Sawadee Ka friends,

Well the last time I wrote I was on the other side of Thailand. Since then, whilst back on Koh Samui I took a day trip to the Ang Thong National Marine Park - an archipelago of 40 small islands with sheer limestone cliffs and white sandy beaches, located 30km north west of Samui. I had a great day snorkelling, sea kayaking (just for you dad) and a mountain climb to a viewpoint across all of the islands.

The last night in Samui was spent hustling the locals and international visitors on the pool tables then a bit of D.I.S.C.O. Hungover the next day, I jumped on a plane that took me to Krabi on the other side of the country, then a boat ride out to the last leg of my Thailand trip.

Since Friday I've been here on Ko Phi Phi on the other side of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. I've stayed in Ko Phi Phi Don, which is part of another National Marine Park, including Ko Phi Phi Leh (setting for 'The Beach') where development is forbidden, meaning it will remain an idyllic paradise of white sandy beaches and dense tropical jungle.

As there are no cars permitted on the island, the main mode of transport is bikes and, as in the photo, longtail boats which spend all day buzzing between the various islands.

As well as lazing around on the beach for a couple of days, I took a longtail boat trip to visit Bamboo Island, full of bamboo; Monkey Beach, full of monkeys; Mosquito Island; full of...er..you get the idea right? The trip also took in Ao Maya on the west coast of Ko Phi Phi Leh, where the Beach was filmed. It had some fantastic coral reefs and coves to snorkel in. Fish everywhere!

Unable to do any training in this heat, I kept up my mountain climbing with a trip to the P.P. viewpoint, overlooking the whole island. Well worth the sweat that was pouring off me when I got to the top.

Ao Ton Sai is the 'tourist village' where most of the hotels and guesthouses are situated and also where I'm staying. It's also a maze of streets with bars, restaurants and shops that are really handily located for my pad. As the sun goes down by 7pm, it turns into a crazy town, with beach parties and bars all trying to drag you in for the best buckets in town! The local favourite being Sang Som, concentrated Red Bull and Coke.

Ao Ton Sai was virtually wiped out by the Tsunami on Boxing Day 2004 and scars on the landscape remain. Since then, there has been a lot of re-building, but sadly it appears that much of this has been allowed to go on unregulated. Buildings that can best be described as "shacks" stand shoulder to shoulder with more permanent structures and there are areas in the town that resemble the slums of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire.

I found out on the first night that everything shuts down here at 1am - this was a 100 day order put in place by the local police, after the fatal shooting of a 17 year old Thai. The shooting took place following a long-running feud between two rival bars and their respective owners a couple of months ago. I've come to realise that there's no trouble in Thailand unless you're stupid enough to go looking for it. The police will not take the side of a farang (foreigner) in a dispute versus a local. So best to steer well clear.

My abiding memories of Phi Phi will be the wonderful natural beauty - crystal clear seas that are teaming with marine life and wash up onto golden sands evrywhere you go. For me, it's the jewel in the crown. I can't help thinking that the Provincial Government don't fully appreciate what they have here. Post-tsunami, there was an opportunity to put a stake in the ground and set groundrules on building, development and waste control. Hopefully, a 20 baht (40p) tax that each visitor must pay from 1st April 2010 will go some way to alleviating the waste problem. I would set it at 100 baht and clean the place right up, with fines imposed for those who break the rules.

That's the end of my Tour De Thailand (well bits of it). I fly to Singapore tomorrow afternoon and then on to Sydney, arriving on Saturday. Thanks for the messages and yes, I promise, I will get the piccies uploaded when I get to Oz.

And finally, the weather with Paula Fische: The weather in Thailand is officially "scorchio". I had to get that one in!