As the boat pulled into the bay (Long Beach) it was like a scene from Robinson Crusoe and the film 'The Beach'. It looked fantastic, the water was crystal clear and all shades of blue and was very warm. the sand was like castor sugar and the beach was full of baywatch beauties...

The first night we stayed in a hut on the cliffside with the best view of the bay... unfortunately being on the edge of the jungle that covered the island we were eaten alive by mosquitos. and as the room only cost 20 rm a night (under 2 pounds each) its amenitys were extremely basic, no toilet (communal hut about 25 yards away) no lighting either (thanks Jenny for the maglight, came in extremely useful!!). Although my bed did have a mosquito net with about a thousand holes in it!

The second day we relocated to a hut behind the beach that had a proper toilet, shower, lighting and a fan... mind you the electric only worked from 7pm to 7am. We spent the next two weeks sunbathing and diving.

We went to a number of dive sites via a small boat and saw giant moray eels, blue tailed stingrays, angel fish, triggerfish, lion fish and even a turtle! the water was so clear... a large whale shark had been sited recently, unfortunately we didnt see it...

While we were on the island it was 'malaysian day' a national holiday to commemorate when the british gave malaysia its independence. there was a big beach party and a lot of fireworks and fire breathers...

We also met up with Doug, who we had met on Koh Samui which was good as we hadnt managed to meet up with him at the full moon party.

After an excellent 2 weeks of relaxation we departed and returned to Kota Bharu for a night before flying on to Kuala Lumpar... the flight only cost about 30 pounds for the 700km journey and took under an hour... the alternative was a night train journey for 16 hours as the coach was fully booked.