OMG 4 o' clock!.......there is more than one 4 in the day!.....who knew!
After only 5 hours sleep we heaved our heavy aching bodies out of bed and got ourselves ready to go to the airport.
We checked out and jumped in a cab and sped off to the airport for our 7.20am flight to Phuket. For me the excitement was almost too much to bear as I knew how much I needed to be back in the open countryside again. I really am not cut out to be a city girl!
As we were nearing Phuket the view was beautiful, blue sea and gorgeous little islands full of lucious tropical foliage and tall palm trees.
After landing we were whicked off by private air conditioned coach to Koh Sok national park.
It was a 2 hour journey that was amazing. It was so strange to see expensive luxurious houses in amongst the impoverished shacks.
I can't convey in words how beautiful Chieow Laan lake is. It's serene, completely flat and surrounded by imposing jutting limestone outcrops decorated with tropical foliage and topped with a fluffy white mist.
After arriving we met our guide Ah and the representative for Limestone Lake Tours Kris. She was a lovely Australian woman who came site seeing 9 years ago and hasn't gone home. I can understand why as the areas beauty had, within 30 minutes, completely captured my heart.
We jumped in our longtail bot and headed for our floating raft house. It was as basic as you would expect from a responsible travel eco holiday but perfectly functional and ultimately a world away from our consumerist, computer driven lives.
After settling in and having some gorgeous Thai lunch we (with a really nice couple from Birmingham called Lisa and Steve) headed off for our Jungle trek and just as we got in the boat the heavens opened. It rained and rained and rained some more making our journey through the jungle treacherous on the steep muddy slops to say the least.
But being brave adventurous people used to a spot of rain we carried on regardless.
We were shown rattan plants, banana plants, coconut trees and many other beautiful things.
We then got on a bamboo raft to the limestone cave which was quite simply gorgeous.
After seeing the cave and its mighty formations (ooerr missus) we headed back to our huts for some down time.
Again the torrential rain started but by now we were wet and Clair had been bitten by a larry her pet leech.
So when we did get back we decided we were wet anyway so it makes sense to have a swim....the water was so warm, deep but warm and perfect for swimming.
