night when we came back from dinner asking if they could jam with Ali but we insisted he was too tired and all headed off to bed.

Georgetown is described as a real Chinatown and everywhere we go you can hear the clattering of tools, smell a mixture of spices and drains and see old people either playing cards or Maarjong. It is a lively, smelly, rat infested place with crumbled down buildings that look as if they are about to collapse.

We wander up the road for breakfast and when we get back sit down to do some schoolwork. Wherever we have been our attempts at educating the kids have been noted and taken very seriously. It seems education is more valued here in South East Asia than in the UK. We do over an hour of literacy where they rewrite the endings to the books they have been reading. I realise Maisie needs to concentrate on spellings when she writes" igsotick" (Exotic)

Despite the hotels run down appearance I really like it here, everyone knows our names and are so kind and can't do enough for us. They all seem to laugh and joke around a lot and it is endearing and funny watching Uncle Lake cuddling a chicken like it's his best friend. I feel like everyone around us is slightly mad but really lovely with it!

We catch the bus to The Toy Museum, really it should have been called The Action Figure Museum and although it was hardly educational the kids loved it and we spent an hour or so wandering around reminiscing over Barbie, Batman, Snoopy, Garfield, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, The Fantastic Four and Biker Mice from Mars to name a few!

We catch another bus to Batu Ferringhi, this is the main tourist area of Penang Island and where most of the large hotels are based. We make our way to the beach and crash out at a beach shack. Although the beach isn't very wide it's quite pretty with white sand and a few palm trees and will certainly be a decent enough place to spend the afternoon topping up my tan. We all hungry by now and order some food. Like an idiot I ask for Tom Yam soup. Simon ate loads of it when we holidayed in Thailand but it is an extremely hot and spicy concoction of chilli, lemongrass, green leafy vegetables and seafood and although I do eat it my mouth is on fire afterwards and takes about an hour to recover.

We have a bit of a swim which is very relaxing and I read my book, a novel by James Patterson, it is a bit of a trashy read but I have been swapping books along the way and so far have only had to buy one book. We also swapped our old Lonely Planet Thailand for a 2005 edition which is more up to date following the tsunami.

Its 11.30 now and I've given up and come to bed. We went out for Chinese food and found an excellent restaurant. We were fairly conservative with our order and had some tasty beef and prawn dishes but should have left it at that instead of ordering some local puddings. The hot peanut soup was ok but the Chinese pancake was a horrible crispy, greasy thing that we felt obliged to eat despite being stuffed.

When we came back Ali played his guitar, with Uncle Lake and one of his mad friends. The bar was really busy and I was really proud as he played confidently and jammed along to some Malay songs. Two Dutch guys came along and shook his hand which made his night and although I'm used to people praising his guitar playing and singing it was really cool to see him doing his thing so well.

Following a restless night's sleep, which was probably down to the copious amounts of Tiger beer we drank yesterday, I woke up and couldn't work out whether it was morning or not due to the complete lack of natural light in the room. Slowly I realised that what I thought was torrential rain all night was actually the noise generated by the antiquated air con system and the final straw for me was lying there watching a steady stream of ants marching up the wall.

We get up and go next door for breakfast; we're all starving and have porridge, a fry up croissants and coffee.( Hangover fodder) It hits the spot and we plan what to do for the day. First on the list is move hotel and we pack up our stuff and walk the 10 minutes to The Hong Ping Hotel, which is behind The Blue Diamond bar. It's also a bit of a dive but has loads of character and its like stepping back 50 years here. Everything is so old fashioned and I'm sure nothing has ever been updated or renovated since the place opened.

Our rooms are massive, the kids are delighted to see they have a double bed each and despite the bricks on the floor blocking up the rat holes, the lizards running up the wall, the world's thinnest towels and cold water only, I am glad we have moved. Alister's guitarist friend, who is called Uncle Lake, is pleased to see us and chats to Ali about music. The people who hang out here are friendly and there are some "interesting" characters here to say the least! Simon says Uncle Lake looks like one of the characters in the Tarantino movie Dusk till Dawn.

We are staying in Georgetown which is the capital of Penang, just off a road called Love Lane in the heart of backpacker land. The area has a chequered history and was first called Love Lane by British soldiers. It reminds me of Union Street in Plymouth and similarly has a reputation for bars, drinking and prostitution. Although most of the hotels are reasonably respectable these days some are still brothels and there are a number of Lady Boys touting for business across the road once it gets dark.

