Dear all................ Hope this email finds you well......wherever in the world you may be....... Before i write this i just want you all to appreciate EXACTLY where i am.........i arrived back in Phuket and went to try and use the internet in a local Kodak place...however the computers were down....so anyway, was walking around, checking out some shops and tours, when i met this sweet little Thai lady, and i told her of my predicament, and i am now sitting in her living room!! Literally!! Ha ha, her, and her husband, and her 14 year old son, and three week old little girl. They are having their dinner.......and i am at their dining table writing to you guys for free!! Little strange.........but have been offered dinner and a chance to catch up on UK news on BBC World.....so im happy! ha Right...anyway.....last update came as i was making my way South with Elisa and Stephen for the sunny island of Phuket! We arrived over a week ago, and instantly were impressed with the weather...........and the sea.....and the beaches......and everything! Phuket is in the South West of Thailand, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions and package holiday destinations in Thailand....however dont let this put you off, it is beautiful! Our first stop was the beautiful Hat Karon, on the West Coast of the island. Hat Karon, although not as busy as Patong the most 'backpacking/traveller' area of Phuket.....it was busy, clean, although maybe a little too Westernised, and the beach was fantastic. The water like warm bath water, and the sand like flour..........am i making you jealous yet?? ha ha We spent a wonderful three days here, and after Laos it was well needed, and although the weather turned a little peaky and cloudy, we still managed to enjoy ourselves. including treating ourselves to some fantastic restaurants, and a delightful family run guest house....where they are so nice and friendly! The noticeable difference between here and the other islands ive been on......is it is expensive!!! Obviously lots of tourists increase the price of such things as accomodation and food, but it is worth seeing, and in relation to costs at home is still a reasonable price to pay. We spent our days on the beach, and our evenings in the restaurants.....perfect combination, and on our last night here i met up with Rob (my brothers best friend from England) who is teaching English out here. Fantastic to see a familiar face from home, and is a port of call for when i return to Phuket in a few days. So....next stop....Koh Pi Pi!! More famously known for being the beach where the blockbuster 'The Beach' was filmed in 2000, this was set to be a highlight so far..............so on the morning of the ferry crossing, at a ridiculous 7.30am, Stephen and I donned our jodhpurs, riding caps and headed off on a jungle and beach horse trek........it was .....interesting! My horse, a stallion named Sam, was a light brown colour, and all the horses at the Phuket Riding School seemed a little......how should i put this.....special! We had a private trek, and both wanted to pick up some speed for a gallop along the beach.........but it just wasnt going to happen........both our horses struggled with a trot or a canter, so the prospect of going faster than snails pace was pretty unlikely! No matter how much we kicked, whipped and gave a swift talking to to our dear horses....they were having none of it..........was amusing......and also gave us the chance to ride along a beach that looked like it had been hit by the Tsnami, and not been cleared yet. Tere was an awful lot of re-construction work going on, and sea litter everywhere- quite a sight! So two hours, a sore bum, chaffing calves and a chilled out Sam the horse later we arrived back at the school, and we went to meet Elisa to make our way across on the 2 hour ferry to Koh Pi Pi Don. Koh Pi Pi consists of 2 islands....Koh Pi Pi Don and Koh Pi Pi Lai. Lai has no accommodation, is part of a National Park and is exactly where The Beach was filmed, and Don is where we stayed. It was very expensive for what you get....eg we stayed in a complete shack, and got eaten alive every night.....but the views were worth the pain and frustration of the horrid wooden shack....with without a doubt the worst bathroom facilities of my trip....wont go into detail, but be rest assured they left little to be desired....uurrgghh! Our first day we lapped up the sun and sea...as this beach gave Hat Karon a run for its money. All around these islands are reknowned world wide for their snorkelling and diving, so we donned our gear, and saw some amazing sites. I was a little pink from the boat trip over, so avoided direct sun today, but still manage to tan nicely in the shade, so all is good! We had some lovely neighbours, who told us about a tour they had done of surrounding bays on the Pi Pi islands..........we were well up for it! So the following day we made our way to the main docking point of Pi Pi Don and bargained for what seemed like hours with local boat taxi men for them to take us to Monkey Bay and 'The Beach' beach..............and this is where we found our friendly driver Sak. We had a five hour mini-adventure with him around the islands, first stop being Monkey Bay....funnily enough named so as it is largely inhabitated by monkeys....everywhere.......and also has some of the best snorkelling in Thailand.......and my oh my it does. We saw everything from your spotted fish, stripey fish, coral, schools of fish swimming right into our faces........and perhaps the most exciting part of my trip so far.........WE FOUND NEMO!!!!!! Yes we did!! Nemo and his Dad were chilling out, and we saw them we were so excited...............along with numerous other Finding Nemo characters was all round a fantastic adventure into under water life............next stop The Beach........and as we turned into the familiar bay, instantly we were amazed by the sight. This truely is one of the most beautiful beaches. Surrounded by woodland, and two tall mountain faces as you enter the bay, was breath taking. We spent some hours there, before i managed to get stung by a jelly fish and stand on spikey coral in the same five minutes- good one Ellen!! Sak came to the rescue with potions galore, and we headed back to our Long Beach at around 5pm. What a fantastic day........saw so much, and caught the sun a treat, so all in all was appropriate that Elisa, Stephen and I split whilst on a major high, i arrived back in Phuket today and the guys headed off to Krabi. I am travelling Krabi in June, so have decided to come back here, and see more of Thailands largest island before heading North to Vietnam. Stephen is doing four days in Krabi and then coming back to meet me for a few more days here before the split for good.........today is my first day as a lone traveller in over 2 months, and is a little strange without my sidekick, but am hiring a moped for a few days and intend on seeing the island and having some 'me' time before heading North. So....thats it for now.....i have all the pics of my final day in Koh Pi Pi and am waiting for a decent internet place so i can load them onto my site, but check out the ones on there at the mo. Hope you are all well, thinking of you all lots, and is lovely to hear what you are all up to so keep the updates coming. Lots of love to you all me xxxxx