We had planned a bright early start although the snooze button was utilised which meant we didn't actually stir till 7am. Our objective the morning was to make the hike up to the big Buddha situated on the hilltop above the seaside towns which we made reference to earlier. I had some breakfast and we started our climb with the hotel instructions as our guide. As we made the climb through the winding roads and foliage the humidity increase was very noticeable. The sweat was starting to pour from us and Laura was starting to struggle from the heat with a few dizzy spells.... Next time she will have breakfast! We rested and took our time and the views of the beach during the climb were spectacular. It got a little remote and we were being stalked by a dog barking at us constantly which was slightly unnerving. We managed to climb up a few steep slopes and Laura manage to catch herself on some thorns which drew a little blood... First wound of the travelling! We eventually came to main road leading upto the Buddha and saw everyone in their taxis or on mopeds. I am not brave enough to ride a moped here and I don't think mum and dad would be to pleased if I did. To put it into context the taxis charge you 20 quid to get up the Buddha from town (15 min drive) one way.... I am not paying that ridiculous price, then they say the attraction is free!! Well we headed up the road and stopped at a sea view cafe which had awesome views and recuperated with water! After another 5 minute walk the big Buddha was in sight and we headed through the main entrance. Luckily as we arrived quite early we had beaten the crowds. The big Buddha has been under renovation of the past few weeks and again quite fortunately the scaffolding has been taken down about a week ago. There were various stalls selling souvenirs and refreshments accompanied by stalls allowing you to right messages on plaques that would be placed in the foundations of the Buddha. Laura managed to get blessed by a monk which she found very humbling and emotional and was timed perfectly as a mass group of Europeans flocked in right after her! There was a short walk up to the Buddha and you got basically an amazing panoramic view of Phuket which was pretty special and we could point out all the places we had visited in these past view days. It was obvious at the base of Buddha they were constructing lotus leaves which would look spectacular once it was completed . We spent an hour or so looking around the area before deciding we would make the descent before the heat of the day really hit us.

On the way down the restaurant and bar owners were out in force with there were pet monkeys on chains. We both don't like that sort of thing and it really annoys me when they have signs up charging you for photos with the monkey... They even charge you fifty pence to take a photo of the view from their cafe. Our route down the hill was different and led us past an elephant farm which was basically worker elephants whilst the lads chilled in the shade and drank beer. We did get a little disorientated for a moment and ended up on a quad bike off road track but Laura's good sense of direction got us back on course. Towards the end of the climb it was getting very hot and humid. I basically had to peel my short off haha... Like ace Ventura if you have ever seen the bit with the rhino. Eventually we reached the safe haven of air conditioning and allowed ourselves to cool off.

We were both peckish and I took Laura to the little restaurant I went to yesterday and we both devoured noodle soup which again was flawless. Following this we packed our bags and waited for the local bus back to Phuket town which we had just missed so had to hang around for half an hour. It felt nice to go back to somewhere similar and luckily our previous hostel was available so we made our way back which felt like going home. On arrival Kai explained our old room was being renovated so we settled into one of the new ones downstairs!! It is nice and quaint but does lack a window but it shows how travelling chills you out as it does not bother you at all... remember Laura's reaction in New Delhi?? We grabbed another tasty meal from next door which had very pleasant owners and I decided to watch a film for the evening. It was a Swedish movie called 'let the right one in' and was bizarre but very good. Considering the previous two nights sleep were pretty poor and the mammoth hike earlier we hit the sack very early and duly got some well deserved rest.