Eventually we decide to get out and catch a taxi to Penang Hill. It would take around 3-4 hours to climb and there's no way we are doing that and opt for the funicular railway instead. In the heat it's a very uncomfortable journey and we are glad to get out half an hour later at the top. The views are good although it’s a little hazy and we have a drink before catching the train back down again.

We head back to our hotel and make some plans for the next few days. There are a few interesting sights but for tomorrow we have chosen to head for the beach. Despite the fact that we generally do very little, most days we're all knackered and feel in need of a bit of rest and recuperation. Oh this is the life!

We caught the train to Penang last night at 7.45 as planned. We didn't book our tickets until yesterday and couldn't get all our seats together but we're not far from each other and it isn't a problem.

The fellas that shared our compartment have been working as security at the Thaipusam festival and we had a good chat with them before eventually settling off to sleep. I slept quite well and woke up around 7am. The train was, by this point an hour late but this is good as we have to catch the ferry across to Penang Island and it doesn't run overnight.

We catch the ferry which takes about 15 minutes to reach Penang. We have read that the Penang taxi drivers flatly refuse to use their meters and don't argue when we are told it will cost 10 ringitt to get to our hostel.

Eventually we arrive at 75 Travellers Lodge. What a dump! I just asked Simon what it was called and he said Shithole Central. When the kids lay on the bed they told me one pillow smells of cheese and the other smells of pet shop. The rooms are tiny, the ceiling is bare hardboard and the walls are filthy. Added to this the communal toilets are next door and the whole place stinks of urine. Usually after an overnight train we crash out but I can't face staying in here for any length of time and we decide to go out for a walk instead.

We don't get very far before we reach a fairly lively looking bar and decide to stop for a drink. It's only early but the beer looks good and our one drink stretches into 8 or so. There is live music later and Ali and the guitarist get chatting. Ali plays a few songs and the fella asks him to play with him tonight. The afternoon has flown by and we go back to shithole central for a kip. We set the alarm for 8pm and head back to The Blue Diamond for some Mexican food.

Ali plays a few songs and goes down really well. Everyone wants to talk to him and tell him he's going to be a rich rockstar one day and one fella asks Simon if his son was born with shades on as he's so cool! But he's really tired as its now nearly midnight and we head off back to the hostel. We have decided we are going to move tomorrow as neither of us can face any longer than a night here. The final straw for Simon is when we get back and a group of lads are watching the football. He asks them about the rugby (England are playing Scotland in a 6 nations game) and gets blank looks in return. Definitely got to move on!

Checkout the video clip of Ali added to the India photo section. Will post a link to it later, but you can find it if you scroll to the bottom of the main photo page. It is the last file loaded.

The clip is Ali playing guitar and singing a song he wrote about his early impressions on India.

Here's the link, hope it works now.

We slept in today until 8.30 and are very slow in getting motivated. We are all tired and the kids both seem grouchy and incapable of doing anything other than lazing around. We have discovered when this is the case that the best thing to do is to take things at their pace otherwise we all end up with an argument!

There is a small kitchen here and toast, tea and coffee is included in the price so we have breakfast and then sit in the lounge area. The kids watch a film and Simon and I read magazines. Eventually we decide to head off out and get in a taxi. We ask the driver to take us to the bird park which claims to be the world's largest free flight aviary and it certainly takes some walking to get around. On the way we are overtaken by a black car with a 3 car police escort and the driver tells us it is the queen of Malaysia. He also tells us she is very very young (aged 35) I love him!

The park is divided into different areas and we are pleased to see a large monitor lizard at the entrance trying to get in under the net. These lizards are supposedly everywhere in Malaysia but this is the first one we have seen. I wasn't so keen on it though when Simon said they eat small birds and that is why it was trying to get in. It did manage to squeeze through a small gap in the end and slunk off presumably looking for its dinner.

Some of the birds are fantastic and we see hornbills, peacocks, parrots ducks and different birds of prey. It is very hot wandering around and when we stop at the café for a drink we get some good photos of Maisie with some great hornbills in the background.

We checked out of the hostel at 11am this morning but have left our gear there in the storage locker. We decide to get some food early as we have to catch the train tonight at 7.45pm. The culmination of Thaipusam festival is the returning of a silver carriage to KL and as this may cause some of the roads to be closed we plan to leave early for the station. We end up at TGI Fridays - don't seem to be doing too well eating the local food at the moment but hey I guess we have lots of time still for that.

