Travelling / Backpacking / Flashpacking the World!

6am and we are back in the Th Khao San Bangkok, got 2 hours to kill before getting our next bus to Hat Lek the Thai/Cambodia border crossing. Another luxury coach and 10 hours later we are at the border, another stamp in the old passport on the Thai side then a short walk across no mans land to the Cambodian border where we had to pay 16 pound for a 1 month visa. As soon as we walked through the Cambodian border we had loads of kids around us begging, following us up the road pretending to cry. No way are they genuine they have all got clean clothes and sandals on with white teeth and tidy little hair cuts, not at all what a homeless kid would look like, and where are the girls, its all boys begging. How did they even get to the border, it’s in the middle of nowhere obviously they are driven there to beg for the day and then picked up and taken home, it’s the adults using the kids that benefit not the kids themselves.

Because we had pre-paid in Chiang Mai for the whole journey to Phnom Penh we were met at the border by a guide who then drove us to our accommodation for the night which is surprisingly good in the border town Cham Yeam. A quick shower each, then into the guesthouse restaurant for some dinner and a couple of beers. After dinner it was just a case of chilling out and reading before going to bed.

A bit of brekki then by 9am we were tightly packed into the back of a mini van and on our way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city. From looking out the window Cambodia seems to be very flat and quite water logged. Proper uncomfortable journey, hardly any room and bouncing around all over the place can't complain though you should see how the locals travel, sitting on sacks of rice on the back of an open back pick up, others in mini vans so packed out that there are people sitting on the window ledges with there feet in the van and there arms over the roof, by the time they get to there destination they must be red from the dust of these dry, dusty red dirt track roads. On the way we had to cross 4 rivers, each time on a do it yourself floating platform with an engine on the side. The platforms were either lengths of wood across a metal frame which was strapped to the top of lots of metal or plastic drums or, 4 small fishing boats strapped together, a metal frame on top and then covered with wooden planks, not exactly the Woolwich ferry. In the rivers there are kids that are quite happily playing in water that is swimming with sewage, it looks clear but the river banks are covered with rubbish and we passed a few floaters whilst crossing, Nice!

About half way into the journey we had a blow out so on with the virtually completely bald spare tyre and we are back on track. Eventually when nearing the city the roads changed to tarmac so all we have got to do now is fight our way through the evening rush hour traffic, scooters everywhere. Most of the junctions haven't got traffic lights or anything, and no one stops everyone just swerves around each other. At the few junctions where there are traffic lights they are quite literally just pretty lights over the road because no one takes a blind bit of notice of them and believe it or not there is hardly ever any accidents the drivers are just so relaxed and alert, it puts our driving to shame.

Ten hours later and we were dropped off somewhere in the city, out with the Lonely Planet and decided to head towards the Boeng Kak area on the east side of the lake, all we have got to do now is bargain with a tuk tuk. After looking at a few places to stay we settled for a room in the Grand View guesthouse, big soft beds and our own bathroom only trouble is we are on the 4th floor, not good for coming home tanked up. Had a bit of a nightmare with the first room we were given, 1st the lights didn't work so they sorted them out, then the fan on the ceiling didn't work so after a bit of messing about with it they got it going. Then a while later, just as I was about to get in the shower the fan decided to blow up, there's bits of it all over the place and with that we were given a stand up fan for the night which is actually better, then whilst having a shower the drain hole is blocked leaving the bathroom floor flooded with water, after calling them up to the room for the 4th time we were then moved to another room. After a shower each it was then time to change some money up, American dollars is the preferred currency here so we got a mixture of dollars and the local currency which is Riel.

O' dear you should see the state of some of the dollar notes most of them look fake and they are in such a state they look like there going to fall apart in our pockets, we were told that they wouldn't be accepted in other countries (I should think not) but in Cambodia they are accepted everywhere, and true to there word, they are.

The area we are staying is just 3 little unmade roads with guesthouses, internet cafes, bars, restaurants, travel agents and book shops, basically everything we need which makes it a backpacker hangout, cool place though.

Had some dinner in an outdoor restaurant which is built on stilts over the lake, should have put some insect repellent on the mozzies are feasting on my legs. After dinner we found a cool little bar called the Magic Sponge, proper chilled out, had a few beers and a good chat to the English barman before going back to the room and reading a book which I bought today which was recommended by the Dude, its called First They Killed My Father, its a little Cambodian girl’s story about losing her family and childhood under Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge Cambodian genocide regime.

A late start today, yesterdays travelling must have taken it out of us. All the cafes and bars here seem to be run by westerners so there is a wide range of western food available and it’s better than most the cafes I know back home, big portions and its cheap. After brekki / lunch we decided to go to some bars known as the hammock bars which are located the other side of the Japanese friendship bridge about 6km away, so it’s on the back of a motor bike for my first moto experience. Not for the easily scared, the drivers are crazy. Nobody here drives faster than about 30km an hour, but nobody stops either, the traffic just flows with everyone flowing in and out of each other, it’s well impressive to see especially at the big junctions. In Cambodia they are meant to drive on the right hand side of the road, they drive where they want there were times when we had cars or bikes coming head on towards us and then right at the last minute they just swerve out the way, and there is no road rage here that's how they drive. The barman said last night that if you hire a scooter and forget that you are English and just get on it and drive without worrying about anything, you would be absolutely fine.

