On the evening of the 8th (Full Moon Night!) we dined with a few of the people we'd met in Langkawi before heading back to the hostel to cover ourselves in fluorescent paint and put on the brightest clothing we could find. When we finally managed to tear ourselves away from fingerpainting each other we made our way down to the beach. The party was already in full swing and the sand was covered with thousands of people dancing and drinking from brightly coloured b...

We didn't do too much in Koh Samui. It was still raining the day after we got there and our room had a DVD player in it so we watched dodgy copies of 'Hangover II', 'The Golden Compass' and 'The Terminator'. We also sorted out the boring things, like our laundry and booking up our transfer to Koh Phangan. On the third day we woke up to sunshine - finally - so we beat a path to the beach and stayed there until the sun went down. On the 5th we caught the 1pm ferry...

On New Years Eve we rented a moped and spent most of the day driving around until our bums went numb. First of all we went north from our hostel, driving through lots of tangled green wilderness up to Tha Pom Klong Som Nam, a park with a beautiful river running through it. The water was crystal clear and icy cold and looked perfect for swimming. Unfortunately there were signs everywhere warning that there was a hefty fine for doing so, so we just had to be conten...

So, rock-climbing. We didn't suck at it but we didn't exactly excel either. Railay Beach was a fantastic place to try the sport though. We got a bus and a longtail boat there, arriving at 9am so that we could relax before our climb at 2pm. The golden beach was beautiful at that time, and so so peaceful. We were surrounded by rugged cliffs and caves and had a great uninterrupted view out to sea, where yet more huge rock structures rose majestically out of the wate...

On Christmas Eve we spent the day snorkelling around the nearby islands of Koh Phi Phi. The driver who took us to the marina drove like he was on a suicide mission and we kept finding ourselves swerving and ducking and/or stamping on imaginary brakes. After some time we realised it was easier if we just closed our eyes and prayed. We made it to the marina intact and with a new respect (fear?) for those brave enough to drive here. It's really not surprising that m...