Well a lot has been going on since we last hooked up. As you know, we met up with Bev and Catherine and have been having a whale of a time since. I will start from where we left off. We had organised a trip out of Ho Chi Minh City and hit the Mekong Delta. We were on a bus at 8am bound for two days and one night right in the southern area of Vietnam. The first day of the trip was action packed with bus ride and boat trips into the heart of the Mekong Delta. Our first stop was at My Tho, a small island strewn with businesses making their way through life by selling local tradition products using traditional techniques. We saw a wide range of production methods from making rice paper to making coconut candy. The best one was the place that made rice wine, as they showed us the traditional method to make it but then they pulled out the snake wine. Now this was a sight for sore eyes, a massive jar full to the brim with rice wine, seven poisonous snakes, five scorpions and the icing on the cake was a bird that has been dead and left in there for twelve months. As soon as he asked who wanted a taste I was the first to say "Whey aye!" As he past me the cup, the first thing I done was smell it and it smelt like wet dog. Funny how things taste like they smell. Ashleigh stepped up straight after and took a good gulp. It wasn't the worst thing we have ever tasted but it wasn't really up there with the best either. We walked further down My Tho stopping at the different businesses for another 45 minutes or so being shown bee keeping, snakes, sweet making, rice paper and other stuff you normally wouldn't think about seeing. We hopped back on our boat and Ben Tre was our next stop. We made our way via boat and are main stop off was for lunch. After we had all fed our faces and refreshed ourselves from the heat of the sun, we made our way down to the river where we would take a hand rowed boat down river to our waiting boats. The four of us sat in the boat whilst it felt like it would tip over any second. We settled into the motion and had to get into the spirit of the situation by adorning those pointy hats you see the locals wearing in the paddy fields.

So looking like a bunch of nobs, we bobbed down the river enjoying the sights and laughing at Bev getting attacked by a tree branch and nearly knocking her hat off. After around 30 minutes we arrived at our boat ready for the three hour boat ride to where we would stay for the night, Can Tho. The boat ride felt long but was sharp passed by playing cards and drinking beers. We got to Can Tho at around 7pm and as we moored up our guide fell off the boat absolutely soaking himself. He was ok though, the only thing wrong with him was the squish of his trainers as water squeezed out as he walked. We paid $21 each for the trip and this included our hotel stay. We weren't expecting much of the place with the price but we were pleasantly surprised. It was clean, there was a TV and relatively hot water. We had stayed in a lot worse for a lot more is what I'm trying to say. We all went for a walk down by the river to find a good place to eat. We stopped at a place that Bev had spotted when she got off the boat, it was that busy we had to go back after a table could be reserved for us at 9pm. The food was great and worth waiting for. Some things on the menu were rather exotic to the western pallet and I spotted the set meal of serpent. Now this had to be had as over the past few days we had ate a lot of things we normally wouldn't have ate, we have had crocodile, dragon fish, snake and frog. It was on the menu so why bloody not. We had to stop at steamed goats penis and testicles, no way was I putting that in my mouth. But anyway, snake curry is the best and was absolutely delicious. They should put it on the menu at Concord Tandoori as it would go down a treat. Ashleigh and Bev got another set menu and I have never seen so much food on one table. They didn't pay much but dish after dish came and we all had to pitch in to get rid of it. We practically rolled back to our hotel with bellies full to bursting ready for a good night sleep.

The next day we had to meet our tour group in the hotel lobby at 7.30am to walk back to the boat for day two of our Mekong Delta trip. We started by taking a 45 minute ride down to Vietnam's biggest floating market, the Cai Rang. It was different to all the other floating markets we had seen as it was all boats instead of stalls attached to the side of the river. It was brilliant watching the locals who live along the Mekong canals making a living by sailing up to other boats selling fresh fruit, drinks and food amongst other things.After taking in the atmosphere of the bustling market, we made our way further down river to stop at a rice noodle making shop. The machines they used to make the noodles looked like something off a Wallace and Grommet movie. Again, a thing you probably wouldn't think about going to see but interesting all the same. This process was repeated by a visit to a rice factory and then we were off again by boat to Cai Rang where our bus would pick us up to take us back to Ho Chi Minh City. We were back four hours later arriving around 7.30pm and were more than ready to have a bite to eat and hit the hay as we were all bushed.

We had booked flights out of Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok as this was the cheapest and quickest mode of transport to transfer onto the Thai islands. We were on route to Ko Phi Phi and planned to spend a few days there sunning our skin on the beautiful white sandy beaches. Our overall opinion of Vietnam was that there just seemed to be something missing. Maybe we had built it up too much or that we had moved on too fast and missed some parts of real beauty. I don't know, it could just be that our heart belong to Cambodia and its hard to beat their charms. But first of all we had a nights stay over in Bangkok and turned out rather handy being with somebody who lived there. It was great of Catherine to put us up for the night and we were really grateful. Plus you can't knock a free night's accommodation. It was nice just sitting in watching TV with a glass of wine and waiting for our pizza's to be delivered. We were up ready and out the door by 9am as we had to get to the airport for our flights to Krabi. Half way there Ashleigh noticed she had left her phone at Catherine's and we had to decide to go back for it or not. What's she like eh? We came to the conclusion that if we did go back we would defiantly miss our flight so we had to carry on without it. At least it has been left at a friend's and not some random hotel. Catherine say's she can send it out to Bali for us to our hotel so at least we will have it again at some point.But we made our flight fine and touched down at Krabi an hour after we took off. We have loved flying after using buses and trains for the past two months. It is so quick and relatively cheap as long as you fly with the Asian airway company's. To travel the distance we had in the past two days by our normal method, it would probably have taken around a week and would have been very uncomfortable and long days of constant travel. We hopped in a taxi from Krabi airport to take us to the dock just after the driver shut the boot on my head as I was putting my bag in it. With a little bump and rubbing my bonce we arrived at the dock where we would take the boat to Ko Phi Phi Island. The boat ride over was great as we chatted and drank beers in the sun. Some of the sights were beautiful and reminded us of Halong Bay but with clearer skies. After a few hours and chatting to some blokes who were from Phi Phi, we arrived and were off the boat as quick as we could be to check out places to stay. One of the guy's we had been speaking to on the boat, Lo, stayed with us and showedus an office that had different priced places to stay and it was great of him to help us out. At first you think "What does he want? Money probably!" but sometimes they are just helpful people who just want to help.

