South Thailand and the Islands

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I have my Birthday celebrations back in Bangkok and get riotously drunk on Chang Beer - you're only 34 once you know...

I travel South and spend two glorious days on a raft-house in Khao Sok NP - just chilling out, sun-bathing and swimming in the reservoir. The place was so beautiful I forgot to take any photographs! From Khao Sok I go to Ko Pha-Ngan, just North of Ko Samui. We stay in beach huts on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. On the first night I go to the Half-Moon party, in a jungle clearing near the middle of the island. I drink 2 buckets of Sangsom (rum) and coke, get covered in fluorescent paint and dance my butt off til 4am. At 5am I decide to go for dip in the sea in front of my beach hut.

Early the next morning, (well, 10am, but it felt early) we take a three hour boat-ride out to a marine park, where a lot of the aerial shots from the film 'The Beach' were filmed. We snorkel and swim, and jump off the rook of the boat, before heading to a secluded beach, setting up tents and having a very tasty B-B-Q. We sit around a fire late into the night.

The next morning we go to a massive lagoon, cut off from the sea by 80m cliffs, full of sea urchins with painted faces. Then we head back to Ko Pha-Ngan; a big afternoon of sun-bathing, swimming and beach volleyball ensues.

The next day we head for Ko Samui for 5 days. Another beautiful beach and more drinking! I won't go into detail, but it culminated in another evening disrepecting the bucket at the Full-Moon party on a beach in Ko Pha-Ngan (via a very scary speed-boat).

The follwing morning I take the 23 hour overland journey back to Bangkok. By plane it takes 1 hour, but I did save myself 50 quid!

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Photos

Fire!
Fire-juggler on the beach

Ko Samui
Idyllic beaches

Ko Pha-Ngan
A secluded beach in the marine park

Birthday celebrations
I love my Chang tower...

Full-Moon party
Respect the bucket! (sorry mum).

Blue lagoon
Some of the aerial shots from The Beach were filmed here