Thinking Koh Lipe may be just like Phi Phi, another party backpacker island spoilt with ramshackle accommodation, busy streets and littered beaches... Thankfully I was wrong. Koh Lipe was the most beautiful thai island I have experienced. The sea was so incredibly blue, the beaches were pristine and even in peak season it did not seem very busy. You could still find a quiet spot on the beach, snorkel in the clearest waters without being run over by a longtail and...

We travelled on the grimy tigerline ferry from Koh Lanta and sat on the top deck to bake in the midday sun. We sailed past the luxurious islands of Koh Hai and Koh Muk to Had Yao, a small town with a pier on the mainland. Only a dozen people got off including us, whilst the rest of the smoking Russians and tattooed flashpackers stared at us for getting off anywhere other than the main stop of Koh Lipe. We hopped on a longtail and headed to Koh Libong, a large jun...

We took the short ferry ride to the large island of Koh Lanta. We headed 45 minutes by pick up truck down to the south, where we were sure to find less tourists. We were right, Klong Jark bay was perfect and surrounded by the lush national park. The beach was almost deserted so we relaxed here for the rest of the day whilst the sun began to set. The next day we hired a moped. The woman for some reason trusted us with her brand new one that had only done 200km. So...

Possibly one of the most touristy parts of Thailand in peak season was probably a bad idea for the Christmas period! It was a big shock to come back to these areas and see them riddled with holiday makers. Christmas in Ao nang: We booked three nights of luxury during Christmas. We had a nice pool and a posh air conditioned bungalow. As we've been to Ao Nang before we were looking forward to some good street food and Christmas Day dessert at Swensens. Sadly both...

Here's a summary from the 11th-24th Dec: Bangkok: Stayed here twice at the great HI Sukhumvit both before and after Koh Samet thanks to its amazing links on the sky train and the best street food in bangkok at Soi 38. We did the No.1 thing to do on tripadvisor; Escape Hunt. This involved being locked in a room and having to find clues to get into a further 2 other rooms to then escape! We spent the first 20 mins not having a clue what we were meant to be doing b...