Hello everyone,

On Sunday evening we caught the sleeper train from Bangkok to Surat Thani, then the coach to Phuket the next morning. When we got on we were in seats facing each other, then when we wanted to go to sleep the man looking after our carriage came and converted them into bunk beds. There was a monk next to us who was really friendly, he asked us where we were going and warned us that the train is usually late arriving. When we got there he pointed to his watch and said 'see' whilst laughing. He also said it was a good idea that we were locking our bags to the pole with Ryans fancy new cable lock gadget. He was a pretty cool monk. The train was really slow and seemed to stop all the time to let other trains past. It took around 12 hours to get to Surat Thani. I didn't sleep much either because although it was comfortable, the aircon was freezing and the lights were too bright. We arrived too late to catch our connecting coach so had to wait for about an hour and a half for the next one. From there it was a 5 hour journey to Phuket which was a bit of a white-knuckle ride, i'm not going to lie. Still, we got some pretty good views of forest covered hills which reminded me of the floating mountains from Avatar. Although the journey sounds pretty awful, it wasnt that bad and was more of an adventure than just flying down. However, i dont think I'd do it again because of the dodgy bus ride! When we got to Phuket we got a taxi to Karon beach where we're staying now. It's very touristy and is full of people on holiday, though because it's low season it's quieter. We got some food and found a decent hotel to stay in when we arrived. Later on we went for a walk and checked out the beach which is lovely. Everything I read on the internet said the weather would be pretty rubbish this time of year but it's been hot and sunny for the past 3 days with no rain at all!

Yesterday we hired a scooter (sorry grandad!) and went for an explore. First of all we headed up to the 'big buddha' which is made of marble and sits on top of a big hill. From the top we got some amazing views of the island. The ride down was pretty fun too! We then drove to a smaller beach along from ours and went for a swim. The water looked deceptively calm but because of strong rip currents this time of year the red flags were out. Unfortunately we couldn't go out very far but the water was lovely and clear and warm. In the evening we decided to investigate Patong which is the next town along. It's much bigger and more tacky than the town we're in. We went to a restaurant where some of the waitresses broke out into an argument which provided great entertainment. Afterwards we went looking for lady boys on Bangla road, we spotted a couple but it was quite early on. We might come out for a drink here tomorrow night, especially since we saw a Hard Rock Cafe. Ryan took the scooter out for another ride around before we had to take it back. He said he saw a man with a baby elephant on the sea front which sadly I missed out on.

Today we joined a boat tour to some of the islands. First we went to Maya bay on Phi Phi Ley where 'the Beach' was filmed. Unfortunately it's not quite as idyllic as it is in the film because of all the boats and tourists. It is however still beautiful. Next we went snorkelling over an area of coral where we saw lots of tropical fish. Ryan saw a little reef shark which is apparently harmless. We were then supposed to see monkeys on the next beach but they didn't want to come out to play. We had lunch on Phi Phi Don island which was pretty nice to be fair. Our last stop was Khai island where we did some more snorkelling. Luckily we'd decided to hire flippers because a few people got spiked by sea urchins! After chilling on the deck chairs and eating lots of watermelon and pineapple we headed back to Phuket. Overall the tour was good and the snorkelling was especially awesome. It would have been a lot better if everywhere wasn't so packed full of people, though we were expecting that. Ryan went to look round some shops while I was writing this, though he has just returned from going drinking with some random Australian guys, I think he's a bit a bit drunk...

Lots of love,

Jo and Ryan