Greetings from a rather wet and windy Phi Phi. We arrived yesterday after a very rough ferry crossing, which somehow Trish still managed to sleep through! All the farangi (westeners) were fine but alot of the locals were quite unhappy to be seeing their breakfast again. We were glad to get back onto dry land and so found some accommodation to our liking.

As it is monsoon season we weren't expecting good weather but yesterday was pretty good. We took the chance and went for a wee wander around the streets. It's the first real compact streets we have met in our travels but this adds to the experience. The surrounding hills and other islands are beautiful, even in the rain and mist. We had the obligatory viewing of the film "The Beach" which was filmed here, every bar and restaurant seemed to be showing it, and planned to get the short boat ride to Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lay (location of that fabled beach) the next day.

We awoke to sun and heat but when we went out to book and get aboard the ferry the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down. And so we sat in our porch watching the rain with a can of Tiger. After an hour and so, with no sign of the rain stopping, we abandoned our plans, our trip to Maya Bay will have to wait until our next visit to Phi Phi. Once the rain finally broke we went for a hike up to the viewpoint which overlooks the island, an amazing sight indeed. When you look down you can't help but think what it would have been like to see the tsunami crash against the island on that faithful day all those years ago. The after effects are still evident, many new buidings are being constructed (even on the main street) and the memorial garden is quite emotional. The Asian Cup started tonight so that should keep me entertained for the next few weeks, Trish is delight!

Tomorrow we get our ferry back to Krabi where we will (hopefully) get our bus to Surat Thani where we then get another ferry to Ko Samui. Hopefully the weather will be considerably better on the east coast....