Checked out a few bays on west side of
Phuket then went out to the Similan Islands, where we enjoyed some great
snorkelling. After a month we cleared Thailand and slowly sailed back to
Langkawi. We did this trip a few times over the year. We received a copy of a
dear friends book,(Mike rom MIKA)"Islands Oceans and Dreams"
(Cruisingdreamspress.com)in which we get a mention, it is a great read. In
February Sue & Edie flew from China and joined us in Phuket for a
couple of weeks. 
After they left we stopped at Ko Muk on our way down to
Langkawi. It had a great bar on the beach where Mai Tai's and Pina Colada's came
in pineapples and coconuts. Gail decided that we had to stay for a few days, so
she organised an intro to scuba diving course for us. It was a great place to
just kick back and relax before starting the boat projects scheduled for
Langkawi. Gone Troppo now has new engine mounts, new cockpit hard cover,
dodger, shade structure over cockpit, interior vinyl, stereo, solar
panels, #3 jib, dinghy, outboard, cushions and covers, light fittings, AIS, new
12v and 240v sockets, new bedroom fans, rewired new compass, new shelving in
galley & navstation and a WorldSpace satellite radio. We also filled over
100 holes left over from old windows and embedded a few nuts to make it a bit
more water proof. As an added bonus I found out that I can receive some weather
charts, sat photos and forecasts over the WorldSpace radio. Here is a couple of
links to these charts so you fellow cruisers can see what I mean.....Yes they
come in full colour.http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/nmoc/latest_Y.pl?IDCODE=IDYTX003.10M.000
http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/nmoc/latest_Y.pl?IDCODE=IDYTX003.900VT_MSLP.000
There is actually more weather and other documents than I could possibly read in a month.
Met up with Anne and Gary from Toucan Tango, last seen in Turkey in
2003, sure is a small world.