Nigel: To get to Koh Samui you have to fly to Surat Thani and then get a ferry over to the island from Don Sak. The flight was about 40mins, followed by a bus drive of about 1 1/2hrs, and then a ferry of about 1hr so all in all from Bangkok to Koh Samui we were there for about 4pm. We had already booked our first nights accommodation at a resort just on the other side of the island, so we were in no rush to find some where before dark. Unfortunately when we arrived at the resort we were told that we had arrived a month too soon and we had booked for September but luckily for us they had a bungalow free. So we asked how much, went and had a look and came back to pay, however with in a space of 5 minutes the price had jumped an extra 4 pounds. We argued that we would pay the price agreed, considering what we had originally booked was a lot cheaper, but we weren't willing to pay the new price. In the end we told him to stick his bungalow and we went looking for something else. We saw a sign for a place called White Sands, which is recommended in the our guide book so we went down to have a look. The owner was a lovely Australian lady who was really laid back and very helpful. She fixed us up with a place to stay and we were sorted for the night. The beach area that we stayed on was called Lamai Beach and it was really nice. You could walk about 10 minutes and you would hit all the restaurants and bars which looked out on to the beach. On our last night we went for some food and ate right on the sea front with the sea lapping at our feet. We stayed at Lamai for a couple of nights before we headed down to the next beach called Chaweng Beach. We heard that there was a bit more to do there and the beach was better. We managed to get an apartment within a nice complex which had its own swimming pool. I don't really like going into the sea but as it was clear water I thought it would be ok. Alison and I went in to cool off and we had been swimming for about 10 minutes when I went to put my foot down and disaster struck. I had managed to get stung by what we believe to be a jelly fish (Portuguese man of war me thinks). The pain was unbearable but I managed to swim to the shore trying not to touch the floor until I was on the sand. We went up to the room and I just rolled around in agony for about an hour until the pain was relieved. I do have to thank Alison for the treatment she gave and I thought that her nursing experience had eventually come in handy.

Alison: Koh Samui is a beautiful island but unfortunately the weather didn't do it justice as it was overcast and rainy most days we were there. Nigel and I were quite pleased about this as we have started to welcome any break from the sun but Fay wasn't so pleased! She did manage to make the most of the majority of tanning opportunities however. As soon as the sun peeped out from behind a cloud, Fay would tear her clothes off and position herself on her beach towel ready to catch some serious rays. It was quite embarrassing when it happened in the local 7-11 minimart ;-D

Chaweng beach is probably the nicer looking beach than Lamai but it is a lot more built up as a result. Luckily we were staying on the quieter end so we still managed some relaxation....apart from the jelly fish incident! It was awful. Nigel screamed out in pain when it happened and the swim back to shore was quite scary as we were reasonably far out. The way we swam back was like a scene out of Jaws! We weren't quite sure what lurked in the Thailand seas so thought we should go to the pharmacy to get some expert advice (Fay was going to come but it was quite sunny at the time). We were given steroids and pain killers and we headed back to the room. Nigel was in a lot of pain. I've never seen him in so much pain. When it eventually started to subside and I was happy he was safe, I looked on the internet to see what could have stung him. Apparently it was prime time for jelly fish at that time. Worryingly though, there was a few articles on a type of jellyfish known as the Box Jellyfish which is deadly and is reported to be found in these waters.......we have decided against any further swimming in the sea!

We had our first of many Thai style massages in Koh Samui. Thai massage involves a lot of stretching, pulling and cracking of joints. It was very relaxing having a massage on the sea front but parts of it were a little uncomfortable. The grand finale involved being swung from side to side with my arms behind my head followed by a bridge position....it's been years since I did one of those!!

We are having some problems uploading pictures at the moment but they will follow eventually!