Tuesday 20th November

Well this morning was about getting abusing the room to charge all our electronics before a midday checkout. A quick bite to eat & then into a taxi to the smallest capital city airport we've ever seen. Just one terminal building with domestic flights at one end & international at the other. Check in was a breeze with Qatar Airways & we had our seats reserved online because we're clever sticks.

We wished Suzanne & Brett a safe trip to Cambodia before their check-in then disappeared through the beeper machines.

The flight was unbelievably good, it's actually the first time we've ever been disappointed to land because I could have stayed on that plane for hours! Leg room was incredible, the media system was brilliant, staff friendly & the food was good. Literally faultless, take note Qantas, Virgin Atlantic & all you other wannabes, this is the where the bar is set.

We arrived at our hotel in the city of Bangkok & passed out. It had been a long day & a clean bed & room was much appreciated.

Wednesday 21st November

We checked out this morning & quickly stomped to Kao San Rd with luggage on our back to book the night bus to Surat Thani where we would eventually catch the ferry to Koh Phangan tomorrow to meet up with Ed. After booking everything we sat in a bar & sank a few Chang, booked flights to Perth, Australia for 19th December & did some vest & flip flop shopping whilst feeling a little tipsy. Chang isn't governed that well as it's brewed in Thailand. The label states 6.4% but in reality each bottle can range from 5% to 12%. It doesn't take long to feel intoxicated!

We arrived at the tour place for 6 to get the bus which didn't even turn up until just after 7.

Thursday 22nd November

We then drove until 5am & they dropped us at some random checkpoint cafe for 3 hours. We then boarded another bus which took us to the port. We sat there for 30 minutes thinking the boat will be boarding shortly, only for another bus to arrive & take us an hour up the road to another port where we did in fact, board the ferry.

By 12.30pm we were stood on Koh Phangan giving Ed some free hugs & then heading to our hotel.

Oh my word, luxury does not come close, we are spoiling ourselves with this place. The hotel isn't even open yet but Ed managed to get us a double room for a very discounted rate as he's quite good friends with the manager here.

We hired a moped for the week, costing £20 & headed off on a 2 wheel adventure. The hills are so steep on this side of the island that Carly had to get off the bike & walk because they gave us a gutless terd of a bike (we eventually swapped it for a better one)! Ed took us to a bar that sells cider! Only Magners but they had the pear flavour so we were pretty happy about that, first cider in months! We sat & shared stories for a while before going back to the hotel & getting some grub at the place next door.

An early night was called for after a mammoth 19 hour trip to get here & not much sleep during that time.

Friday 23rd November

We slept in quite late & by the time we surfaced, Ed had been to take some photos of another resort he's working on & returned. He took us to a restaurant for brunch with the most amazing views all along the coast & over to Koh Samui. The food was pretty special too.

In the afternoon we opted to spend some time on the beach as the infinity pool at the hotel was being treated & cleaned ready for the first guests arrival on Monday, we can't wait to get in it though! Swim up bar, restaurant on the side & glorious views over to Koh Samui & the marine park.

On the evening we drove in to Haad Rin beach, the location for the 'Full Moon Party' & grabbed a beer & a few games of pool. I left Ed & Carly playing pool while I went to buy some boxers because all of mine were in laundry & my chub rub was killing me. Proud owner of fake Bjorn Borgs!

We walked along the beach to 'Mushroom Mountain' where they sell 'Happy' shakes & watched a couple girls clearly tripping out on something. Nuts!

Then we headed back to the cider bar & had probably a top 5 burger of all time, more frames of pool & another cider between us as I had to drive back to the hotel. We were invited to enter a baked bean eating contest on Monday, the winner takes a bottle of JD.

Saturday 24th November

Another lie in before Skyping father to wish him happy birthday then headed to Haad Rin to do brunch in a gorgeous coffee shop. The food was stunning.

