Yesterday we got up late (about 11am) and it was raining again very heavily. We decided that we'd perhaps go to Phuket town (about 20 mins from Patong beach) as it wasn't really beach weather. By the time we had got ready, the rain had stopped and there was glorious sunshine and the makings of blue skys so we decided to stay put. We decided to stay put and spent a glorious afternoon lying on sun loungers and swimming in the sea.

It was lovely and just what I needed after all of this travelling around. The sea was so warm and had massive waves (I've never swam in a sea with such big waves) and it was great to run into them and get absolutely trashed. Not surprisingly, the surfers were out in force as were the jet skiers.

Harnaik left the beach about 4.30 but I lay there until the sun started to go down. It was lovely seeing the sun shimmering on the sea with dusk starting to fall.

I went back to the hotel, took my t-shirt off to have a shower and saw that I had really bad sunburn on my chest and stomach (and I mean bad it looks awful). I was slapping on the factor 30 but spent a lot of time in the sea so I guess all the big waves washed it off. Something tells me I have a lot of pain to suffer in the next couple of days although I keep slapping aftersun on to soothe it.

We got ready and went out to dinner to this really nice seafood grill restaurant. We had our most expensive meal of the holiday so far (about 20 GBP for 2 people) which included starters main courses 2 large beers and a cocktail.

We then went to a couple of bars on the main entertainment street of Patong Beach which has hundreds of bars and GO GO bars and it was fascinating watching the world go by. People are constantly coming up to you trying to sell you stuff and approaching you in the street. There is a group of ladyboys that accosts everyone who walks by as well as some guys with massive lizzards that they like to put on your shoulder for photographic purposes and then charge you once the photo is taken.

We then went to a book shop . In the book shop I saw this book which was stories about the Tsunami in 2004 told by people who were in Phuket at the time. I didn't realise Phuket was affected to the extent that it was (although all the Tsunami evacuation point signs might have been a clue). Many people were killed and injured. It's amazing how it has bounced back. Finally, we went for some ice cream before heading back.

Today, it is raining heavily again. We leave for Phi Phi at midday (another island devasted by the Tsunami) and will stay for a couple of days. We will then head to Ko Samui and plan to stay for 5 - 7 days as we need a break from travelling around I think.

Phuket isn't my favourite place but it has a vibrancy of it's own and is definitely worth visiting for a couple of days.