So the minibus to Bangkok actually went off without incident, tired but not too rough and I'd managed to dash to the bakery in the morning to pick up a Swiss brioche - heaven! We had a bit of a wait between the two immigration points and had to sit on the back of an open wagon to be moved to the bus stop but apart from that everything was as normal! We were overjoyed upon our landing in Bangkok to find that we were only a 2 minute walk from our hostel - joy!

The next day we were doing some sightseeing in Bangkok, although this was started by attempting to find a new hostel to stay in as ours was pretty grotty.

Once that was sorted off we set to visit the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace - but not before everyone we spoke to said it was closed - total lies as it turned out! It was very strict though, had to have sleeves to your elbows, and no scarves were allowed it had to be sleeves, and long trousers without holes and not skinny fit. Nina had to go rent a sarong, all very odd. Once we finally got inside the palace was impressive, lots of embellishments, ornamentation and paintings, but not hugely different to the multitude of temples and palaces we've already seen. The Emerald Buddha did have his winter and rainy gear on though so that was interesting - never realised they could have outfits! So instead of moving on to the Royal Palace (yes a different place) and the Golden Buddha next door we went back up to Chatuchak market to have a wander and attempt not to get lost like last time.

From there we got the skytrain (it sounds so futuristic..it's basically a monorail) to a shopping centre which, as it turned out, was dead. Slightly despondent we got back on the skytrain towards our hostel - going past a much busier shopping centre we earmarked for the next day! Sure enough the next day before our train to Koh Samui found us at Centralworld and I FINALLY got a replacement camera courtesy of Dad's Christmas money - merci beaucoup :-) the shopping centre had every shop you could want, even a bershka and a stradivarius, I'd have been in heaven had I any spare money!

That evening we trundled off to the train station to get our sleeper train to Surat Thani, where we would change for a ferry to Ko Samui. The train was really impressive, I felt like a real turn of the century traveller! You start off in seats then around 7ish the conductor starts coming round and turning the seats into beds and pulling down bunks which were strapped to the wall. You get a little light and a privacy curtain and everything! I would have really enjoyed it had I managed to get enough sleep but once again on public transport I managed to get pretty much no sleep and arrived in Surat Thani for the ferry dead on my feet. This wasn't a problem though as as soon as we got to the resort on the beach front - it had a pool and everything - we were into bikinis, sun cream on and out on the sun for a nap. I had too long a nap and managed to sunburn the backs of my legs but plenty of aftersun saw to that problem. Feeling really touristy we went for tea at an Aussie bar where I had bangers and mash and a magners - just like being at home! We are truly living the life of the locals...

Ko Samui has gorgeous beaches, but as we found in the rest of the islands, it is definitely for the tourists and has lost a lot of its charm. Yes the beaches are pretty, but in Samui at least the sand is pretty coarse, and one of the main exports appears to be Thai brides as there were a lot of young Thai women with aging men. It's a pretty sad thing to see really, that it is seen as a legitimate career choice. To top off what would have been a pleasant stay in Ko Samui my tk maxx sunglasses were stolen - bear in mind this is a resort where most people have chanel glasses on and you'll understand my frustration and confusion over that malarkey!

Despite that we left Samui in high spirits and got a bus across the mainland to go to Phuket. I've never seen a ferry port quite so manic - people piling on and off ferries with their rucksacks - and several huge suitcases I am convinced contained illegal immigrants...but anyway we arrived in the bright lights of Phuket late at night so didn't get to see much before passing out in bed!

The next day we managed to actually see some of our home for the next couple of days. Phuket (actually pronounced Poo-get which I think is funnier than its spelling) is a peculiar place. Much like Ko Samui it is geared towards the wealthier traveller, more of a holiday destination really, particularly for Russians as all the menus were dual language. It has a boxing ring which at regular intervals has a man with a megaphone shouting 'tonight, tonight, tonight, thai boxing match' in a very odd voice that sounds like some kind of Dracula impersonation! It also has a pirate ship with an evening fountain show we managed to catch one evening - nothing compared to Dubai though. We were introduced to the most amazing food market where you could get curry and rice for about a pound, and it was so delicious we went 3 nights in a row. Our first proper night in Phuket ended up being a lot of fun - we went to see a Lady Boy show, and hell are they deceptive! A lot of them look better than natural women - it's enough to make you self-conscious! The best part of Phuket was our excursion to Karon beach, simply due to the name. The beach itself was pleasant but nothing out of the ordinary really, again very touristy, but it holds a special place in my heart!

Becca