Day 179 (20.09.07) We arrived into Surat Thani town at 5am and were taken in a minibus to a little cafe to wait - we're not sure what for! At 6am we were taken in another truck with a couple of other people to a 'bus station' which was really just a wooden building and a large dirt area. No-one was about but our boat ticket was swapped for a ticket for the next stage of our journey, the truck driver left and we continued to wait. We had been told that the bus would leave at 6.30am but when someone did arrive he told us, in a fairly aggressive mamnner, that the bus did not leave until 8am and that we would arrive in Koh Phi Phi at 4pm (instead of the 12pm we'd been ... read more

Day 167 Having organised a wake up call, Mark still had a bit of a restless night wondering whether we would be getting up in time. Up and ready we got down stairs for a quick Mama's Cup (noodles) for brekkie before being taken to our boat by the driver. The floating market was once the area where fruit and other colourful produce were sold between traders, however due to the intervention of tourism, this is not the sight that greets you today. Instead most of the colourful stalls and boats have been replaced with shops selling tourist tat, sold at massively inflated prices, and the riverways packed to the brim with camera touting tourists. However, our early start beating all of the tours from Bangkok, allowed us to get a brief glimpse of what it ... read more

Day 159 Today was going to be a bits and pieces day. Keely and Mark drove into town on her moto (Keely's place is about an hour out of Chiang Mai) to get us a moto for a few days so we could get around easily while we were staying in Mae Rim. Once this was sorted they came back to collect Chrissie and Kristel (who had been chilling all morning) and we all went back into town. It was the moment Chrissie had been waiting months for - a haircut! She had been waiting for somewhere she knew would be able to give her a good cut and Keely had recommended the Hair Pro shop that she goes to. Her and Kristel decided to treat themselves too, so all three ladies went for a pampering ... read more

Day 154 Still hobbling a little from slightly sore feet but thankfully ache free we packed up and went for a last breakfast with our Gibbon Experience group before we all went off in different directions. We have been so lucky to share this trip with some great people and the fact that even after living in close contact for the last three days we all wanted to spend more time together was testament to how well we'd all got on. After breakfast we walked down the small slope to the river, which is the border of Laos and Thailand, with Keely, Kristel and Ozzie. Important passport stuff and a boat across the river later we were boarding a bus to Chiang Mai, our first stop in Thailand where we were planning to spend a few ... read more

Day 147 Waking early Mark left Chrissie asleep to explore the town. We had been told that the market was worth a visit but you had to go between 6 and 7 to see it at its best, so this was the first stop. Arriving just after 7 the market was still bustling with life selling all kinds of food. Picking up a bit of fruit he went back into town to check out what treks were on offer. Muang Sing is known for Eco Trekking. This means that all of the trekking is regulated through one governed organization, anyone else offering treks in the area are illegal. This allows them to monitor and limit the number of tourists visiting or staying at minority villages; it limits the number of people per group: it also means ... read more