On arrival at Phuket we headed straight to our hotel and settled in. Man, it was so nice to be able to unpack our bags and hang our clothes up in the wardrobe as we were staying here for 8 nights. The minute we had unpacked and made ourselves comfortable there was an unpleasant smell coming from the bathroom. Yes you guessed it. We had to repack and move to a different room. (we had even put up Xmas decorations!)

Mum and Dad were staying in a much more expensive hotel just under 10 minutes walk away on a very steep hill! Our hotels were in the quiet northern end of Patong so we didn't get caught up in the chaos of Bangla Street where everything happens.

During our time in Phuket, we saw several lady boy shows which were fabulous. One of them was a proper cabaret where they dressed up in proper show girl attire. The look on Dads face was priceless.

Throughout our stay we lazed on the beach several times in Patong, Karon and Kata beach. Treated ourselves to some beauty treatments and Helen had the worst manicure in her life as the nail varnish wasn't put on properly but she didn't have the heart to say so. We ate, drank and people watched in the evenings.

We did a couple of day trips; a Phuket island tour which was absolutely crap as it was all a ploy just to get us tourists to spend our money on crap such as pearls and a 'market' which was in fact a high end shopping centre with probably Thailand's largest jewellery centre. At least it was a free tour as Mum and Dad had booked several tours! (our guide was so annoyed with us as we didn't buy anything!)

We also took a day trip to Phi Phi where we saw the world famous Maya Beach from 'the Beach' and it was jam packed with tourists. Nick remembers ten years ago there wears hardly anyone on the beach. Whatever happened to the recession?

We weren't allowed to visit Viking Cave as some Chinese oil company purchased the cave from the Thai Govt as inside the cave they collect stuff to make birds nest soup. I wonder how much Thailand were paid as they probably got a fair bit from tourism in itself.

We saw loads of monkeys on one of the beaches, Monkey bay and the tourists get the chance to feed the monkeys. We all were specifically told NOT to touch the monkeys and of course some stupid woman from our boat thought it would be incredibly cute to stroke one on the head. The monkey immediately launched into attack mode and wouldn't leave the woman alone which was hilarious to watch.

We went snorkelling, where Mum took her first water steps and did some snorkelling with us. This was good fun but the water was far too shallow and the fish were very aggressive leading to some squeals from both Helen and Nick. (they didn't bite Mum). Goes to show how feeding the fish can change their behaviour.

Christmas Day was spent at the pool at Mum and Dads hotel where we indulged in some water 'netball' and played on the water slides. After showering and getting ready we went to a hotel for a Christmas dinner which we abs loved as you cannot have Christmas day without Christmas dinner. (the turkey was from USA and the pudding was from the UK or at least that's what they say). The evening was spent at Mum and Dads hotel face timing with Helens family and then back to our hotel to Skype with Nicks family.

Another day tour was spent in Ao Phang-Nga park visiting several islands. Yes we are visiting all the James Bond sets after visiting Udaipur. Ko Phing Kan (James Bond Island) was used as a location setting for The Man with the Golden Gun. Again, it was overrun with tourists. Thailand is not as serene and peaceful as it once was. It is also extortionately expensive!

Our last evening in Phuket with Mum and Dad was spent at Fantasea which was a 'Thai Cultural Show'. We had a buffet where we ate until we burst, played in the arcade winning some prizes and wandered through their mini zoo where they had gorgeous white tigers who appeared bored out of their minds pacing up and down their enclosure. The show itself was colourful, some brilliant co ordinated dancing but we wouldn't call it Thai!

On the last day, we went to Kamala town to browse their market. The market was closed and the town was a dump but we did manage to find an irish pub that did reasonably good grub to fill Mum and Dads tum ready for their long flight home. It was time to say farewell to Mum and Dad. We had an absolutely fab time with them and were gutted to see them go home! Of course, we tracked their flight all the way home to ensure that they got home safe and sound. A massive thanks to Mum and Dad for an amazing time!