The Second stage of my Thai journey finally brought me to the first beach of my travels. After catching the sleeper train from bangkok down to surathani (Despite what you may think, it is nigh on impossible to sleep on a sleeper train due to the fact that everytime the train stops you are thrown from your bed!). From Surathani i caught a number of buses to the coast where i caught the ferry to Koh Samui.

Koh Samui is a fantastic place finally getting to a beach was wonderful. Being out of the hustle and bustle of northern Thailand and in a generally more laid back area is much easier to cope with.

However after a day or two on the beach i decided to get out and about and see some of the island. The best way to do this was by elephant so i hired an elephant with a few people ive met over here and went elephant treking through jungle rivers and up steep rocky hills. It was a fantastic experience i will never forget not least because our elephant had to be the only one that on every occasion possible tried to hit us with its trunk or spray us with water.

Later on in the week i went snorkeling in the clear blue waters around the area i was staying. It was fantastic if not a little intense with some of the marine wildlife. I also experienced an ice bar made completley of ice and kept at a constant -7 degrees at all times. Having to get into big wooly coats and hats it was a real experience some where the temperature is above 30 degrees c.

I moved on from the more popular area of koh Samui which began to feel a little like the Med, to an area completley out of the way on the otherside of the island. This was fantastic i got my own beach hut. The pool at the hotel was linked to the sea and had a pool bar (which i spent some considerable time at). This part of the holiday is definatley the bit where i relax and take in that little bit of paradise.

Next i took a ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan. This is a much smaller island and in my view much prettier. This is the island famous for one thing: The Full Moon Party.

The full moon party is one of the biggest backpackers events worldwide. It is held monthly on the day of the full moon this time round being the 23rd of October. What an event a huge beach full of thousands of people from around the globe. Fire dancers, People on stilts, and various other crazy things you can take part in. These included flaming skipping rope, jump through the hoop of fire and a huge slide into the sea. A great time is all i can say i had.

The days after (Recovering from the full moon party) I went kayaking, got a free massage at the hotel and tried local cuisines.

I am back in Koh Samui now awaiting my flight to Kuala Lumpor.