We left Pak Meng with no solid idea of where we were going, but determined to head south. With our Thai visas running out in 5 days we knew we couldn't stay anywhere for long and we also both felt a sense of anticipation and excitement about going to Malaysia. As beautiful as southern Thailand is, and as great as the vacation from our traveling was, we felt the need to be moving on.

We decided, however, to make one last stop in the Ko Tarutao National Marine Park. Our guidebook said that this archipelago made up of 51 islands was one of the last pristine areas of Thailand but that it had the potential to become as touristy as Samui or Phi Phi or Krabi. Well, our guidebook was published in 2002 and as with a lot of other things it was outdated. We landed on Ko Lipe, which for some reason is not under national park control, and let me say, it has reached saturation point for tourist facilities although it's still beautiful and it's a place I can recommend.

From Pak Bara, just north of Satun, a ferry to Ko Tarutao and Ko Lipe takes about 3 hours. There are islands everywhere in these waters and there are rumors that pirates still roam. It is indeed full of gorgeous beaches, but The place to stay is Ko Lipe. We found nice accommodation and pretty good food. Once there, we thought about taking a snorkeling day trip around the islands but neither of us were very excited about spending another day on a boat and in the sun. Plus we were spoiled by the Similians and knew the snorkeling wouldn't be as good. So we decided to walk around the island instead. Pearse got me to walk in the heat of the day by using the pretext of "finding the bakery" which worked - we got some exercise, the bakery was found and I got sunburned.

Later in the afternoon we went out snorkeling from the beach in front of our bungalows. Visability wasn't great (which means it was at least 15 feet but wasn't crystal clear), but what was amazing was that the reef closest to the shore was chock full of anemones and clownfish. Yes, that's right folks, I have now seen enough Nemos to last me a lifetime! I'm a happy camper. Pearse even got into a fight with a clownfish who came out from the anemones to dart at him menacingly. It was oversized for a clownfish - at least 5 inches long - so we decided not to take the risk of it hurting us and we swam on.

The next day, we decided to move on to Satun, a large town in southern Thailand which is predominately Muslim and which has cultural, religious and linguistic ties to Malaysia. Satun is a sleepy little town, especially when you arrive at 5 pm on Easter Sunday. We found a nice but worn hotel with a room overlooking the river and surrounding forest. While looking for an internet cafe, we also managed to find what is probably the only Christian family in Satun who graciously opened up their shop to allow us to surf the net while interrupting their holiday dinner. Dinner for us was in the hotel restaurant and was a bit surreal as it was a cavernous room with only 2 tables taken - by us and another farang couple. All 4 of us were serenaded all throughout dinner by a Thai guy playing acoustic guitar and singing (in English) such crowd pleasers as "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and other John Denver hits. He also played some contemporary songs in Thai which were quite nice and we wished he had stuck with them. We were surprised to see our sleepy little town bustling the next morning but we had a ferry to catch to Malaysia so we didn't stick around to check it out.

Here's our Thailand best/worst list:

Best hotel: No doubt about it - the Holiday Inn Resort on Phi Phi Island (free). Honorable mention for Best Value (other than free) goes to Chooporn Hotel in Kata Beach $10 for cable TV, hot shower and fridge.

Worst hotel: Siam Huts Bungalow in Ko Chang ($8.75). Pearse's Honorable Mention is Poseidon Bungalows for worst value $20.00 for fan, rickety construction and cold water.

Favorite meal: Coconut curry chicken @ Chat House for Pearse and everything at the Chat House for Amie.

Least favorite meal: Shepherd's Pie (P) and Burrito (A) at the Fish & Chips place in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is famous for it's great Thai food - what were we thinking?!

Top 5 experiences: Relaxing by the beach and pool at HI Resort Phi Phi, Snorkeling in the Similian Islands, Intro to Scuba Diving (Pearse)/Finding Nemo (Amie), Happy hour at the HI Resort Phi Phi, and Foot massages at the Chiang Mai night market.

Least favorite experience: The intense, unrelenting heat of southern Thailand. We got tired of sweating every single second of every day except while directly under a fan or air conditioner or underwater. Not that we're finding it much cooler in Malaysia, mind you.

Cheapest day: $19.00 in Chaing Rai ($5 hotel, 3.75 internet, 10.25 food).

Most expensive day: The snorkeling tour to the Similians was $325 for both of us for 3 days/2 nights.