Hi All!

We have moved a long way and done a lot of things since our last update. Zoe is now a fully qualified Ocean diver after we spent 4 days on the island of Koh Tao. The island was really beautiful, white sandy beaches and crystal clear water. This is why it is one of the number one places to learn to dive and also very cheap! So Zoe did her 4 day course and she saw Grouper Fish, Blue spotted Stingrays, barracuda, Box fish, puffer fish, parrot fish, trigger fish and big eels! Not bad for a first week diving! Whilst Zoe was doing this I did a couple of dives as well. It was really choppy when I went out and I got a bit seasick. I still did the dive and saw a lot of stuff but it is hard work swimming underwater when you feel like you are going to be sick!!!

After Zoe had finished her course we left Koh Tao and got the ferry to Koh Phangan. This is the island famous for its "full moon parties". Unfortunately we missed the full moon by a couple of days so decided to go to the north of the island. We had a beach hut overlooking the bay. You could snorkel about 100 yards from our hammock and there was beautiful coral and plenty of marine life.

When we arrived in the beach hut originally we were a bit hesitant - there were what looked like bird poos all over the bathroom floor and it smelt very odd. Still we are hardened travellers now and won't let ourselves be put off by things like that when the room is only costing 200 baht (4 pounds). We later realised that the culprits for this 'bird poo' were actually a family of foot long geckos living in the roof! They would crawl down the wall and stare at us with their beady eyes and then relieve themselves on whatever happened to be below them.. Charming!

We spent 5 days or so in this place because it was so peaceful. There was plenty of wildlife around - we even had a piglet running around the bungalows! We even saw a great big snake one night driving along a dark road. Zoe got a bit ill for a while so we used the time to rest and read.

Refreshed and relaxed we caught the ferry to the next island down (Koh Samui). This island was completely different - the streets are packed with all types of people, Westerners, Locals and Thai Lady Boys dressed in Cabaret outfits. Very odd. The streets were also quite smelly and it reminded me of my University project I did about Koh Samui and the environmental problems they are having there. We chatted to a Thai one night on the beach and he could not stop saying "very very busy, very very dirty". Despite this, the part we were staying in - Lamai Beach (which is south of the main town Chaweng), was quite peaceful. The beach was nice and the sea warm - although Zoe pointed out the foam on the surface many times!! We also tried a Thai Massage on the beach which was an interesting experience. We felt we had to try it as it is one of the things Thailand is famous for. It was quite painful at times but we both thought it was a good massage (although we have nothing to compare it with as neither of us have had one before!).

After a couple of days lazing on the beach and meeting up with one of our university friends on Koh Samui, we decided it was time to move on and get a bit more active. We caught a ferry back to the mainland and then a bus to Khao Sok National park - apparently one of the oldest rainforests in Thailand (also older than the amazon rainforest according to Lonely Planet). We had enjoyed the last national park we went to so much that we wanted to do some more. We went on a night safari when we arrived and were told we might see anything from frogs to tigers! We saw; Wild cats in the trees, Chameleons sleeping on the bamboo, a big tarantula spider, tree frogs, and a stick insect thing disguised as a leaf. I think we were both secretly relieved that we didn't come across any tigers!! We also had to be on the constant lookout for Leeches (although our guide didn't seem to be bothered as he was wearing flip flops!).
The next day we did something that I had really wanted to do - an elephant trek. It involved us both sitting up there on its back and then occassionally swapping places so that one of us could sit on the elephants neck. It was really bumpy but really fun. The power of those animals is unbelieveable.

We caught a bus to Phuket yesterday - we opted for the cheap no air conditioning which was an error. The cheeky Thais had got us on the bus saying "100 baht" to Phuket ( 2 pounds) which is pretty good for a 2 hour journey. Once we were on and going he tried to add another 40 baht on which we refused to pay. To our outrage it turned out that the bus had a broken wheel which they failed to mention when inviting us on!! 4 hours later having had the brakes slammed on every 500 metres we arrived in Phuket. Thankfully in one piece. Lesson learned - pay a bit more for the air con bus!!!

The blow was softened once we arrived at our hotel - the "On On hotel". If any of you have seen the 2000 film "The Beach" then we are staying in the exact room that Leo Dicaprio stays in in the film. We of course were starstruck when we found out!

That's it for now - 3 weeks left in Thailand and we are crossing the border to Malaysia.

Love Rich and Zoe