Back on the mainland, but still beaching around!

Since Xmas day, we continued to enjoy the quiet pool by day and the restaurant at night. I was allowed to show off my very average DJ'ing skills each night by hijacking the sound system and streaming dance anthems through my phone to my delight and a few boo's and rolled eyes from fellow guests at the restaurant! We made good friends with the main bar man called Ball, who mixed us cocktails which grew each night until we were drinking them out of a bucket! He even devised a new one for us called a Lanta fantasy - it was originally a Thailand fantasy, but he pulled back on the juice and ramped up the alcohol! One night I have a vague memory of getting on the back of his moped and heading out to a Jungle Party (with him shouting that he "Likes me like Monkey likes banana!")... that has been my one 'vague' night this holiday, the rest of the time I've been very well behaved and steered away from both buckets and scooters! 

 

This is just before sunset at our beloved Dream Team Resort:

 We then took a taxi bus, boat, taxi bus, and another taxi bus (changing vehicles with two kids and all our gear was thankfully made easier by Liad, Tanya and David, but not so fun when the temperature is in the 30's!)

We are now in the touristy, but energetic Ao Nang town which is full of... touristy shops, restaurants and bars, but is also a mecca for rock climbers and island hoppers... We opted for the island hopping strategy and Liad kindly arranged a powerful speedboat to whisk us around the Andaman Sea. We hopped from beach to cove and had some awesome snorkelling. I took mostly video which I wont bore you with, but here are a few pics I remembered to take in between.

Lily has heaps of confidence in the sea thanks to 3 weeks in the water. She still needs the buoyancy, but swims alongside us with an occasional push.

 There were hundreds of fish swarming around her here, eating watermelon thrown in by the boat drivers. She has not mastered a mask yet, but could still see plenty of the vivid blue and yellow fish that hover around.

 This puffer fish was fun to follow:

 The limestone landscape is stunning... these pictures don't do the place justice, please watch an old James Bond movie to get a taste!

Will is improving his swimming ability day by day. He likes having his life jacket when we're around the boat, but can swim about 20 meters unaided now, the little legend!