Hello!

We are sadly coming to the end of our short time in Thailand but we have had an excellent time here.

We flew into Phuket from Ho Chi Minh City and stayed in Phuket Town for a day before heading to Ko Phi Phi. Whilst in Phuket we were delighted to come accross a Blue Elephant Restaurant, the London equivilent being Simon's favourite place to eat in England. Despite being on a budget, we felt unable to resist splurging on the supurb food there for an evening! It was definitly worth it!

Ko Phi Phi was a glorious Island with beautiful beaches and lovely warm sea. We stayed in a pretty basic bamboo hut which was really fun apart from the army of mosquitos that left us looking like lepars! One day we went scuba diving in the crystal clear waters and were lucky enough to see Hornsbill turtles, Lionfish, numerous other tropical fish and over 40 Black Tipped Reef Sharks!! It was a fantastic experience. Phi Phi was a great Island but was slightly marred by the mass of western tourists who greatly outnumbered the local population. We decided to go in search of somewhere less crowded...

What we have found, nestled way off the beaten track in the Ko Tarutao marine national park, is a stunning island called Ko Lipe (pronounced leepay). It's pristine beaches are just as spectacular as Phi Phi but are blissfully lacking in holidaymakers. There is no pier and new arrivals have to get a longtail boat taxi to the shore. It is so lovely and relaxed we have stayed here for most of our time in Thailand. We went scuba diving as well and saw, amongst other things, our first Stingray as well as a Giant Moray Eel. We have one more day left on this spectacular island before we sail accross the border to Langkawi, a Malaysian Island slightly south of here.

We are looking forward to Malaysia and Singapore but will miss Thailand and Ko Lipe in particular!