I think the boat from Phi Phi Island to Koh Lanta had more touts pushing cheap hotels on it than passengers.

Alex went up on to the top deck of the boat and met these fellows heading over to Koh Lanta. The southern part of Thailand is mainly Muslim, unlike the Buddhist northern parts. Photo by Alex Iams.

Steve talked to a Dutch couple on the boat to Koh Lanta who had a recommendation from a friend to stay at The Narima resort. I think we lucked out with finding the Narima, it was an incredible place. The bungalow we picked was perched on the cliffs above the ocean and the sun would set each night over the water in front of our porch.

Inside the bungalow the main room is nice, clean and simple with a good fan to keep the cool air circulating.

The porch comes with a comfortable hammock and this odd stray cat.

For some reason the cat didn't smile for his photo, but instead chose to squint in to the camera as if to say, "hey, whatcha doin' over there?!?!".

Alex tried to feed him peanuts, but he turned up his little nose at them. We spotted the cat in the dining room later plying for gourmet scraps.

While the beaches weren't exactly white and sandy at Koh Lanta, they had a rocky charm that reminded me a bit of Northern California.

Here's a panoramic shot of the beach (click here for a close up view of this photo).

The name of this restaurant is also on about a million t-shirts sold in Bangkok today. Maybe a case of getting some free advertising? "Same same but different" seems to be one of the stock english phrases that every good Thai salesperson learns. For example, say you don't want to buy a set of Joshua Tree era bowling pins painted like U2? The Thai shopkeep might instead hand you a diggereedoo and say, "same same but different". I guess that still doesn't explain why the restaurant has that name though. Photo by Alex Iams.

If "same same but different" left you scratching your head, you might one to pass on this one. Photo by Steve Iams.

One afternoon when we were roaming around the island near the Narima, we happened across these two German guys scootering around. A sudden afternoon downpour had flooded this gully in the road to their hotel and they were clearly deciding what to do next. We thought maybe they knew something we didn't, and I even asked them if they were really going to try and charge their bike through this small and mucky pond. They replied simply, "yes. yes." We all had our cameras out and ready to see what happened next.

Barely ten feet off the bank the wake spread from their non amphibious scooter like a small boat. I wondered if the intellectual looking guy perched on the back might be about to deploy some sort of hovercraft device that would allow them to jet away leaving us doused on the bank in a muddy soaking from their cleverness.

Perhaps before the trigger for the hoverbike was pulled, their engine which was normally accustomed to breathing air to drive its internal combustions was strangled with the stagnant mucky water of the pond.

They were forced to abandon "ship", while we watched them heave their ailing craft back to shore. I was in pain from trying not to fall on the bank laughing. Photo by Alex Iams.

Even later in the day, Steve, Alex and I wondered what the hell those guys were thinking when they rammed their scooter into the pond.

Alex got a photo of this elephant as it hung out by the side of the road near the Narima. Photo by Alex Iams.

After an afternoon of random adventures around Koh Lanta, it was nice to come back to the Narima and find this table of fruit spread out.

I think Steve and I were rocking out to Boyd Tinsley's "Perfect World" in this photo. Photo by Alex Iams.

The sunsets on the beach in front of the Narima were pretty awesome.

The tidal pools on the rocky shore reflected the brilliant colors from the clouds.

We had a great view of the sun setting over the ocean from our porch at the Narima. Photo by Steve Iams.

On the horizon in front of our bungalow, we could spot this small island.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the colors would usually become really intense for a few minutes. Photo by Steve Iams.

As the glow faded from the sinking sun, the silhouette of the island on the horizon became more dramatic.

The Narima owners designed this pool and built it themselves.

On most nights you could see the stars glinting brightly through the palm trees.

Here you can see a few of the bungalows on the cliff at night.

The food at the Narima was great, and definitely looked a lot more appetizing than the liquefied lasagne that I found on Koh Phi Phi.

I think we ate every dinner at in the dining room at the Narima, it was hard to go wrong with their kitchen.

The staff is really nice, and sometimes made faces at us.

After dinner, it was back to the porch for a little bit more porch sittin'.

The high tech air conditioner had a remote control.

I'd say we were all pretty happy on Koh Lanta, including Mr. Rambutaneyes-omlettemouth. Photo by Alex Iams.