So we had found a place to stay and Bev and Catherine had already booked there hotel in advance. We loaded our bags into a barrow that was wheeled along as we walked to our places of residents. There are no roads, cars or motorbikes on Ko Phi Phi and the streets whined through the centre of the island surrounded by bars, restaurants, shops and massage parlours. It was funny walking through the streets and it felt like being in one of the villages in the Metro Centre, only a lot bigger and the ceiling being replace by clear blue sky. It took around ten minutes to walk to our digs, stopping a few minutes earlier down the road to drop of Bev and Catherine at their hotel. We had booked a bungalow for the next four nights looking out over the beach and the alcove where the sea would spill outward as far as the eye could see. Our bungalow was basic but it done the job that it was required for, we only went there to sleep and wash. So after dropping our bags in, we walked down to Bev and Catherine's hotel and met up to explore our surroundings and found a place to grab some food and a few drinks. We mainly stayed around the beach of the island as this was the liveliest area. It was amazing how the beach would change from day and night. By day, a tranquil spot for boat rides and sun bathing and by night an illuminated party for all with fire shows and heavy dance music pumping out till the early hours. The past few days on Phi Phi have been great and we have all loved taking time out and enjoying the sunshine and food throughout the day and having a good old knees up on the beach at night time.

We took a day boat trip out to the different islands that surround Phi Phi setting off at 11am and we were blown away with the beauty of the place. We visited Bamboo Island first and I have never seen sea waters as clear. We put on our snorkels and masks and went for a splash about and within minutes we were surrounded by fish of all colours and sizes. They weren't shy or scared either and would swim right up to your face to have a look. We thought this was amazing and spent a good half hour lazily bobbing up and down as the fish swam beneath us. A bit more sun bathing was squeezed in before we got back onto our boat and taken to our next stop. We arrived after a while at a large alcove full with the brilliant clear water and anchor was dropped so we could dive off the boat for another splash about. After swimming till our fingers were wrinkly we were back on the boat again and on route to the next island. It was the island where they filmed The Beach and it was proper paradise. Ko Phi Phi Leh is uninhabited and classed as a national park but it has become a bit touristy after the film was made but amazing to see all the same. We spent some time walking around the island and catching some more sunrays before we were back in our boat again and on our way back to Ko Phi Phi Don (the real name for the island we were stopping on) but to Monkey beach. This beach does not really disappoint and I'm sure you can guess why it is called Monkey beach. The grumpy looking monkey's sit on the rocks and in the trees along the beach trying to steal food from the tourist that seem to taunt them constantly. I found it really funny to watch a monkey grab and spill a bloke's beer all over the beach after he had been winding it up with some food, holding it down to the monkey then pulling it away at the last moment. I thought it was cruel what these people were doing to these wild animals and I thought the bloke got what he deserved. After seeing the monkey get its own back on its tormentor we got back on our boat and were homeward bound back to the beach that we had set off from. It was only round the corner from Monkey beach and only took a few minutes. On our way round Ashleigh spotted a school of dolphins 20 meters away from our boat. There must have been at least 20 of them and they bobbed in and out of the water taking in air. It was a great way to end the trip and we were back on the beach by 4pm.

We had spotted a few traditional tattoo studios around the island and the thought of getting one had been eating away at me. So the next day as we met up on the beach, we sat and had breakfast and sat in the sun for a while. Ashleigh spotted a shack on the beach and had inquired with the owner how much it would cost to have a tattoo done of a design I had seen in Vietnam. After a little while and being talked into by Ashleigh I agreed thinking "If I don't get one now I never will, sod it lets do it!" Now these tattoos are not like your normal electric needle tattoo. They use a long sharpened stick of bamboo and attach three needles to the tip. This is then dipped in the ink and hand pushed repeatedly into the skin. I've heard that getting tattooed on your ribs is the most painful place to get it done so I thought I might as well jump into the deep end and get it done there, down the right hand side. I have to admit certain points felt like my skin was being ripped open but on the whole wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. After an hour and a half in the chair I was done and over the moon with my first tattoo. It is a gecko lizard that looks quite pop arty. I feel that this will be the first of many. A few days after I had mine done Ash decided to get one too, so we hunted out the same guy who had done mine and he went to work. She opted to get a small heart and peace sign tattooed on her right wrist and it looks really nice and cool. She didn't even flinch and made me look like a right softy even though her tattoo only took ten minutes. We are both really pleased with them and it makes it more personal to us knowing that we had them done on our travels on a little island in paradise. We loved Ko Phi Phi that much we decided to stop for one more day as we didn't want to say goodbye to it just yet.

Today is the day we finally left Ko Phi Phi and we are currently sat in a bar on Railay beach after a morning of boat rides to get us here. Who knows how long we will stop, we will just have to see. We had found out some news whilst in Bangkok that took the wind out of our sails. I don't need to go into detail but we want Marg to know we love her deeply and that we are thinking of her all the time. We miss and love you very very much. The good ship adventure is now back on course and ready to keep sailing, where we end up next...who knows!

Love Peter and Ashleigh x