As promised, here's the rest of the images..... [View Full Entry]

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Well, on the 7th we arrived in this great nation's capital at 6am on an overnight bus from Krabi. "Super VIP" obviously means something different in Thai - perhaps "five changes of bus, not allowed to recline your seat because of luggage piled up behind you and plunged into pitch black with no option of a reading at 8 pm", We really should get an up-to-date phrase book. We've been staying in a hostel dorm run by an Aussi who calls himself Big John in the East part of town. Bangkok is bloody massive! I don't why that came as such [View Full Entry]

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This place is incredible. As you approach the island harbourside the impact of 26 December 2004 really hits home. Forget the pictures in the paper and the reports on the TV. This is real life (and we are seeing it 1 year later) and these peoples lives, homes and businesses were destrtoyed. Although not the worst place affected, with Sri Lanka's losses much higher, it was a pretty humbling experience coming here. On our way over Sri Lanka on our way to the Maldives the devastaion to the forrests could be clearly seen and we ooghd and aaahd at that but [View Full Entry]

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ITS SUNNNNNNNNNNNY! Some of you will recognise our current "home" Ko Phi Phi as the set from the film The Beach. That and obviously the news as a result of last years Tsunami. Well actually Phi Phi Lay is where the film was set but that is an uninhabited island so we are living on Ko Phi Phi Don, its neighbour and big brother. It really is stunning here and as we pulled into the harbour the beach was just beckoning to our corned beef limbs. Walking through the town was slightly morbid because of the Tsunami (see next blog entry) [View Full Entry]

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We left KPGN on 2 January on the first ferry at 6am. We woke up at our final destination to see an empty ferry and a cleaning lady sweeping at our feet muttering in Thai for us to get off - oops! and began the journey to Krabi. We managed to negotiate the public buses again but our little overnap meant that we missed the ferry to Ko Phi Phi Island and were stranded in Krabi....in the rain . It is hard to believe that the weather haunts us so - matters were made worse when a lovely american couple decided [View Full Entry]

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Hello 2006! We write this a little bit hungover to say the least. We left at 9pm and returned at 8.30am today. A Big night. We had a cool NYE - the best ever i think. There was a great atmosphere on the beach. We got tattoes (UV fakes mums - dont panic), drank copious amounts of buckets, danced til our feet stung and then some more still. Spoke to lots of randoms, photographed with policemen, got seperated and then refound each other hours later - a really good time! Lara got her flips nicked which apparently means we need to [View Full Entry]

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On 28th December we moved to Phangan Cabana on the other side of the Island. The accommodation was questionnable for the 20 pounds price tag per night but the scenery was awesome. The beaches were tucked into little coves and the water was crystal clear turquoise. Shame about the rain though! Michael is really unwell (lara following closely behind), but the pharmacy is keen to give you a different kind of drug if you know what we mean. After scoring (poor choice of phrase probably) antibiotics we hired mopeds to cheer ourselves up. Before you all shout at your PC's, it [View Full Entry]

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Well, it has rained for pretty much the last week. The hours of sun can be counted on one hand. WHen the sun does come out it is stunning. Our pool overlooks Ban Thai beach and accross the water we can see Ko Samui. Our resort is cool (yep, we are relinquishing our "backpacking shoestringers mantle" for chrsitmas and new year), we have a little bungalow by the beach with an outside bathroom (by design this time!), A/C, wooden floors - the works. We have lady boys waiting upon us hand and foot (much to michael and andrews discomfort), free pool [View Full Entry]

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Aaaahhhh the sun is shining!!! (well at least through the clouds). The relief when we arrived on Pulau Langkawi was unbelievable - there were literally cheers from everybody on the boat (all of them backpackers escaping Georgetown) as we pulled into the Harbour. What a view. Absolutely stunning. 130 islands make up this area, clear blue waters and white sands. Our accommodation has been basic but comfy - a little beach hut right on the sand - who needs toilet paper and a sink eh? Not much to report really. 2 days of lying in the sun. Really chilled out place [View Full Entry]

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Immigration in any country is never easy, especially one where there is a mandatory death penalty for smuggling drugs, so crossing between 2 such countries by ourselves with suspiciously large backpacks was never going to be a picnic. So having successfully negotiated the port immigration at Satun, Thailand, when our taxi got pulled over by Customs police further down the road our hearts were in our mouths and brown stains in our pants. Luckily, when asked what was in our backpacks, Andrew quickly said "hair potions and clothes", followed closely by Lara muttering "shoes and make up". Gay? N [View Full Entry]

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