Hannah I

And before Leon had even left, Hannah arrived. It's been two years since we've seen her and "excited" can't even begin to describe it. I headed off on a silly o'clock minivan to make sure someone was at the airport to greet her. Mr John & Leon followed at a slightly more sensible hour and on the luxurious big bus well maybe luxurious isn't quite the right word but you know how much I hate minivans. Hannah was flying in from Hong Kong having seen Ross at the start of her holiday. As with his trip, it took me longer to get to the airport here than it did for Hannah to get her flight.

We'd booked an apartment in Bangkok for two nights and I like to think it was more relaxing for Leon than being put on a bus in Chan for the airport and left to his own devices. Three bedroom places are hard to find and poor Leon did end up in the lounge oh come on, it was a double bed and there were dressing screens to go round it. 

Leon and Mr John got to spend some quality time together whilst I took Hannah on the obligatory river cruise and a good look around Wat Pho. We also had another lovely catch up with Lisa and Gordon as they played tour guide for drinking establishments it's so handy knowing a local. 

Hannah, like most people we know, has a full on job and discussions prior to arrival centred around doing very little and sleeping quite a bit. Naturally, to us, this meant one thing Koh Mak yay! Extra bonus when visitors fancy a complete chill out as Mr John and I get to gatecrash their fun. So we emailed Mr Egg at Leelawadee Speedboat and he picked us up from our house, delivered us to the pier for the boat and did the same for us on the way back. He's totally awesome and we would never use anyone else.

Of course, by the time Sunday came around we all needed to relax as we had given Hannah the "all you can see of Chanthaburi by bike in one day" tour. Yes, whilst other visitors had time to savour the sights, take photos and generally relax we herded Hannah on and off the bike she went on the back with Mr John and I rode mine. We started at 9am see, a lie in, with Vietnamese Food following by a whiz around the Cathedral, then it was on to Robinson one of the "holy trinity" of shopping centres and the outdoor market. Obviously we also had to fit in Doi Chaang, Big C, the big buddha statue, three temples and Tesco thereby completing the holy trinity. It was hilarious with no time to enjoy yourself just keep moving!

Koh Mak was amazing and Hannah seemed to really enjoy herself. The villa we had even had a tub - I don't know what else to call it. It's like a hot-tub but there wasn't any "hot" and it was smaller than a plunge pool so we'll just go with tub doesn't sound appealing but it was fantastic having this right next to the kitchen and therefore the "beer fridge".

We did all the great things we love doing when we go to this island but we do have some very sad news. Massimo and Francesca are no longer at the Bamboo Hideaway. They were leaving at the end of the month when we went for dinner having decided they needed to move on. We will miss their fantastic food and it will take a little shine off the island for us in the future.

Of course no trip to visit your Aunty would be complete without visiting the ice-cream parlour. So off to Swensen's we went. But all too soon we were waving Hannah off on the bus to the Airport no preferential treatment like Leon got!. It almost feels as if I dreamt she was here in Thailand it went so quickly. As with all our visitors, we were thrilled to bits that she chose to spend her precious time off in our company.