Day 26 Sunday 4th October 2009

Johno says:

Early rise for a transfer to crack on in Phuket, Thailand. We managed to pick up the 09:30 45 minute ferry to Satun and on the way helped out some German couple with a letter written in English, even Johno's English was acceptable to them. Then we had a seven hour coach trip from Satun up the Thai mainland to Phuket, the largest of the Thai Islands. It was dark and cooler when we arrived so the scout for a hotel was a lot more manageable this time - the cab driver tried to sell us a nice enough 3* hotel for 12 quid, but thinking we could beat that we cracked on by ourselves just around the corner to a hotel of the same standard for a whole 8 quid, 4 quid each - result. The Thai people seem really friendly and more than happy to offer a cheap as chips massage, which we both enjoyed after dinner for 6 quid each. The pounds certainly go a long way here… long may it continue….! Now we are weighing up things to do whilst we are here… they love to bargain and we love a bargain so we'll see what is in store for the next few days… Thai Boxing is definitely on the menu for me!!

Day 27 Monday 5th October 2009

Stacey says:

We had hoped to lounge on the beach today, but by 11am it had started to absolutely bucket down raining. So there went my beach bronzing day. Leaving us not much choice other than to take refuge in a bar for most of the day! J had a few bevvies, talking to some randoms, had dinner… the day just went by. I have decided to have some rest time in the room whilst Steve went off to watch the thai boxing match, ringside!

Day 28 Tuesday 6th October 2009

Johno says:

Ah yes, ringside at the Patong Stadium which is Southern Thailand's National stadium, there were 8 competitive fights on last night including one which involved an English man called Tom - and yes, managed to sneak in a picture with him just before he was stepping into the ring… I am sure that was all he needed. Anyway, he won in the first round with a swift elbow down to the back of the head of his opponent, looked like a well harsh and illegal move but the referee held his hand up as the winner. To be fair it was a pretty uneven match with the stick thin Thai squirt he was fighting….! It was a good experience with the flute and drums playing through the fight with the locals frenzied betting and shouting behind me, all in a compact stadium - the first fight was a couple of ten year olds, quality, well'ard! Fancy having Mai Tai as a playground defence..?! So, on to today, woke up early doors with a shock - I didn't check the shower temperature and it scolded my chest!! Ouch!! That'll learn me. The med kit came out for a second time and the cream helped take most of the redness away - oh well, at least you know what I wash first now!!
Today we headed for the Phi Phi Islands (pronounced Pee Pee) via Khia Island which was a nice little white sand beach snorkeling spot (unfortunately together with some rain bathing!) then after some quality lunch on board we went on to see the 1st of the two Phi Phi Islands - Phi Phi Leh famous for the setting of the film 'The Beach', as you would probably imagine it looked like a post card picture, Maya Bay (the beach on Phi Phi Leh) looked pretty small really then we see the Viking Cave which hosts migrating birds with eggs that net the locals 50m Baht per year (10m pounds) at 4,000 baht per KG. Then we anchored up at Monkey Beach, the lagoon had some great fish to snorkel with in the clear waters and as the name suggests some cheeky monkeys playing on the beach. The sea on the way back was so rough there were quite a few fellow passengers struggling, we were absolutely knackered by the time we made it back to our hotel. We had a massive fish dinner with a sea bass freshly cooked with a side portion of spring rolls (can't get enough of them - even more press ups needed probably!!)

Day 29 Wednesday 7th October 2009

Stacey says:

We changed resort today from Patong Beach, to Karon beach, fancied a change of scenery and to somewhere a little less Seedy and less neon light! No one has tried to sell me green flashing disco laser light pens here yet! We arrived and went for a walk to the beach. Not checking the direction of the beach we headed totally the opposite way, and i'm sure we ended up walking for about 2 and a half hours somehow!! via a few detours to some shops along the way. But we ended up at Kata beach, which looked like a really nice spot, lots of surfing going on. I felt exhausted once we arrived having walked that long, and was pretty hot out today! Collapsed at a cafe and had some food, with another side portion of spring rolls! Thought we had better catch a taxi back to the hotel, we sat on the bed and ended up crashing out for about 2 hours!! oops!

Day 30 Thursday 8th October 2009

Johno says:

Cracked on to the beach today and yes, there was a spring roll involved for breakfast - turning left out of the hotel this time and only 10 minutes later we were parked up on the beach. Unfortunately it appears that we have caught the backside of the rainy season and most of the day was spent inside....a bar!! Bangkok tomorrow for some big city action, thought it was probably wise to book a hotel for a couple of nights rather than wing it in the city mayhem.