Day 15 (Tuesday 31st October 2006)

Had a good night's sleep and woke up to some beautiful homemade pancakes at our Ban To guesthouse in Krabi, before being whisked off to the pier for our overdue crossing to Ko Phi Phi. As we made our way along the pier to the boat we spotted several mudskippers in the...umm, mud! It was a wonderful, clear day and we found a nice spot on the deck to relax and enjoy the journey. Things were going to well and, unsurprisingly on this trip, the crew found a problem with one of the boat's propellers. 45-minutes, some crazy Thai bloke, a mask and an incredibly long piece of hose later and the boat was fixed and we were on our way.

We left at 10:45am and arrived in Phi Phi around 12:30. The views of the island as we were coming in were spectacular. Phi Phi is a busy little place, still recovering from the tsunami and everywhere you look there is building work going on. We trapsed through the tiny streets with our backpacks in the seering heat looking for our hotel and after 10-minutes we arrived. Again, things were going a little too well, so up came another little dilemma...

We guess, as a result of the mis-hap that left us spending a night in Krabi, our travel agency decided to book us an extra night in Phi Phi and re-arranged all our transfers to Phuket so we left on the 5th as opposed to the 4th. That was really kind guys, but we have our flight booked out of Phuket on the 6th so we wouldn't even get a day there! It's a nightmare getting through to them so we'll try again soon...what's wrong with these people!!

Now, absolutely 'steaming-willy-beaming', we checked-in, dumped our bags and grabbed the old mask and snorkels before going in search of the beach. There was a beach literally 100-yards away, but it looked no good for snorkelling so we asked the nearest dive operator and they told us to hit Long Beach. Seconds later we were hopping in to a longtail boat taxi and cruising round to the bay. The water so clear and inviting and all the way you could see coral outcrops just waiting to be goggled.

A few minutes later and we were in the water and the snorkelling was terrific. It didn't take long for Marc to come frantically pointing out a striking pair of Moorish Idols to Sarah, nibbling at the reef. He needent have been so hastey, as it turned out there were plenty of these stunning little guys in waters rich with beautiful fish. Butterflyfish seemed to flock here, as did parrotfish of every single colour you could possibly think of. Snunk anemonefish snuggled in to their homes, whilst cleaner wrasses harrassed passers by looking for a dirty fish or two. We even court our first sight of surgeonfish bobbing along close by. It was wonderful and Marc was in his element.

If we thought the Gulf of Thailand was warm, well then the Andaman Sea must have just poured out of a kettle. You know back in England when you find a lovely little pocket of warm water (probably where some kid's just peed),well here, sometimes you find a little current of colder water...and let us tell you folks, it's bliss, just bliss!!

We dragged ourselves away from the beach and back to the hotel. Marc found the footy channel on our tv, so that kept him quiet for a while! The showers were a bit chilly though, but a bit warmer than the last place...poor us! Next thing you know a storm was hitting the island. Sarah particularly enjoyed it when the thunder and lightning kicked in!!

We waited for the rain to die down before heading out to town. We bought some cheap beads and stuff (Marc thinks he's a proper traveller dude now) and we strolled by the shops. Every other shop is a dive centre, all trying to entice you inside, but when 'Cole' from the Barakuda Dive Centre, an English guy who lived in Chichester for 28-years got talking to us, together him and Marc bullied Sarah in to doing some diving.

She has signed up for the 'Scuba Diver' course, which is the course before 'Open Water Diver', all Padi regulated and once complete, certifies her to dive anywhere in the world with Marc up to 12-metres. It's a 2-day course which Sarah begins on Thursday and comprises of 3-dives, 15-skills and a bit of theory stuff she has to do in the classroom. When she signed-up she was handed her own copy of the open water diver manual and has to read up on the first three modules for her homework.

She is really nervous bless her and nearly made herself sick with worry over dinner, but Cole is such a sound bloke and she really couldn't be in better hands...even you Tone and your dodgy masks and snorkels and 75kg dive torches!! She can complete the other modules and dives any time and anywhere she likes to become a fully qualified open water diver!! On the second day of her course Marc gets to do a couple of fun dives for himself. He's like a little kid on Christmas eve!

Phi Phi looks like it could be an excellent part of our adventure...

