Hey groovers!! We made it at last! All I can say is that it was well worth the car, plane, taxi, train, coach, ferry and taxi rides to get here. After a wet drive up to heathrow with Linda (janes mum), Jane and myself checked in 5hrs early in the hope of getting some sort of upgrade. Yeah right!! We managed 3 seats between 2 of us which I guess was passable. Hmm, seeing as the flight was half full its kind of inevitable.. Anyhow, after some traditonal english food in the form of a wetherspoons (something I wont miss about england!) we said our goodbyes and hit the departure lounge. Before long we were on the flight and looking forward to some good movies. Apart from a bit of turbulence and some dreadful food, we touched down in Bankok, about 11hrs later. As we were trying to budget on this trip, we decided to get the sleeper train down to surat tani (excuse spelling) where we take a bus to the jetty then the boat to ko samui. sorted! a quick taxi ride from the airport in bankok rush hour traffic (hectic!) we were at the train station trying to get the appropriate tickets. job done (train, bus and ferry - 10 pounds each, nice!) plus 3 nights at a chalet in samui for 5 pounds a night (for 2). even nicer! feeling pretty chuffed with this easy transaction, we grabbed a bite and got the sleeper train to surat tani. what an experience!! very humid, lots of people selling ice cold beers in buckets of ice and toilets which make festival loo's look nice. still, it was only an 11hrs journey...! after not much sleep and much sweating, we arrived at about 6am.. onto a bus for a quick ride to the ferry jetty where we find about 100 other like minded individuals, waiting to board.. some heading to phagnan to the full moon party, others just exploring. we had some time to kill, so grabbed a sanger and some fruit and rehydrated. imagine sardines on a boat. that was us. so glad we stayed in the air conditioned lower deck (managed to get a seat next to a guy from israel called rafi who told me of his love for photography and women... jane was behind me with 2 irish girls) instead of baking on the upper deck. it was quite a pleasant voyage, made more pleasant by a movie or 2. started with school of rock, which does exactly what it says - it rocks! and die another day with mr bond. just at the bit where mr bond escapes from being tortured and ends up looking like one of the members of the kings of leon, we arrived at our destination - ko samui. a quick ride in an air conditioned dude van, we finally get to where we can settle down for a bit. lamai chalet.. what a place! situated on the south east of samui, there are a load of chalets and bungalows in various grades and prices, right by lamai beach. we got here on thursday and have been here 2 nights. have been mainly chilling, eating, sleeping, swimming and playing some chess. we have met some quality people including miles from london and brendan from ireland. both travelling by themselves and staying here for a bit, we have had a few cocktails and shared some top quality banter. they are off on scooters today while i update the site. jane is sleeping off last nights liver pounding. some things never change!! we are here until monday when we are going to get a ferry to ko phagnan to revisit bottle beach. will keep you posted. thanks for reading. damo