Merry Christmas! Waking up to a blazing sun and the sound of the ocean on Christmas day may sound like complete luxury, but all I can describe as, is odd! We passed around some pressies and I opened my little present bag from Mum and Dad that I had been carrying around for the past week. Besides all my makeup that you just can’t get over here, there were other lovely nik naks and a beautiful silver heart locket with a photo of mum and dad inside (which made me want to cry) and a lovely leather Thomas Sabo Bracelet for Ste, which he was very happy about. With the confusing situation of the resort changing management on Christmas day, of all days, we weren’t sure quite what to expect as we headed up for ... read more

There was no way we were getting up on time after last night’s Thai birthday bash. We got up probably half an hour too late and when we were packed and ready to go, there was no sign of Mr Tawee at the restaurant, maybe he had had one bamboo bong and one whiskey too many last night. His wife informed us we had missed the 9’0clock bus and would have to wait until ten; plenty of time for breakfast then we thought. Mrs Tawee prepared us bolied eggs and toast and for Verity Fruit, Yoghurt and museli. It was brought to us with a big smile and a hug for Verity, we really did feel like part of the family and we really didn’t want to leave! I think Mr and Mrs Tawee were ... read more

Our plans for getting up and out early once again failed, after staying up until all hours drinking and chatting with Stewart down in the Hostel garden. Wiping the sleep from our eyes, we shuffled into the Chinese soup restaurant he had recommended, to get some breakfast. I could smell the restaurant before I saw it, the smell of garlic emanating from this tiny establishment would have kept an army of vampires at bay! This place looked like someone’s living room, the shelves that lined the walls were bowing under the weight of countless family portraits of children dressed up like royalty! Were they his kids? I wondered as he began stirring the cauldron of steaming broth. A Particularly special photo was of a boy, caked in makeup - including eyeshadow and liner, dressed in ... read more

After Lonely Planet had implied that the transport in Phuket was difficult to navigate, we checked with reception about getting a bus to one of the nearby beaches and just stressed not to miss the last bus because a tuk tuk would be at least 500Bt to get back! Which is pretty expensive considering we got all the way from Phuket to Hat Yai for 360Bt and that is a 7 hour journey! We jumped on the bus which waited outside 7/11 and departed once full. The buses in Phuket are great! You just clamber in the back and sit on the sideways facing benches – the bus has no sides or back and if there is no room to squeeze in you just cling onto the back for dear life. Its not a long ... read more

It only took a quick ride on the MRT and the reluctant help of a grumpy bus driver to reach the Changi Museum which is situated in close proximity to the Changi prison, where criminals are keep to this day. We made the mistake of not eating or drinking before setting out and so were forced to eat in the only café in the vicinity and pay the bumped up prices. I scanned the menu for the cheapest thing – mushroom soup and garlic bread it was! Good job the soup was palatable at that price! The Museum was free, small, but very informative about the sufferings and strength of the POW in WW2 which were held captive in Changi Prison from 1942-45. We spent a good few hours in there and were surprised to ... read more