Hi Guys,
My last day in Phuket was more of a disappointment. I can see now why a lot of backpackers skip this area out. The weather still wasn't great but I decided I should at least go see one of the Beaches. I went to one that was recommended by a couple of people in the hostel but they said it wasn't as great as others they had seen. I headed out a local bus to the beach. Now-a-days the only cheap accomadation is in the backpackers area about 30 min from the beach, this is because the beach is filled with hotels for holiday makers. This was exactly what I encountered. As we got closer to the beach the streets were lined with tourist shops and places to eat, from the signs I could see it was over double the price for food compared to where I was staying. The beach was just a beach nothing special but when you turn around the whole road is just full of hotels and I could see next to no travellers on the beach. It was all familys or couples on holiday. People told me before I went that when I got to tourist spots I would hate it and I now see what they mean. The place lacked any original atmosphere and beautiful qualites that years ago made it stand out. It had been trashed by tourism. I didn't stay too long and was now intching to get going to Ko Phi Phi. My hostel was good fun though and I arrived home to find Sex and The City on. This was the highlight of my day in comparison and the first time I watched TV since leaving.
On my way the ferry the next day the sky was clear and the sun was shining. I breathed a sigh of relief as the weather reports said it was meant to rain rain rain. I knew as soon as I got there I had to make it to the beach as I wasn't sure how long it would last. I had met a girl called Sarah in the hostel who wanted to meet me at the pier on the island to maybe share a room. We had heard it was expensive here and were trying to make it cheaper. It worked out great as Sarah met a guy called Tisch on the boat and the three of us ended up sharing a room, cutting our prices down a lot. The room is basic with no hot water but you don't need it as it was hot. I was on the boat for just over an hour and had caught the sun a little too much :(
Once we were checked in, it was straight to the beach. The island is tiny and only takes about 10 miniutes from one side to the other. It again is pretty touristy and in a few years will be like Phuket but for now it it full of backpackers. It also has the rep for being a party island which you can see by the all the bars lining the streets. Its also the first place I have seen a lot of English people. I also seem to have bumped into nearly every person I have met in Thailand down here. Anyway back to the beach. The beach can only be described as something from a postcard. Its so pretty with big palm trees and jungle to the left and right of the bay and the water is nice and warm. That night the party scene was very evident, the streets are full of people offering you cheap drinks and its pretty dam noisy with all the music blaring. We started the night in Banana Bar on the rooftop. Oh my life. It was a glow in the dark bar where you could paint yourself. I had a skeleton hand painted on me, it was a cool place. I saw a windsor drawing on one of the walls and felt a little homesick when I thought of my lovely windsor ladies but it made me smile like hell too. I met Ingrid and Hooves up there who I spent my time in China with, they were part of our tour group. When I saw them on the street earlier that day, I was so bloody excited, it was awesome to see them again and such a suprise as I didn't realise they were still in Thailand. After this we headed to one of the beach bars which is where everyone ends up by the end of the night. Its crazy down there, the beach is lined with bars offering free shots or buckets. You have podiums with lady boys dancing on them, its hilarious. Although I could already see a couple of nights here was more than enough. That night was a good laugh where I had ended up with more paint on me due to guys running around drunk with paint pots. It was a very fun night and good to be back with old friends.
The next day my roomates and I decided to do a snorkeling trip. It was cheaper then hiring a boat for the day and meant you got to see a lot of different bits off the island. The second cove we went to was beautiful, the fish would quite happily swim around you not minding one bit. The masks were a bit rank so I ended up just using the eye mask and swimming to the bottom to check out the fish, it really was something out of a film. We also headed to one of the beaches used in the film 'The Beach'. That was even nicer than our beach as the water was crystal clear, the sand was white and there wasn't as many people around. It was a snapshot, and had jungle paths to explore- gorgeous. The day was meant to finish watching the sunset which we did for a while but then we all got bored and could see the grey clouds rolling in. We headed back a bit early, It poured that night and I got caught in it walking back to my room. I was drenched from head to toe but it stopped and we headed out to watch the fire show on the beach. It was pretty impressive watching them fling the fire torches around but sadly taking pictures of this does not work. The night was finished off by watching some thai boxing. I spent a lot of the match going oooh that must of hurt, they were getting kicked full on in the face and kept getting back up. Crazy people were clearly dis-orientated and kept fighting. The kicking was amazing to watch and must have bloody hurt but you could see it was very skilled. Then after the match western people could get in the ring and fight- stupid idiots. It was pretty funny watching these matches. Some of them would kind bounce around the ring throwing pathetic punches. What surprised me was that a lot of girls fight too. I didn't understand it as first but it was kinda tempting. Thank god I was sober or who knows what would have happened. You watch these people thinking, I could do better than that but they were hilarious to watch. Sometimes the fights were between friends and sometimes random people, you got a free bucket at the end of it which I think was a big pull for a lot of them. It was definately interesting to watch but after a while it got boring watching the same stuff so I headed home. The nightlife here is pretty intense, would be great for a girls holiday but I think 3 nights here is enough for me. There isn't a lot to do aside from drink and sunbathe so it will be good to get to another more chilled out island. A lot of the people here I met aren't that big a fans of the island. I can see that after a couple of days it starts to get the same, they could all easily blur into one. I was happy though to have one more day a head of me and then I would be ready to go. It was nice to finally be on an island with some sun and just start to chill out.

The next day my roomates and I headed up to the view points on the island. The view was great but it was still a little bleak and grey from the night before so the view wasn't as good as it could have been. It would have looked bloody impressive if the weather was good but I have seen some amazing pictures of the view points at Ko Tao, this is the island I am most looking forward to going to as I have heard it is still beautiful and a chilled out island. We then headed out for lunch and the weather was picking up again. Yippie. Yday we had seen a lot of great parts to the island so I decided I would just chill out in the bay and not disappear off to another beach near by. The water isn't as clear here as other parts. When I first got here I thought it was amazing but then I saw some of the others beaches around the island and know there are better. Don't get me wrong though, it's still an awesome beach. My time here has been fun and I have really enjoyed it but I am also ready to move on again. I have started to get the itch to move on after a couple of nights and not stay in one place too long. Tisch left today as he didn't like it here. I also keep bumping into Hooves and Ingy everywhere I go, it feels like we are stalking each other. The island is so small that I keep bumping into the same people but its fun. These last few days I have been with the same people which is nice, your not having to have the same convos over and over. Anyways tomorrow I am getting an early ferry to Krabi, I have been told a few places to go and am looking forward to pastures new.
I hope everyone is fine and well back home. Good luck with your christmas shopping people, not long now.
xxx SL xxx
P.s. the most annoying thing about the island-cyclists. Seriously the streets are tiny and always busy yet they persist to have their dam bikes! They don't go any faster than the people walking because there isn't room. Funny though as they spend most of the time saying beep beep and most of the time people just ignore them. Although I have seen some close calls between a cycist crashing into someone. Beware xx