Then we came back to the hotel because it was seriously overcast & decided to watch a film & hope the clouds passed. They didn't, the heavens opened & that was our day mapped out for us really. On the evening we did head back to Haad Rin for dinner & then back to the hotel for another film, 3 in a bed style. So far it's been amazingly relaxing & we clearly needed it. We are so tired all the time & believe it or not, travelling is tiring!

Sunday 25th November

Rain, rain & more rain today! So grateful that we have lots of entertainment preloaded on the laptop because leaving the room has only happened to prevent starvation! Saying that, we did join Adam, the resort manager, his girlfriend & a few of the staff for dinner in Haad Rin & to watch the mighty reds draw away to Swansea! It was a great night & we all got on really well.

Monday 26th November

'The Coast Resort' has officially opened today so we will be joined on the resort by a handful of new arrivals. On the downside, the rain continues!

Tuesday 27th November

Surprise, more rain. If it wasn't 30 degrees I'd think we were in the UK! With the roads so steep & so flooded, there is no way we can take the bikes out so we're restricted to the resort once again. Taxis are a tad on the expensive side & they aren't the greatest drivers. It's just a relief that we are staying somewhere so nice because we couldn't handle this in some of the places we've called home!

Wednesday 28th November

Full Moon! This is one of the reasons we are here & the weather is slightly drier today which is a relief. Not exactly sunbathing weather but straight after breakfast I took a swim in the infinity pool. By the time Carly had changed into her bikini, the rain had set in & we were back to the room as usual!

It dried up again in the afternoon so we had dinner in the Treehouse restaurant next door then prepared for the Full Moon Party. A few drinks at the bar during happy hour while Ed DJ'ed, chatting to an American couple, 2 English girls & J.Me & Att, the Burmese DJ's from Coral Bungalows. I gave Att my Liverpool shirt yesterday & he returned the favour with an 'I 'heart' Music' t-shirt tonight.

At around midnight we headed as a group to Haad Rin Beach, the venue for the party. Carly wrote 'I heart CM' on my arm, think she knows something I don't.

It was certainly a sight & a site. Thousands of people bouncing, staggering, lying, sitting, pissing, hallucinating, drinking & smoking shoulder to shoulder on a long stretch of what is beautiful golden sands by day. Hundreds of drink stalls line the beach side by side, laughing gas balloons are sold, mushroom shakes & probably anything else you might want.

We stayed in 'Sunrise' bar for a couple of hours listening to drum 'n' bass but at 29 & 25 years of age, respectively, we felt too old for all that s***. We left at 3am, had the Thai equivalent of the 'end of night kebab', a cheese toastie from 7 Eleven, then walked home. Ed carried on with the other guys.

Thursday 29th November

'Bang Bang Bang' woke me up at 8.50am. It was Ed, returning from the party! He wanted us to go to breakfast with him but we ended up just eating alone & walking Ed back to his room. 'One too many' is the phrase, think he had a good night though. We went back to bed because we were shattered & surfaced again in the afternoon. Dinner by sunset was a nice way to end our stay here, bar the mozzies of course! We head to Krabi in the morning, the forecast is shocking & the thought of Australian sunshine is forcing us to at least consider moving our flights forward.

Modes of Transport so far - 3 planes, 2 Taxis, 9 Tuk Tuks, 4 VIP Bus, 3 shared taxis, 5 minivans, 2 speed boat, 2 slow boats, 4 ferries, 2 pickup trucks, 6 sleeper bus, 1 kayak, 1 moto

Countries Visited - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam

Beers Sampled - Chang, Tiger, Leo, BeerLao, Namkhong, Angkor, Anchor, Klang, Green Saigon, Red Saigon, 333, Larue, Caroune, Hanoi, Singha

Miles Travelled - 11,618

Lots of love to everyone at home. Apologies for the dull blog, it's difficult to do things when the weather is so bad. You guys back home will know that only too well after the recent weather you've been through. Hopefully the next blog will be sunnier!

Matt & Carly xxx