So here we are again, another update for all you lovely people.

We are still in Samui on the eve of our departure but we will tell you about some of the things we have been getting upto since our last journal entry. Here goes!

So the first few days here were pretty relaxing, took us a few days to scope out the area and find out what goes on etc. It's a rather long beach (Chaweng), the longest on the island. Although it is very pretty, the beach is still very busy and there are bars and restaurants lining it. All very pleasant at night. The main strip is a lot more like Bangkok than Phangan and less like a spanish holiday resort. Not there is anything wrong with that! Took us a short walk to find somewhere nice to stay, it's worked out to be about 7 quid a night which is quite expensive but we have air-con, a TV, safe and 24hr security and it's equidistant from the strip and the beach. The only problem with it is that there is no hot water! And the cold water can smell a bit pooie sometimes!

We have just been spending most of our time on the beach, walking around the area and when it has rained (rained a fair bit but only for short periods) we watched movies in our room! God bless Home Box Office! Also, we jumped onto our beds like pro-wrestlers (see the photos, don't we look great?!) The days have blended into one a bit but thats because we have been relaxing and just enjoying ourselves. Most nights we head out for food and then walk along to the beach to the bars where you can lay down with a beer and gaze at the stars. It's perfect. Oola, our friendly Norwegian we met in Hong Kong (and Bangkok!), surprised us again as he lives in the resort next door. He joined us for a few games of poker and some drinks one night. Lovely guy.

As a break from the norm we decided we needed to see more of the island so we took a ay trip in a little van. This cost us about 25 quid each which was a bargain especially seeing as it was just us three on the tour. The tour van picked us up promptly at 9am from our hotel. The first stop was the monkey show. It was pleasantly brief but they showed us how the monkeys climb the trees to hit down the coconuts. Very impressive but also sad to see the litle fella tied to the tree. We then all took a turn in holding the lovely creature of the wild! We drank and ate some 'young' coconut which was quite nice and then headed back in the van for the mountain view. It was a great view but would have been better if it wasn't so misty. After a little time there we then headed off to the elephants! A little man with a crippled leg showed us to our elephant and we all climbed aboard, Ollie and Jon both took it in turns to sit on the elephant's head, it was a very short trek but still very fun. The crippled man took our camera and took some photos for us (he later asked us to pay 200b for the photos, cheeky git but we did pay him). Beats the donkey rides at Weston that's for sure! There were about 6 elephants, some young ones. They were really restricted due to the chains they had around their feet which, again, was quite sad. A short walk round the corner took us to the waterfall, it was a pretty area where you could swim or climb around the rocks. We then had some local food that was basic but still tasty! Saw a huge black ant, it was about the length of a wasp. While sitting on the rocks I (Luke) saw a wasp or bee about the size of a monkey nut or bigger. Like a girl I freaked out. We then got back in the van and headed off to our kayaking adventure. The whole trip was run by the driver and a little tour guide who told us about local information and answered any questions that we had. The kayaking was a laugh! Ollie had his own kayak and Luke and Jon shared one. They left us to it and we paddled away. We ended up getting carried away in all the excitement and started splashing eachother. Obviously we our maturity has decreased some more... After the kayaking we took a 40 minute boat ride to a small but largely unimhabited island. We stopped just offshore to try some snorkelling but the water was too cloudy from the rain the night before. We fed the fish with dried noodles and it was great to see them all swim rapidly to get some grub! We docked a little later at what seemed to be the only hut on the island. The captain pointed us in the vague direction of the beach. off we trot in our flip flops having to scramble over rocks, through some undergrowth and walking in the water around rocky outcrops to finally make it to our very own private beach! It was just like something right out of lord of the flies! The weather was great by this stage and we had 3hours to just take it in and chillax. Jon sunbathed, luke played in the sand and ollie went for his first wilderness poo! With nobody to disturb us and with no other sounds but the waves breaking we really felt very lucky indeed to be in such a place. the photos would never do it justice but hopefully you get the idea- it was awesome! quick boat and truck ride back to chaweng and we were home. It was a really good day all round but we were very tired so that night was pretty quiet, few beers, game of pool and then bed.

We just booked our bus to Krabi for tomorrow at 6.30am. Not sad to be leaving but we really like Samui and would definately reccomend it to anyone.

We have added more photos (a few are in Hong Kong 2) but sorry if the order is a little out. It takes ages! (we've been sat here for 2hours now).

Missing you all as ever and it goes without saying that your messages are much appreciated.

Will update again soon(ish)

Love the guys

x