We arrived at Ko Phi Phi at our usual time of midday to hunt around for somewhere to stay and we quickly realised that it was not going to be as cheap or easy as we had thought. We finally found a nice place to stay and then decided that we would hit the beach as it looked pretty nice when we arrived on the boat. Now we got to the beach and could see one that looked better in the distance so decided to climb over the rocks to get to it. It wsa totally worth it! We ended up having a choice of three tiny little coves with white sand and only two or three other people on them. The sea looked amazing so we thought that we would go for a nice swim. Once we went for a swim we realised that it was actually quite shallow and the 20 minute struggle across wet rocks in flip flops was not necessary and that you could actually just walk right out as far as you could see without getting your knees wet!

We spent the next day exploring the beach on the other side of the island and it was even better than the beaches the previous day. It was one of those things that you see and can't actually believe that you are there looking at. I have never seen such white sands or such blue sea (The proof is in the pictures). On our walk home we heard some guy shouting to his mates about there being an earthquake at the same spot as the one that caused the tsunami. Being the curious person that I am I thought I would check the web and couldn't find anything about it. Later on that night Barry's dad said that it had been on the news, nothing to worry about though as it was nowhere near the other one and we would be fine, something that is always good to hear. We spent that night drinking buckets in a bar with the most terrible toilets I have ever seen...something that would not have happened had the buckets not been 2-for-1!

Whilst on the beach one day, we realised that we had been using suntan lotion that was to protect from burning and darkening of the skin. THis had meant that for the last couple of weeks we had been using sun cream that was stopping us from getting a tan...as if I needed any help with this problem! WE quickly disposed of the sun cream, laughed a lot and bought a regular one that allows you to tan.

We decided that we should do something more than just sit on the beaches (although it was very tempting) and booked ourselves onto a half day sunset boat trip to Ko Phi Phi Ley. This is the island that was kept as a National Marine Park. It is also the island that houses Maya Bay, where the film the Beach was shot (however it was digitally enhanced for the film). We started the trip off by visiting Monkey bay - minus the monkeys. We then went to the Viking Cave which was surrounded by beautiful turquoise sea. I've seen so much blue blue sea but everytime you see it you still are amazed at the colour it can be.

We went snorkelling again, only this was in deeper water and the fish were about twice as big and flocked around you as soon as you got in the water. I put flippers on this time and it seemed to make floating a lot harder due to the lack of treading water you can do in flippers! After this we attempted kayaking again. I knew Barry was really keen to go again so we gave it another go. This time I tried to remain calm and did not shout when it looked like we would hit a rock. WE were a lot more co-ordinated and the scenery was amazing. We kayaked into a lagoon hidden behind some rocks and it was brilliant. I enjoyed it a lot more than the time before and was glad to have given it another go.

We then headed for "The Beach" and we had to get out of the boat and swim to some rocks where we went on a barefoot ttrek through spiky painful rocks to get to the beach. Now it was an amazing beach and I could see why a lot of people visit it but this was the problem...a lot of people visit it so there were lots of people there and lots of boats in the water. I guess I just expected it to be secluded and quiet. Still enjoyed being there and went for an explore over some more rocks and found another beach that we were the only ones on as everyone else stayed on the main beach. This was pretty cool as we had a beach to ourselves and we got to check out lots of crabs and an abandoned bungalow with a swing! We then watched the sunset and had dinner on the boat.

Ko Phi Phi was my favourite place in Thailand. I didn't want to leave and was quite emotional when we had to get on the boat to Phuket. I loved everything about it. It was so small and cosy and everyone was really chilled out and the beaches were the most amazing I have ever seen. The weather here was better too. It was hotter and there were less clouds. I would go back here in a heartbeat.