7.21N 99.17E

29^th March, 2012

Phi Phi Don was OK but not all that good, The Beach was a bit sandy and no film stars at all; the food was all right but not great.

We pottered off yesterday and were nearly home when a huge thunderstorm hit us and gave the new canvas a real road test. It passed (just).

This place is called Ko Muk and is superb, the people are wonderful and took us to a ‘cave’ to which my camera cannot do justice, but I will try. Here are hundreds of young Muslim girls who swam 100 yards through pitch darkness to arrive in this lovely inshore lake.  They came in a crocodiles of up to 40 girls clinging onto each other until they emerge the other side.

We did the same but not with as much laughter!

In all there must have been at least 200 girls plus a hundred or so Japanese. The cave itself is not that great but the experience is fantastic.

We took a longtail from which our guide (with flippers) pulled us 100 yards into the ‘hong’ and out again, together with a 15min ride there and back, all for £12!

Off somewhere else tomorrow. About 55nm, nearly a Cherbourg.

K

The thunderstorms round here are truly the stuff of angry gods. They often occur in the late afternoon and mostly rumble past a few miles away.

On the way to Ko Muk I saw some inky black sky drifting towards us and 3 longtails going flat out in the other direction. The wind went from flat calm to 25 kn and the heavens opened. No raindrops just bucketful’s. The lightning and thunder were simultaneous and I was thinking longingly of Wimbledon! After about 5 minutes the storm was 3 miles away and I stopped grinding my teeth. We actually have a lightning clause in our insurance with an increased excess so strikes can’t be that uncommon.

Anyway Ko Muk was lovely with fish swimming round the boat and we are now heading back to Langkawi.

C