Well.....hello all from sunny, hot and lush Koh Phangan! Apologies this has been quite a delayed update from Thailand..........the reason being not a great one! On arrival to Bangkok, in our fantastic hotel, all appeared to be fantastic, alas i was wrong and last Wednesday i took a turn for the worst and have spent the past week up and down with illness, and have had what has now been diagnosed as a 'bad case of bad bacteria'....said in my best Thai accent! ha!......Wednesday and Thursday pretty awful, and saw very little of Bangkok, although was lucky enough to have my worst bout of illness in the nicest hotel which i had pre-booked in England before leaving. Firstly, a huge apology to Jules and Rachel....girls i did not for one second forget your birthdays, although im sure you realise that, but was just not possible to get to the phone. However will be in touch soon, and hope Sat was brilliant night......i was thinking of you all having a vino without me......... :-( Friday, was feeling better.....which wasn't hard.....so we headed for the backpacking central of Bangkok........the Koh San Road.........well........was an experience......ha ha......the Koh San Road is probably only 400m long....and it is full to the brim, beaming with neon lights, guest house signs, street sellers, stalls, markets, t-shirt sellers, music blaring (a common theme here is Coldplay, Jack Johnson and James Blunt at the moment.......you tend to hear a complete rendition of all three of the latest albums before you reach the end of the road!) This was my first real taste of Bangkok, and in many ways reminded me of London.....a night in Soho is not much different atmosphere wise......it is busy, loud, fast and full of every type of person you could imagine......and the biggest shock since India being that Westerners are EVERYWHERE, and being white is not such a novelty here! So our first mission of the day.....to find the Star Dome Inn, which is easier said than done on the road of a million hostels!!!!! and here we would find Max, Alex and Corey (my friends from Uni) who are staying there!!! With only email as a contact out here, was pretty unlikely that we would catch them in their hotel, but as luck would have it we crossed paths, and was fantastic to see familiar faces from home- was just what the doctor ordered!!! Their plan was to head South to Koh Samui, one of the Southern Islands of Thailand......much like us we had plans to move to an island to relax before heading up North to do the jungle terrain of Chang Mai and the elephant trekking, boat building and other way too strenuos activities......so we took their advice on a local travel agent....of which there are also hundreds......and booked ourselves on the next overnight train to Koh Phangan leaving Sunday night!! Saturday and Sunday saw me take another downward spiral on the health stakes....by now getting a little peeved.....but on Saturday evening meet up with some of Stephens friends and he has got his hair dreaded on the Koh San Rd...looks funky, and he is now an official traveller.......think i'll stick with my current barnet style however, the smelly dreads are just not tempting me as yet! There was a massive 'dance-off' in the street (Player you would have LOVED it!) Was a touring dance group advertising the new 50 Cent movie over here, and involved about 20 Thai men, who were excellent dancers, strutting their stuff on the street....so much fun.......our hostel on the Koh San was....how can i put this .....basic! The reliable Lonely Planet Guide stated......'New Joe Guest House - A modern hostel, airy rooms, with great features'......ha ha ha ha...is the biggest joke! It was dire, and our first real taste of 'travelling life'.....On Sunday we left Bangkok to get the overnight train and coach and ferry and arrive in Koh Phangan 11am Monday morning!! Journey was pleasant, apart from slightly hot and sticky coach journey, and thankfully was feeling loads better for this stage of the week. Once here we made our way along to the East coast to the town of Hat Rin Nai (Sunset beach). The whole island is about 9 miles wide, so reality is no where is far away, so we came here first as it is the most popular destination for young travellers on the island, so here would be where we get our bearings and make our plans for the next couple of weeks.....as well as making the most of the beautiful weather and beaches and hopefully allowing me to get over whatever bug was determined to keep me restricyed on where i could go and what i could do. Well.....as expected....plans change......and my illness began to take control of our plans, and i was unable to keep any liquids of solids down for vomiting, so i finally paid the local doc/pharmacy a visit in the late hours Monday night. By now, fed up, tired, and in need of a diagnosis..........which was swiftly received, and what i can only describe as uliminous pink horse tranquilsers were prescribed.........and by 11am on Tuesday i felt absolutely fantastic!!!! I have no idea what they have done, but bug is gone, toilet visits are back to a normal amount rather than the 30+ throughout the past week, and spirits are high! Managed my first meal yesterday, and am just being even more careful. So since being better have met some lovely girls from Hertfordshire, Nat and Jules, and spent the night with them last night, watched a film over dinner and then chilled with some drinks in a bar along the strip here. The word of Koh Phangan is definietly 'chilled'. Everywhere is very relaxed, no rush theory, which i love! We have the ability to do everything we want here to organise the rest of our Thailand trip without the hustle, bustle and pollution of Bangkok, so we are making the most of it! Tomorrow morning we head up the East coast to Haad Sadet, where we are frequenting some of the islands most beautiful waterfalls, and have booked ourselves into a gorgeous cave beach bungalow called Mai Pen Rai Bungalows....look it up online if you get a chance, looks lovely! So for now, that is the update. All is well, and i am still loving every minute of it. Its all an experience, and for every sick day i have, i can pretty much guarantee i will have 20 fantastic ones- so who would complain about that!!!?? Lovely to get all your emails, so keep them coming, they are a welcome break when i get the chance to come online. Also, all India pics are now on the website www.ellenmoriarty.com so check them out.....Thai ones to follow........... Thinking of you all, and hope you are well. Take care and lots of love me xxxxx PS A MAAASSSSIIIVVEEEEE Happy Birthday to you my little Cornish Pasty for today!!! Can only imagine how you are suitably entertaining yourself on your special day!!! Big kiss xxxx PPS A HHHUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEEE Happy Birthday to you Daz and Vicky for tomorrow.............will be thinking of you both, will defo try and ring though, see how the travelling of the island goes, plus am 7 hours ahead here so a little harder. Big kisses to you both though! xxxx