So, Merry Christmas Everybody!

We arrived in Koh Phi Phi at midday on Christmas Eve and checked into Phi Phi Hill Resort which felt like it was on the top of Everest after climbing hundreds of steps to reach the resort from the beach - made worse by the blazing heat, do you feel sorry for us? No! We didn't think so! There was one blessing, a handmade contraption in the form of a trolley on a motorised pulley, which meant Kie needn't carry the bags up the never ending steps! The walk to our room was just as long as the walk up the hill, only this time on level ground! The hut on stilts didn't initially look all that great but once inside we had a massive room and a big enough bathroom. We decided to make our way down to Long Beach, which was at the bottom of our steps and was a long stretch of golden sand and the most beautiful clear water we have seen to date. After a while the sun got too much for Sophie and she started to feel really quite ill, so she headed back to the room for a sleep while Kie had an icecream and a drink in the bar - he's so sympathetic!

CHRISTMAS DAY! We woke up after an awful night's sleep with Kie having been bitten at least 75 times and Sophie still feeling under the weather. We had planned to go into the town and explore our surroundings but Sophie didn't feel up to the boat crossing to town and decided to stay in bed while Kie headed out alone! A few hours later Kie returned with an unexpected present for Sophie to cheer her up (maybe a little sympathetic after all)! It must have worked because Sophie magically felt well enough to go to the beach (or maybe it was the extra hours of sleep she'd had!). We spent the rest of the day on the beach and Skyping our families before eating and settling down at our table in the resorts restaurant ready for the nightly film. They were showing 'The Beach', a local favourite as it was filmed on the uninhabited neighbouring island of Phi Phi Ley.

BOXING DAY: We woke up early as we had arranged to go on the 'One Day Tour'. We boarded our longtail boat with four other couples and fought our way through the rough waves towards our first destination; Bamboo Island, where we spent an hour lounging around in the sun, snorkelling and watching two giant eagles circling above us - unfortunately as Sophie ran for the camera, they flew for cover! Back on the boat we headed towards our next stop Monkey Beach, stopping at a snorkelling hotspot along the way. Once we arrived we sat down and had lunch with another couple we'd got chatting to, Tom and Emma, two newlyweds from London who were on a nine month honeymoon! The monkeys on the beach at this point were luckily at the other end as Tom and Emma had met people the previous day who had been bitten by them! Later on they did venture down to our end of the beach and one of the cheeky b*****s nicked our bag of rubbish before ripping it open for the half eaten orange that was inside! With full bellies we made our way to the 'gem' of the tour - Maya Bay on Phi Phi Ley (where 'The Beach' was filmed), we stopped off en route to go snorkelling once again at Loh Samah Bay and had a quick drive through photo opportunity of Pileh Bay. Once we arrived, although impressed with the bay itself, we felt the amount of boats and tourists took some of the beauty away from Maya Bay. This was the last stop on the tour and after this we returned to our guesthouse for showers and some dinner. Having eaten we made our way back to the room where we were met by the biggest spider either of us had ever seen, it was easily 8 inches from the tip of one leg to the other with a huge body in between. Luckily the hotel owner, with a spider catching device in hand, was a lot braver than us and took care of the big pest! Without photographic evidence, it's hard to sum up exactly how big and ugly this spider was but unfortunately we were too busy pooing ourselves to get the camera out!

Sadly we left Phi Phi this morning - it has now become Sophie's favourite place so far in terms of beauty. We are now in Koh Lanta and absolutely loving our luxurious resort - although we don't love the price tag! We will update you on our stay soon!

Lots of love, Sophie and Kie xx