Well, it's been a while since my last entry so there is a lot to get through. Whilst in Bangkok we went to a lot of amazing places, The Standing Buddha, The Marble Temple, The Grand Palace, The Golden Palace, The temple of the Emerald Buddha, The Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun. All of the places were spectacular and I have never seen so much gold in two days! Wat Arun was definitely something to remember! We had to climb the steepest steps in the world to get to the top. It had amazing views over Bangkok but getting down the steps was very scary as they were basically vertical, I felt the need for some sort of harness but after much screaming, crying and "I can't do this Barry" I made it to the bottom and swore that I would never climb stairs ever again (dramatic as ever)! Looking back it was actually quite comical!

We left Bangkok after a few days as we felt that it was a bit to much and headed for Koh Samui, nothing like a bit of beach life to chill you out! We had to go on a 12 hour bus/ ferry journey that was evil...I didn't sleep a wink all night, mainly to do with the fact that I couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in but more to do with the fact that there we were sharing a bus with the world snoring champion! That was an experience. WE got to Koh Samui, again without a clue what we were going to do and shared a taxi with a French (Barry says Italien) guy to Haat Lamai. When we got out of taxi we walked about a meter and found the first bungalow on the beach that we could. This was the first time that we had walked in the heat with our backpacks and it was really tough going...glad I took those hair straighteners out for a lighter pack! The beach was amazing but we were staying in the bungalow from hell. It was dark, it only had cold water and it was easy to imagine the wildlife living under the bed! We moved away from here and decided to stay in another bungalow the next night and stayed here for a few days. The beach was really nice (if a little rough) and the place was great and really friendly.

We went on a day trip to the National Marine Park, Ang Thong. Those of you who know me will know that I am a bit of a worrier and I am afraid of most things. Not that day! First I went snorkelling, this is something that I said I would never do and I did it and I loved it (I especially loved my life jacket and goggles)! It was so much fun! We saw so many fish and at the end of it I was among one of the last to get back onto the boat! We wnt on a walk to a viewpoint to look over the giant lagoon surrounded by limestone cliffs. THis was a long walk in the heat of the mid day sun but very much worth it. Later on that day after a Thai buffet lunch we went to a deserted beach and did kayaking! Not just close to the shore either (which I had thought) but right out into the sea and around a little island! When I say I kayaked, Barry did his best to remain calm with me shouting orders at him, "mind the rocks, We're going to crash, Barry steer left, steer left....CRASH"! Well after much panicking and a lot of splashing about we made it back to the beach and played bat and ball for a while until we headed back to Koh Samui. We travelled in style on a speed boat and we luckily got given the "Honeymoon seat" which allowed us to have amazing views in the higest seat in the boat. This was great until we realised that this really was the "when the water gets rough you will get soaked seat"! When going against the wind in a speed boat...you get wet, enough said! We moved to the back and the wind changed and then this became the wettest place to sit! It was the best day ever, I've never had so much fun! I just couldn't help thinking of my mum and her fear of boats...mum you would have died, it was the bumpiest ride ever!

Love to everyone