November 5th - Leaving Phi Phi, heading for Kuala Lumpur.

Thank god we packed most our stuff last night! Once again we were up at a stupid hour to begin another phase of this adventure but first things first - BUFFET BREAKFAST!! We made sure we had time to at least sample, if not feast, on what was on offer...even if it did mean less sleep, we had our priorities right!

As ever, the perception of the "English breakfast" had been a little diluted and corrupted on it's way over but it was tasty good all the same! Sams' face was a picture when she asked for bacon and the chef pretty much filled her whole place with rashers; needless to say I was straight in the queue when I saw his rather generous portions. The food was loverly, if a little rushed, as we needed to be checked out and ready for our longboat by 7:15am. As we checked out, we asked if we could change our minibus ticket so it would take us directly to the airport rather than Phuket town, as we thought still sore shoulders plus full backpacks might cause problems later. After some exchanges between all the staff behind the counter, all we could gather was to tell the people on the ferry - fair enough!!

Everyone leaving Phi Phi Island Village that morning was then put on to longboats to be taken to the ferry waiting just out of the bay. It was really sad to be leaving already, especially on what was looking like a lush day and so soon after arriving. Unfortunately, due to the ferry times from PP to the main land, this was the only way to make our flight on to Kuala Lumpur - oh well, onwards and upwards! It was a quick but moist ride with the sea spray getting me and Sam a bit wet, teach us for sitting at the front. Once aboard the ferry we got marked up as "Airport" (at no extra charge, bonus!) on our travel stickers. All pre-arranged travel is organised via stickers in Thailand, as we had just come from the nice resort we had fancy brightly coloured ones, soooo special! The ferry was still empty as it collected us first and then continued round to PP main pier for a 45 minute stop before going on to Phuket, we took advantage and got some nice pictures on deck, if maybe a little wind swept.

During our brief stop at the main pier we jumped ship and grabbed some bits and bobs, including a priceless picture of a chubby baby sat on his Dads knee. sam asked if she could take a picture and they looked really chuffed but the baby looked almost comatose, so the Mum made him laugh and the second picture was pure genius!! I guess all the locals know the travel stickers and what they represent, as we didn't once get heckled for a hotel or trip this time - must remember to pack some stickers next time, tout repellant!

Back to the boat and off to Phuket we went, this proved to be an eventful little voyage! As we had taken our bags when we had got off, our seats had gone and the next free two together were next to a couple of young dutch children sat in front of their parents (we had actually seen them at PP Island Village). Sam set about getting comfy on my shoulder to gain back some of the lost hours and soon nodded off. I was drifting in and out of sleep whilst taking in the views. I noticed the boy next to Sam looking less than ship shape and being handed a bag by his parents; he sat with the bag for a good while, undramatically, then it happened and he blew chunks, hewie lewised, made a pavement pizza (you get the idea), no wonder they don't sit with him! This was met by Sam sitting bolt upright and declaring rather loudly "YEP, NOW I'M AWAKE" (this really cracked me up!). The next hour was spent with sam keeping one eye on Pukey McVomalot who had his sick filled bag propped up on his chest, no hands!!! Eventually Sam could take it no longer and we headed for top deck to get some fresh air and a less tense atmosphere. Sitting dangling our legs overboard in the sun with the ocean breeze was lush and we were soon docking again and being welcomed to Phuket.

After a little scrimmage for bags (all piled up on the lower deck) we set foot on land and the stickers played their part once more, as minibus drivers and agents point, shout and funnel you everywhich way. Unsuprisingly, as last minute additions, we weren't on the list for the airport but we kept quiet and stayed close and made sure we got our bums on the mini bus ASAP. Sorry if you are stuck at Phuket pier 'cos we got your seats, you snooze you lose, hee!

The ride to the airport was largely uneventful, although I would say that as I spent the majority of the ride "head-rocking" [Head-rocking: when one is stupidly sleepy but for some reason refuses to get comfy and sleep and instead fights the sleepyness, resulting in their head falling and then rocking back up and limbs flinching violently. In the victims head, this all happens subtly and no-one notices, in real life the rest of the bus is laughing at you].

We got to the airport 4 hours before our flight but were pleased we didn't try a day of backpack walking as our shoulders were still pretty raw! After a little drink and some bag shuffling, we thought we should weigh them as it was a budget flight so the allowance was much lower. We had to move some bits around to spread the weight as one bag was slightly over. Whilst I paid a visit to the little boys room, Sam waited by the Dunkin Donuts stand - Good positioning! After a while she spotted a group of 4 Thai soldiers, their uniform proudly displaying "seek and destroy", obviously the best of the best, the cream of the crop...they were all buying a BOX of donuts each! If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us, so we spent our remaining change on a tasty treat each and munched.

It finally got to check-in time, luckily the girl didn't fine us for the bag that was still a little overweight. We headed straight on through to our gate and Sam curled up and once again fell asleep (she'll tell you she was resting her eyes). Unfortunately the flight was late, so we had a bit of a wait. I got the old Lonely Planet book out and made a note of possible accommodation in Kuala Lumpur.

The flight was short and sweet, before long we were cruising through Malaysian customs at KL airport and into the terminal. Our big plan was to check accommodation on the free internet available at the airport, the only problem was it's located in the main terminal and we had arrived in the low cost one - No internet in sight, bummer! We needed to refresh and rethink so we looked for a seat and despite all our efforts ended up commiting sacralidge...we had a McDonalds!! Noooooo!! With some change in the wallet, we grabbed a pay phone and started looking for a bed. This didn't quite go to plan as all 4 of the ones we fancied were fully booked. We rang a backup hostel and they had one room left, so we called shotgun and jumped in a taxi. During the taxi ride Sam thought up an 'Ode to being a taxi driver', soon to be published and available in all leading bookshops. It's suprising we've made it this far, considering the shocking taxi and driver standards. When the taxi pulled onto the street we were staying on, Sam immediately saw the "Backpackers Travellers Inn" sign; we approached the metal prison like door, through which we could see stairs up to reception. It looked grim! We had a look at the room on offer and cringed, but took it all the same as we had no other optins and it was cheap - less than 8 pounds total for the night!! After dumping our stuff, we headed to the roof top bar for a bevvie and let it sink in that we were in kL.

We then had a walk around the immediate area and stumbled upon the night market; every single stall person asking us to look at what they were selling, most of the time 'GENUINE COPIES'?! Work that one out! We also visited an internet cafe as the computers where we were staying were only available until 11pm. The place we went wasn't great though so we didn't get much done before giving up and going to bed - Sleepy travellers!!!