Our pick-up for our day trip to the Koh Phi Phi Islands was at 8:30 this morning and we were collected in a very old, run down songthaew which looked like it had been made from scraps of wood. It didn't have any wing mirrors, just one extra long rearview mirror! We weren't going far, however, only to the beach after picking up a few others. We were dropped at the tour office and given our stickers to identify which boat trip we were on - they like giving you stickers on the Thai islands - we've had different ones for all of our journeys around the islands over the past week (and they've all been stuck on the front of our 'Asia' diary!).

When we were shown which was our speedboat, we didn't hang around and managed to get on first, nabbing ourselves some good seats in the shade. Our guide for the day explained where we would visit and in what order. We would get two snorkelling stops which we were very much looking forward to!

After about 45 minutes of speeding past the beautiful mini islands dotted around we arrived at our first picturesque beach on Bamboo Island, where we were given about 40 minutes to explore and swim in the crystal clear water. We didn't need telling twice, so got straight into the water! There were a lot of other boats with other tourists there and many were snorkelling. Our guide had told us that the snorkelling isn't very good there as most of the reef got destroyed in the 2004 Tsunami, but we were going to some good spots later. After our swim, we took some photos - trying to find a spot with not many people in the background, before getting back on the boat.

Our next stop was to some caves where swallows nests are collected to make the Chinese delicacy of bird's nest soup. We slowly sailed past the caves and into a narrow channel between the huge limestone cliffs, taking lots of photos of the stunning cliffs and bright turquoise water. Another pinch-me moment!

Then it was time for the day's highlight - a trip to Maya Bay, also known as the location of the beach, from the book and film 'The Beach' (interesting fact supplied by Emma Lane: the book was based on the island Koh Phangan but they filmed it on Koh Phi Phi as Koh Phangan was too built up by then). As we neared the bay it was instantly recognisable from the film…apart from the hundreds of people and long row of boats! It didn't spoil it though, as we knew it was a massive tourist spot now, and we still managed to get some good photos after another swim! We watched the film not long before we left (when we started watching films set in the countries we were visiting!) and it was hard to believe that we were actually there!

After our short stay we reluctantly got back on the boat and headed to our first snorkel stop. It wasn't the best snorkelling of our trip - the tide was quite strong and although a lot of coral, there weren't that many fish around! Never mind, maybe the next snorkel stop would be better. But before that - lunch!

The boat dropped us off at a little picturesque bay on Phi Phi Don and our guide pointed us in the direction of the restaurant for our buffet lunch. The food was quite good and we helped ourselves to a nice big serving (we'd had no breakfast!). Ther were quite a few restaurants, shops and stalls around and we were given about an hour to kill, but we opted to sit in the shade on the beach. One of the other women on the trip said her sister came to this same bay 13 years ago and there were only 2 buildings - wonder what she would make of it now!

On the way back to Aonang we had our second snorkel stop which was much better than the first. Lots of people on the boat had bought 'fish food' from the tour office that morning (it just looked like a loaf of bread to me!) and were feeding the fish around the boat. This resulted in massive swarms of little fish coming to the surface to try and get some. Amazing to watch from a distance, but not much fun if you get stuck in the middle of them like I did! I got back on the boat soon after and we got chatting to a Canadian couple and told them about our trip. We're getting used to peoples' reactions when we say we've been away 9 and a half months!

Then it was time to head back to Aonang, which took another 45 minutes, during which almost everyone on board (except the driver) fell asleep! One old Thai lady kept nearly falling off her seat and onto Chris which was quite funny to watch!
Back on dry land we were shown to an already full songthaew for our lift back to the hotel. Dave and I managed to squeeze on the benches, while Chris perched on the back step. He got chatting to two old Thai ladies from a group of 5 who asked him if it's raining in England as they're going in a few weeks - he told them it's starting to warm up now(!)

That night we headed back into Aonang and found a restaurant called Nana's for some Thai curry and a pizza for Dave! We browsed in a few of the stalls and shops before returning to the hotel and watching an episode of Law and Order UK on the TV in Chris's room (the one in ours didn't work). I fell asleep half way through so called it a night after our fun-filled day!