Time out in Thailand

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Our time in Thailand started off with a bit of an adventure when we missed our flight from Bangkok to Phuket, but having caught the next flight out on standby, we finally arrived at our first destination, Nai Harn beach, only 12 hours late.
These 10 days on the islands of Thailand were basically all about relaxing. The change of pace after the new Zealand trip took a bit of getting used to, but we soon adapted, busying ourselves with laying on the beach. After 2 days in Phuket we caught the ferry over to Ko Phi Phi. When we woke up that morning it was ko phi peeing it down, but luckily by the time we got there it had stopped. Ko Phi Phi is a beautiful island with towering cliffs and jungle against white sandy beaches and clear blue sea. We were staying in a trendy hotel towards the edge of the bay, called Mama Beach. There were a lot of French people there so we blended in by looking sulky and speaking English with an accent. A highlight on Ko Phi Phi was scuba diving again. The water was so warm, and we were lucky enough to see some new things we hadn't seen in Gili T, such as an octopus, a sea snake, and most impressively a leopard shark with its baby shark! The shark came very close to us, within a metre, and was so beautiful. The next morning we hiked to the lookout point in the hills above the island to see the view. We left pretty early seen as we were still a bit jet lagged, but at 30' and 85% humidity it was still pretty uncomfortable! The view was worth it though. The other highlight in Phi Phi was renting our own private longtail boat and cruising around the adjacent island Ko Phi Phi Ley. This is home to the most famous beach in Thailand, Maya bay, where they filmed The Beach. Unfortunately the place is overrun by boats and tourists, but we managed to get there early to appreciate it before it got too hectic, and it was still well worth seeing, it's absolutely stunning. The rock formations round the island are incredible, and we also enjoyed soaking up the sun and snorkelling off the boat. Last stop on our mini island hopper is Koh Lanta. We're slumming it a bit, in a beautiful cliffside hotel with our own jacuzzi bath. We've been enjoying the Thai cuisine here which is very varied as you can see from the photo... The pizzas good, the pastas good, but we're not sure about the bugger. The highlight of the stay for Alex was discovering a waboba ball in one of the dive shops, which he's been searching for ever since he heard tell of this phenomenon from a certain Mr Jamie Garrod. Basically a waboba, for the uninitiated amongst you, is a ball that bounces on water. The game plays to a lot of my strongest skills: hand eye coordination, throwing, catching... so of course I took to it like a pro. Alex was a bit more hit and miss to be honest, but with practice I think he'll get there. Our final day in Koh Lanta was spent by the pool and in the beauty salon. I got a Thai massage which was great, lots of stretching and pummelling... and Alex had a pedicure. No, I'm not joking, he really did. Frankly I felt the red nail polish was a step too far though. After this we head to bangkok to start the final bit of our trip... a tour of northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In a few days it will be acceptable for me to start listening to Christmas carols which I'm very excited about! Til next time xxx

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