Day 16 (Wednesday 1st November 2006)

Had a bit of a restless night. Putting aside Sarah's fears of submerging herself in the deep, we were both kept up by the noises of the night...and we don't mean Marc's random sleep-talking!

Our whole resort is lifted on wooden planks just a few feet above a swampy pond full of reeds, lillys and other aquatic plants. A population of approximately 9-million frogs live under our bungalow and last night must have been karaoke night! If our amphibious friends weren't bad enough, then there's that constant Thailand drum of crickets...bit like being back in Sarah's bedroom then!

It was still a little cloudy from the night before, but with diving on the agenda for the last 2-days, we grabbed a longtail boat taxi across to the uninhabitable sister island Phi Phi Lay (we're on Phi Phi Don). Maya Bay was our destination and the scene for that great film 'The Beach'. The cloud made it a little dingier than we'd have hoped, but the view of the towering limestone cliffs was spectacular nevertheless, as was the magnificent view of Maya Bay as it appeared from behind them. We arrived around 9:30am and already four or five boats had moored and a handful of people were dotted about on the beach. By the time we left a couple of hours later, the beach was swarming and the water clogged with boats of every size.

It was surreal to walk barefoot along the fine white sand and re-create the steps of old 'Leo' himself, whilst taking in the breathtaking views of all around (see picture above). There was only one thing to do after that and that was to grab the mask and snorkel. The setting was great and to make things better, the snorkelling was out of this world. The waters teemed with fish, so many fish, some fish ol' Bellamy didn't even know!

It wasn't long before he was pointing out a cute little zebra lionfish to Sarah, trying his hardest to pretend he really wasn't there upside down under a rock. A few moments later, through the hoards of parrotfish, damselfish and butterflyfish, came the distorted mumble of "Shark" from Marc's snorkel. Unfortunately, the silver, streamline fish was just too quick and poor Sarah didn't get a peek.

Don't fret guys, it was only a baby black-tip reef shark, totally harmless and although dainty compared with his parents, he was magnificent all the same. Sarah decided to head back in as she was feeling a little cold...there's no pleasing some people...and Marc headed out for deeper water. At this point it wasn't the threat of sharks that was concerning him, but the ever-increasing traffic of boats coming into the bay!!

Apparently oblivious, he was floating about watching a delightful pair of goatfish sift the sand when out of nowhere appeared two more sharks, one of them perhaps 3.5/4-feet in length. Desperately trying to keep up (without fins he must add) he lost sight of them in the murk. A little disappointed, yet buzzing with excitement, he turned round to see no less than around 15 or so circuling around him! The adrenaline was really pumping now and one shark came close enough for him to see his little remora passenger sticking to his side.

It is up there with the most incredible things he's ever seen...like Arsenal winning the league at Anfield on the last day of the season...remember that 4P, Selby?...Michael Thomas, it's up for grabs now!!

As he slowly made his way inshore he encountered an excellent reef where he spotted beautiful clown tangs and gorgeous triggerfish. Right in the shallows he watched a large trumpetfish stalking a large shoal of small fish.

Whilst Marc reflected on what was a fantastic snorkel, Sarah was nose-deep inside her open water diver manual. The time seemed to go really quickly and our taxi took us back to Phi Phi Don and back to the excellent Long Beach. Straight back in for a snorkel Marc saw two black-spotted pufferfish and four of the cutest boxfish you'll ever see amongst more clown tangs and various other scaley cousins. On his way back in he even spotted a moray eel sneaking back in to the coral and several large goatfish rummaging the sand.

With shark on the brain, Marc picked out shark steak on the menu that evening, but they didn't have any so he tried barracuda instead, while Sarah was left to have the Thai curry that night. Neither dishes were that great, but Sarah cheered herself up with a nice sarong, hairbands and necklaces...must have come to a whopping 5 pound!!

Marc's off to see if he can tune in to some footy on the tv back home and Sarah's off to complete module three of the manual. Think of her tomorrow folks when she takes the plunge for the first time and we'll let you know how she gets on..

Night guys

Up the mighty Arsenal against CSKA tonight...revenge for that disgraceful disallowed Henry goal!

Hope BDML's coping without their top seller!!!!!!!