We had to get up quite early today as our pick up was at 8.30am. We were taken to the pier in a big truck to catch our 9am boat to Koh Phi Phi. The boat was really busy, there are loads of holidaying Europeans as well as backpackers. On the way we saw loads of little rocky islands, including 'Chicken Island' which looks, as its name suggests, like a chicken.

We arrived at around 11am, and after paying the 20 baht entrance fee which goes towards keeping the island clean, we set about finding our guesthouse, 'Phi Phi Dream'. We headed the wrong way for about 15 minutes, then went back to the pier, exhausted from carrying our bags in the heat. We asked some people in a travel agent, who after some thought kindly offered to take us in a 'taxi'. There are no vehicles on Phi Phi so by taxi they meant putting our bags in a trolley which a man pushes along and you follow him! Vix was asking somebody else for directions when the taxi was offered, so as we walked past her at speed trying to keep up with out taxi driver, we called her name. We made it to the guesthouse after a five or ten minute walk, and Vix arrived a couple of minutes later having had to carry her backpack!

We were all very hot and bothered so were looking forward to getting to our room, but the lady at reception claimed that we were a day late! Our paperwork and hers showed different dates, and she had obviously been informed that we cancelled our second night that we originally booked, when in fact we cancelled our first. She called Natasha at Unseen Travel (the lady who booked everything for us) and they argued for a while. There were no rooms for us at Phi Phi Dream so Natasha had to find us somewhere else to stay.

The place we were offered was called Bamboo Mountain View and was another 10 or 15 minute walk uphill into the mountains - not fun. We were pleased to see when we arrived that there was a swimming pool, although because it was bungalow accommodation, our room was a bamboo hut perched on the side of the hill up a series of steep, uneven steps. Luckily we had air conditioning (although no remote so we couldn't change the settings) so I immediately collapsed on the bed and took advantage of the cool air.

We got changed into our bikinis and headed straight down to the pool, where the barman was playing reggae music loudly and there was a strong smell of weed in the air! We spent most of the afternoon in and around the pool, but it was quite a suntrap so I was completely overheating. At around 4pm it got too much so I went to have a shower and get changed. We were all showered and ready by not long after five, which is quite early, so we went down the mountain into town and found somewhere to have a fruit shake. My arms were boiling hot and itchy because I'd managed to burn them during the day.

After our shakes we wandered around the town for a while looking for somewhere to eat. There are signs all around saying 'Tsunami Evacuation Route' and 'Tsunami Hazard Zone - Incase of Earthquake go to High Ground or Inland'. Phi Phi was hit really hard by the 2004 tsunami so everything in the town is all new, although you can't really tell because a lot of the buildings are made of bamboo.

We had dinner at a fairly cheap place, where I had spaghetti and the others had a burger, and afterwards we ordered drinks. I had a Bacardi and coke, Vick had a glass of red wine, and Vix ordered a gin and tonic. When it arrived she thought it was gin and soda water, so she said to the waiter that she ordered tonic. He didn't quite understand so she just said 'this is just water!' and he seemed to get the message and took her drink away to change it (we saw him give it to the chefs). When he came back with a new one, it was clear that he hadn't quite understood, because she now had a gin and still water! She decided to drink it though to avoid having to try and explain again!

After dinner we went to meet our Canadian pal, Jordi, who we first met in Siem Reap, and then again at the Full Moon Party. He was with Julia, who
is German, we met her at Full Moon too, and an Irish guy called Damo who he had met that day. We had a drink together in a nice beachfront bar called Carlitos, and then they went off for some food and we went to another bar for a 99 baht (£2) cocktail, although in the end it was only me who ordered one. I ordered a Cosmopolitan, it was tasty but I was annoyed that it didn't come in the right glass!

We then headed back to Carlitos to watch the fire show and to meet Jordi and co. again. The fire show consisted of a bunch of guys twirling fire batons, fire poi, and other fiery things to music. They were so skilled and brave! I managed to get some pretty good photos even though my camera isn't amazing.

Jordi mentioned that there was a beach party going on on the other side of the island, so we all went there. It was like a smaller, chilled out version of the Full Moon Party; the atmosphere was really nice. By this point Damo's friend had joined us - he had been drinking all day and was passed out in his room, but had recovered enough to start again!

We all sat on a raised bamboo platform on cushions and I had a beer (it's cheap), and we just chatted and played drinking games for a while. We could see lightening in the distance too but the storm never reached us - it looked cool though.

We then headed to the next bar along, which was playing drum and bass, for a dance. The MC was terrible, it reminded me of going to drum and bass parties when I was about 15 and all of the guys fancied themselves as a superstar MC. The music was good though so we danced for a bit, until the two Irish guys decided that they were going to get tattoos!

The tattooing method was different to at home, they use one needle instead of three, and it is in a bamboo tube which they dip into ink all the time. Instead of a machine, they just stab (for want of a better word) the needle in over and over again by hand. Damo went first (he was having 'gecko' in Thai on his foot, and the other guy was having 'Big Man' - it is something to do with their favorite part of their trip when they were in Laos). He tried to put on a brave face but I could tell it was hurting him! He had to get his friend to buy him a whiskey bucket to numb the pain!

We left during his tattoo, but I hope they don't regret it in the morning!

We said goodbye to Jordi and Julia and set about finding our mountainside resort. We started off in the right direction and promptly got lost. In the dark with no streetlights I was quite scared! We had to backtrack for a while until we found the right road. A drunk Western guy holding up an even more drunk Thai girl walked towards us, and as we were walking up the road I noticed the guy was behind us on his own - he had obviously dropped her off somewhere. It looked quite dodgy!

Back in our bungalow I had planned to call my mum and Ed, but I was much too tired! We had to share two single beds pushed together, which we are used to, but we only had two pillows, so I offered to sleep without one. I managed to sleep but I've had better nights!

xxx