We got up and packed, again, before heading out for some breakfast. I asked Suda where we could eat and she gave us directions to a market. After we had walked halfway down the street Andrew said he already knew somewhere to eat, but by this point we had wasted too much time. In the end we had to pass on breakfast, so we went to get a mini-bus to Ranong. It was a two hour journey and I slept most of it so Andrew had to wake me up when we arrived at Ranong Bus Station. We got a songthaew to 'Saphan Pla' pier to catch the boat to Ko Phayam. We didn't get a great impression whilst driving through Ranong, it was clearly a fishing town and smelt badly of rotten fish. At the pier we observed the chaos unfold as all sorts of random things were piled onto the boat, including potted orchards and other decorative plants, stacks of bananas and Pampers nappies, to mention but a few! We got some chicken legs and sticky rice off a street food vendor and whilst eating had an audience of three, clearly starved dogs all drooling on the floor. After about an hour wait we boarded the boat and headed up to the top deck as the bottom deck was literally overflowing with people and produce. It turned out that all the farangs sat on the top deck anyway and there were a couple of plastic garden chairs to sit on, otherwise it was the floor. The boat journey started out in a river estuary, lined with mangroves, the odd sand bank and loads of fishing vessels as we made our way along and out to sea. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was scorching, so we got a little sunburnt without realising it. We arrived at Ko Phayam pier exactly two hours later and endured the most bizarre "taxi" ride ever. As there were no cars on the island the only mode of transport was by moped. So we each got a moped "taxi" which involved putting our backpack between the legs of the driver whilst we sat on the back. We were headed for 'Bann Suan Kayoo Cottage' and the journey was just unbelievable. We drove through lush vegetation, noticing very little development other than little hippy bars and restaurants all with wooden signs dotted along the main concrete road. Then came the craziest bit where the taxi driver rode onto the beach and picked up the speed. It was the widest beach we had seen so far in Thailand by a long way and the sun was starting to set. It truly was the strangest experience ever! 

Our bamboo bungalow, on Ao Yai beach, was fairly basic at B200 a night and was more open and flimsy than the one we stayed in on Ko Mak . There was only electricity between 6pm and 11pm. However, it was all we really needed on such an idyllic island. We got a cold shower before heading along the beach in search of a place to eat. We had already noticed, after getting a drink in our restaurant, that the prices were a fair bit higher on the island in comparison to a lot of other places, probably because of the difficulty in getting fresh food to the island. We came across 'Hornbill Hut' just next door and as it was getting dark we ate there as we didn't fancy walking too far in total darkness. As it happened, Andrew had brought the torch and on the way back along the beach he pointed it at his feet and looked slightly concerned. I immediately asked what he was looking at on the floor whilst at the same time jumping, which consequently made him jump and squeal like a girl as a crab he described as "big" was on his foot! We ended up head butting each other during the fiasco. It soon became clear that we would be experiencing a fair bit of wildlife on the island.