Hi guys, it’s been a while since we made an update as we are now actually in Sydney and now having gotten Xmas and NY out of the way we can finally finish our journal updates. I think the last time we wrote we were in Bangkok on our way through to Koh Samui. Koh Samui was our base for that evenings full moon party which we were hoping was going to live up to expectations as we had travelled the full length of Thailand by bus and plane in only half a day for this event. We headed to a bar near our digs and met up with 2 Aussies who we headed over to the party with...We took a speed boat to Ko Pan Ngan and the party was great, about 10,000 people, lots of different music so everyone’s tastes were catered for. We tucked into our first bucket which consists of Samsong (Thai whisky) Red bull and coke we were then ready to explore the beach. The beach consisted of various bars with each one with a DJ blasting out its selected genre of Dance music. Goan trance, D and B, House, Techno and even one place playing cheese which was surprisingly popular. As the evening went on and more buckets were consumed we thought it would be a good idea to visit one of the stalls which very artistically paint you in florescent paint in a design of your choice. As classy as this sounds it wasn't but it was a whole load of fun! I had a big florescent yellow Spiders web painted across my head with a pink spider in the corner and the word DISCO diagonally down my back Dani had a floral design around her navel area which looked pretty good (see photos). It was a great party and funnily out of all those 10,000 people I bumped into 2 mates we met in Goa at the beginning of our trip. I actually tripped over one of them as he was bent down looking for a bracelet he had just dropped in the surf. We finally got back about midday the next day, those buckets really do keep you alive and kicking for a fair old while, I even did my bit for the environment and stayed back to help clean up the beach for a couple of hours, it wasn't that much of a chore as the sun was shining, stunning views and a decent crowd around me, needless to say when we got back we crashed instantly. We decided to move down to Chaweng in Samui for a bit more of a party atmosphere as we were staying in the north of Samui which was a bit quiet for us. It was pretty resorty though and everything was set up for holiday makers but the night life was pretty awesome and we had all the amenities which were most welcome as we had spent long periods of our trip with very basic amenities. So that evening I tucked into a Whopper meal! Yummy! We hung around for a few days with one of the days spent travelling up to Ang Thong Marine National Park which is popularised by its role as home to the Utopian beach society in Alex Garlands novel 'The Beach'. This was a fantastic day which comprised of Kayaking, snorkeling at various points and chilling on secluded white sand beaches and bathing in crystal clear waters. The actual park was stunning with a combination of sheer limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, hidden lagoons and dense vegetation in postcard perfect quality. Hi there. Our last night in Ko Samui was spent checking out the big clubs who’s music kept us awake until well after dawn on those nights we dared to try and sleep for even a few hours. Although there had been some whacky behaviour, severe memory loss, charging energy well into the next day and crappy hangovers drinking the ol’ Thai Whisky and Red Bull, Dave and I thought it a great idea to spend another night drinking the poison. We started off in a few busy bars out on the beach, and before long got chatting to some British lads who were on a weeks holiday there and in big, messy party mode. Went to all the big clubs with them which are all pretty much located in a circle around our hotel. They were good fun, with lots of local girls trying desperately to make cash machines out of the guys and doing some hard core flirting. Dave was in his element (with the music not the girls) as he was badly missing his house music the whole time we were away. I threw in the towel around 6am and headed back to our hotel. Why I bothered I don’t know. The Red Bull there is a thick syrup, I guess the unconcentrated version of the stuff we get in the UK and Australia. Dave turned up when it was all over, but both of us couldn’t sleep a wink. It was unfortunate for us then that at noon that day we had to get ourselves packed up and out to the waiting minivan as we were leaving Ko Samui and heading over to Krabi on the Andaman Coast. Ouch. The journey would have been a nightmare for anyone who’d had a good nights rest. For us it was torture! We arrived around 9pm in Krabi to a lovely hotel where we were told was convenient for catching a ferry over to the Andaman Islands in the morning. Ah, there were so many lies to be told to us from that point on! We woke up to a really pretty hotel on the coast (but not with a beach) and a spectacular back drop of huge rocks and mountains out over the water and along the opposite coast. Nice and all but with our trip coming quickly to an end we wanted to get out to Ko Lanta that same day. We’d heard it was a beautiful island and not as busy as the famous Phi Phi island nearby. The hotel manager insisted that we had missed the Ko Lanta boat for the day, so we could only go to Phi Phi, and we were an hour from the dock so we would have to go when the pick-up truck-cum-taxi could take us. Fine, we’d take it! A while later our backpacks and ourselves were thrown onto the back of this ute, along with about 8 other people and we all had to cling on for dear life and we were driven to the Krabi dock. Got chatting with a lovely couple who were in the same situation as Dave and I, only she was British and he was