Now this is more like it! After a few hectic weeks of city breaks we've finally come to the famous beaches of Thailand - and it's glorious! (The picture isn't actually the beach we're at, but you get the gist!) We originally only booked in for four nights but we've had such a good time we decided to stay for a few more. The main beach on the island is Chaweng, but it's quite commercialised with all the brand names you'd find the world over - McDonalds, Starbucks and Pizza Hut to name a few. We wanted somewhere a little quieter to chill out so have come to Choeng Mon, on the north eastern side of the island. The beach was described in the guide book as the prettiest bay on the island with a lively resturant scene, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. A fine crescent of white sand is lined with palm trees, and a spattering of huts along the beach include some great bars with gorgeous Thai food. We're staying in a cute little bungalow about a minute's walk from the beach. Brilliant - I have to pinch myself to realise I'm really here! We've also been quite lucky as we've met up with some lovely people, Jen and James from good old Blighty (hi guys!) so we've spent the week hanging out with them. On Sunday night we all got a taxi to the bright lights of Chaweng, as that's where the main concentration of clubs can be found. It was a great night, dancing away and drinking buckets filled with rum, cola and Red Bull! The next day we felt quite rough but me and Matt decided the best cure would be a tour of the island. We hired a moped for the day so did a circular route of the island (its only about 20km across), stopping off for photos on the way. We stopped at a gorgeous beach where the tide was out and the sand stretched as far as the eye could see. Then we rode up to Na Muang waterfall, in the centre of the island. It was really pretty and we both went for a swim in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Today we've just been having another lazy day on the beach (it's a hard life!). Matt's feeling very tired though as his body clock is all over the place. He's been staying up all night to watch the World Cup matches, which have been starting at 2am. Hmm, not my cup of tea to be honest! Hope you are all ok and keep in touch, Love Nikki xxx