Gem Island Resort &Spa Marang

Jumping off the bow of the small wooden boat I knew I'd made the right decision to move from Cherating. Not that this tiny island off the tourist trail was going to be any busier but the beach was a pure slice of paradise, truly poster worthy. Gleaming white powder soft sand encased in crystalline waters, no waves, just the faintest ripple meeting the shore.<br><br>I hadn't actually seen my room yet, the owner had sai there was ...

... with bacon sandwiches and a decent cup of tea every morning in Sydney &#8211; sooooooooooooooooooooo good! Paul still misses Stones &amp; Bombardier although he has tried an impressive 66 varieties of beer since we started the trip!<br><br>Number of photos taken&#8230;<br>A mind boggling 14043 (or 50.27 Gb) or a photo every 21 minutes, night and day &#8211 ...

... the other beach around the corner. Check out my previous blog in 2008 ) This place is just so big and over run with guests that it's like boot camp when it comes to ferry trips and snorkeling trips and just going to the end of a very long queue for one of your 3 meals. Also the rooms even though beautiful are set out apartment style and all connected by a veranda in blocks so every time an inconsiderate guest slams the door ...

... Schedule : Day 1 9.30 a.m. - 10.30 a.m. Board boat to Redang, check in and refreshments. 12.00 p.m. Check in. 12.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. Lunch. 2.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. Beginners ...

... great fun. There is 5 of us travelling up from Singapore up through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Kev my mate from work in Sydney, his flatmate Olley, Tiffany and Jude. Got a good wee gang going so its all good. cheerio fer noo jx

... bateau et qu'on va etre coinces sur l'ile. La seconde visite est juste un peu plus loin, c'est la cascade de Saok. Apres 5 minutes de marche sur l'ile, c'est une belle cascade perdue dans la vegetation luxuriante, avec plein de libellules bleues et rouges, des papillons et je ne veux pas savoir quoi d'autre. Le guide indique ou on peut de baigner, et ensuite ...

... The dive was called the 'Temple of the Sea' and while swimming around what was basically an underwater mountain we saw Moray Eels, Pufferfish, Yellow Snappers, Stingray and also a Bamboo Shark!!! After an awesome time chilling out, feasting on bbq's in the evening and enjoying the tranquility we headed back to the main land to head to one of the oldest jungles on the planet - Taman Negara National Park....

After departing ko phi phi we set off down to malaysia. As usual, we didn't have a clue how to get there (we should really start planning things!) and just randomly booked a ticket to Penang. Got on the bus and realised that Penang was in the complete opposite direction to where we needed to be in malaysia. Oh dear. Had to change the bus at Hat Rai and managed to change our ticket to go to a different thai/malaysian border where we could hopefully get a bus to ...

... architecture and just amazing, I couldn't help but wonder what was the secret of this apparent seamless integration. Yes, there is oil money here, alot (Petronas is the national oil company), but it's as if no one cares about those differences ... it's not the most friendly place I've been to, but it certainly has something to teach us in the West. 1) That we have no idea what is going on in the East and 2) that we rely on cultural cliches way too much. People ...