Austalian. Chatting, giggling then we somehow realise that Dave and the guy have a mutual friend in Ben back in Clapham, London. Not only are they both friends with him, but Dave and Ben had DJ’d at this guys house for his birthday in July. How random!! So it was nice to see some people vaguely familiar to us.Well we ended up getting to Ko Lanta, despite what the lying hotel manager said, and that evening we arrived in the beautiful Dream Team resort. It had lovely bungalows, a beautiful swimming pool and lounging area, was all very lush and green but was not quite on the beach we wanted. The beach was rocky for a start, and it was quite a bit more south than where we wanted to be, but it was nice so we decided to stay for a few night at least (but ended up staying the whole week). The week there was so relaxing, just what we needed after 3 and a half months backpacking through 8 countries. (We do not however recommend this hotel, and if you are going to that Island feel free to ask us why!)One day we did a trip out to Ko Phi Phi, to see the uninhibited island of Phi Phi Leh where the movie The Beach was filmed. Both island of Phi Phi were totally devasted during the Tsunami but there was no evidence of this by the time we got there. It was absolutely stunning. And Phi Phi Leh was also quite bizarre looking. The boat circled around the outside of the island, and it generally looks like dramatic limestone cliffs on all sides. It doesn’t look like you could get on to it, but then there a few inlets, inside of which are bays and beaches with sparkling clear water and silver white sand. They are so very pretty, but not what it looks like in the movie as there are no natural palm trees or anything like that. Well we were Impressed!! The boat anchored quite a bit out from the famous beach for some snorkelling in the deeper water, but after we spent time swimming around looking at all the pretty fishies, we didn’t leave ourselves enough time to swim over and check out the beach before the boat moved on. Damn. We also got to check out Phi Phi Don which is lovely but so incredibly overcrowded. Just before our whole trip came to an end we did another scuba diving trip. As we are pretty much basic beginners we were limited on some of the site we could go to, but one sounded gorgeous so we booked that. On the day of our dive the weather was a bit gloomy and very very windy. The water was so rough, and although I have never got seasickness in my life, I was feeling very nauseous by the time the boat rocked on over to the site after 3 hours of travel. Ew. The dive site was surrounding and in between these two massive rocks in the middle of the ocean. It didn’t offer much protection from the waves and on the surface we were thrown around like nothing else. As soon as we jumped into the water, something happened to my equipment which meant I had to get back on the boat and replace it. This is difficult enough with weight belts and an aluminium air tank strapped to your body, but with enormous waves crashing you into the back of the boat and then down again so you loose grip of the ladder, it is ridiculous. Second time in, I couldn’t equalise (which means unblock your ears to alleviate pressure as you descend) so I had to quit the first dive and watch from the boat as Dave and the others went down and saw a turtle and all sorts of great things. But the second dive I was all ok, and Dave and I went down with a dive master and this Dutch guy who has done squillions of dives before so they were pointing all sorts of stuff out to us. We also went into our first under water cave. OOHHH! Wicked stuff. There were no scary sharks this time, but we saw an octopus and played with a little Nemo (Clown Fish) – they are so sweet as they swim after your finger and generally like to be around you and play. I haven’t quite mastered swimming directly upside down to peer between rocks, especially when there’s a current, but I damn well tried! Dave uses us air really quick, which is natural for men divers and those who are relatively new, but luckily for me I am very conservative so I got to stay down for just over an hour with the other 2 and try to make up for the first dive I missed out on. We are so glad we squeezed another diving trip in. Hopefully we will get another chance here in Oz very soon.And so our trip came to an end. We left Ko Lanta to catch an overnight bus up to Bangkok for our flights. On this trip our bags were looted (from the locked compartment beneath the bus), and thieves got away with xmas presents I had bought for family back home, filthy cargo pants, and jewellery from me, and jewellery, mobile phone, clothes and pocket knife from Dave. Sounds as though this is common though on these sleeper trips, as our insurance doesn’t cover anything stolen between 8pm and 6am on transport. Hmmm.Anyway, our trip from Bangkok to Sydney was pretty non-eventful and before you know it we were pushing our trolley through the doors at the airport to see my grinning family bouncing up and down right at the front of the welcoming crowd in the arrivals hall. It was very good to be home. Oh and not much has changed here really. My whole family have moved since I lived here, with Mum and my brother in a gorgeous place in Epping (where we are staying till we find our own place), my Dad knocked down his house and is building another and my sister now has a gorgeous flat on Bondi beach with THE BEST view ever, my dog now resembles a barrel with legs but other than that, I guess it doesn’t feel like I’ve been away. Oh, except for one thing. Dave!!!

We have loads of piccies from Dave’s first hot Christmas and New Years Eve with the fireworks in Sydney harbour. All very touristy but still part of our trip as we haven’t settled into “real” life yet.

Lots of Love Dave and Danixxx