When the alarm went off at 5am it felt like a sick joke and took me ages to peel my eyes open .After a shower, coffee and a few digestive biscuits we're ready to leave and get in a taxi and ask him to take us to the bus station. The taxi drivers last night quoted us 200 ringett to take us to the festival but as the bus is only 2 ringitt each there's no contest.

The Thaipusam festival is one of the largest and most dramatic Hindu festivals. It is held at Batu Caves which are a well known tourist attraction near KL. The caves are huge and reached by a straight flight of 272 steps. Inside are elaborate sculptures of Hindu gods and Lord Subramaniam, the son of Shiva is the main attraction. It is estimated that 1.5 million pilgrims attend the festival which is always held in late January, early February. They come to honour Lord Subramaniam, sometimes with acts of amazing physical resilience, ask for a favour or repent their sins.

Thaipusam is described as a wild orgy of seemingly hideous body piercings. As we near the caves the numbers of people increase dramatically and it is only around 7am. The entrance to the cave is clear to see and there is a tall Hindu god standing at the foot of the steps as if guarding the entrance to the caves. The noise is overwhelming with massive speakers blasting Hindu music, thousands of voices crying out "vel, vel" and beating drums.

The greatest spectacle here are the kavadi carriers; some devotees subject themselves to masochistic acts as fulfilment for answered prayers .Many people carry offerings of milk to the gods, which is carried in pots attached to the skin by hooks. We make our way nearer to the steps; there is a slow and steady procession of people winding their way from the left up the steps. I thought that we wouldn't see any of the devotees close up but we seem to be right in the thick of it all and they would be impossible to miss.

Some carry on their heads, great cages of spikes that pierce their skin. They stand around 3 metres tall and are decorated with peacock feathers, flowers, pictures of deities and plastic dolls amongst other things. They must weigh a ton, but the carriers seem to be in a trance and many of them dance around. Each carrier has a group of people with them who appear to be offering encouragement, rubbing their legs, lighting their cigars and giving them drink. We see coconuts been thrown onto the ground before them and bowls of fire and incense are carried.

As we stand open mouthed in amazement at what are witnessing, the kavadi carriers start to make their way past us. This must be the most unbelievable sight I have ever seen. The carriers are young men often with blood streaming down their faces. Their mouths are full of red dye also and mixed with the blood they look terrifying. They are in a religious trance and shriek, pant and scream as they pull themselves forward. Attached to them by numerous hooks embedded in their skin are other men who attempt to pull them back.
They are decorated with fruit, (mainly limes but also apples, oranges and bananas) green leaves and small silver milk pots. These are all attached to their skin by hooks. Many of the devotees have spikes, skewers and hooks through their cheeks and tongues.

The kavadi carriers are flanked by pilgrims with shaven heads, many of them are wearing yellow but I haven't been able to find out the significance of this. Babies are carried in cradles made from sugarcane stalks.

We decide to brave the thousands and join the procession. I am very nervous about this due to the sheer number of people streaming up the steps towards the cave but everyone is moving quite slowly as the cage wearers can only take a few steps at a time before they have to sit and rest. I clutch tightly onto the kids hands and we inch our way along.

I think me and the kids actually found some of it very scary to witness and it has left me feeling a bit strange. Not uncomfortable and quite privileged in many ways but definitely weird. Seeing the extent of this religious fervour is a thought provoking thing and I guess that we probably won't experience anything quite like it anywhere else. I also find it interesting that this festival is actually banned in India and yet celebrated with such enthusiasm here, in a mainly Muslim country.

Eventually we reach the top of the steps, the relatively small entrance to the cave opens out into a huge space and the procession of people continues far inside. Some of the devotees look at the point of collapse and are being urged on by their attendants. We decide that we have seen enough and after taking some more photos join the queue to make our way down again.

The festival is the culmination of a month of preparation including prayers, a strict vegetarian diet, sleeping on a hard floor, abstinence from sex and as a taxi driver told me "no dirty words!" Witnessing it has been an amazing opportunity for us and the kids and today has been very special.

We return to KL by bus and head to China town to get some lunch, none of us have much have an appetite and we spend a quiet afternoon back at the hostel. Simon does some maths with the kids and as we have a wireless connection I surf the net and check some emails.

We are planning to leave KL tomorrow for Penang and need to sort out our tickets and accommodation. I've been looking at the photographs from this morning, they are quite compelling, beautiful and horrible also and I feel quite stunned by it.

Just got in, we have been to book our tickets to Penang and then went to Nando's for dinner. It only cost us 12 quid and was a familiar and comforting treat after the strange excitement of today.