All the bars here are built on stilts over the lake, and there are lots of little thatched roof huts without sides with hammocks in. We spent the rest of the day here chilling out, reading, eating and drinking. In the menu there is a selection of snake dishes and you can even get a glass of cobra blood, although it’s far from cheap, be good to try it though. I really wanted to try some local Khmer food but I didn't know what any of it was and when asking they didn't know how to explain what it was and so instead showed me into the kitchen with the menu, I was pointing to various dishes and they were showing me all this weird food, didn't have a clue what any of it was but some of it smelt awful, so with that I thought it best to stick to the old fried rice with pork. 3 hours later and our moto drivers picked us up.

Driving in the dark is even more fun especially when there are bikes heading towards you without any lights on. A quick shower and change then out for some dinner, I had a frog curry, nice, just too many bones to mess around with. We then headed back to the Magic Sponge where we met Stephanie, a crazy Swedish girl. I thought she was really funny although there were times when she was just a little too much to deal with, she's mad. Anyway after playing her crazy made up version of pool (don't ask) a pretty Cambodian girl, Darly, who has sat in the bar smiling at me all night asked me if I would play with her. O' dear she's good. There is no licensing rules or restrictions here so the bars don't close until the last person leaves, Christy left at about 3.30am leaving me playing and chatting to Darly until about 5am before leaving, and the bar is far from empty.

Another late start! A bit of brekki / lunch and then decided to get a moto each to the Russian market in the city. It’s basically a massive indoor market with lots of stalls all selling the same sort of stuff, tools, food, silk, fabric, wood carvings, bags, clothes, CD's and DVD's. We bought a cotton shoulder bag each for when we get to the beach and then after a good look around headed off outside for a wander.

Whilst walking around a guy came up to me and held his hat out asking for money. I can't explain what he looked like, I’ve never seen anything like it his whole body had been burnt and his face had been totally melted, he had no facial features at all and his nose and ears were missing, horrible to see, pretty xxxxxx horrific and probably caused by Napalm. Anyway I gave him some money and walked off with a funny feeling in my stomach and feeling quite ashamed. Ashamed because whilst he was standing in front of me I found myself looking down at the floor, I couldn't look him in the eye. I think that's terrible, he can’t help what's happened to him and shouldn't be treated any different to anyone else. People like that amaze me, how mentally strong must he be to live like that, I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

Found our moto drivers and then headed back to the guesthouse to chill out where we met Sarah and Niamh who had just arrived from Vietnam with an Australian Fella called Jeremy. Had a bite to eat in the guesthouse restaurant and then we all got ready and went back to the Magic Sponge bar for a few drinks.

We then moved on to a club called Elsewhere, where there is a big party on tonight, it’s a once a month event and is pretty much about as big as it gets at the moment in Cambodia. It’s a big outside bar with palm trees and a swimming pool, quite a cool little club and pretty packed out too, lots of others from the Magic Sponge including Ben the barman and crazy Stephanie. After leaving at 3am we then got a tuk tuk to another club called the Butterfly for another drink and a dance, before heading back to the guesthouse at a ridiculous time in the morning.

Again - another late start. Whilst walking up the road for some food a white fella all dressed up as if from a night out asked me if I could give him 2 dollars. I said what's it for and he said I'm broke, I was like well go to the bank then, he then said 1 dollar then, No mate, 50 cents, No see ya. He then walked off down the road and then halfway down started shouting something back, that's right mate you stand down there and shout, Pussy. What a tit, if he was a fellow traveller and said excuse me mate I’ve lost my wallet any chance you could spare a couple of dollars so I can get something to eat, I would have said Yeah mate no worries, I would want someone to do the same for me. Anyway from chatting to people it turns out that he has been here 6 months and is basically a junkie, apparently his parents keep sending him money so he can go home but he just keeps buying drugs with it, what a loser! Someone later pointed out to me that all the bars and internet cafes have got signs up saying, don't give money to the western beggar. Ha ha!

The weather is pants today, it’s raining, so didn't do anything apart from mooch around all day. Finished the book, it put a lump in my throat a couple of times, sad story. Watched a good film as well called, The Killing Fields, the true story of a Cambodian journalist caught up in the Khmer Rouge regime. Later in the evening we then ended up going out for another late night in the Magic Sponge with the hilarious Stephanie, the xxxx she comes out with, so funny.

From 1975 - 1979, through execution, starvation, disease and forced labour, the Khmer Rouge systematically killed more than 3 million Cambodians, almost a forth of the countries population. In their time of rule the Khmer Rouge planted more than 2 million landmines in the Cambodian countryside, 14 million of which have now been cleared. Cambodia is one of the worst landmine and UXO affected countries in the world due to almost 30 years of conflict. Today an average of 3 people every day are killed or seriously injured from landmine explosions. Most accidents are associated with daily livelihood activities, farming, clearing land, fishing and collecting fire wood.

THE BRIEF HISTORY OF CAMBODIA

In 1866 the French colonized Cambodia. The Japanese invaded in 1942 defeating the French who then left to fight in Europe. In 1945 the U.S bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima forcing the Japanese to leave. In 1946 the French returned to rule again. In the following years the Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh armies fought the French in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In 1953 Prince Sihanouk introduced civil service for all Khmer students and in 1954 Cambodia declared independence. Meanwhile, the Viet Minh were still prevalent in Cambodia. The leader of the Cambodian army, Dep Choun was determined to overthrow Sihanouk, but failed. For the next ten years Cambodia remained relatively peaceful under the reign of Prince Sihanouk.

In 1969 the U.S secretly and illegally began anti-communist bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos along side the war in Vietnam. In 1970 the new leader of the Cambodian army General Lonal, held a successful military coup against Prince Sihanouk who retreated to China. From China Sihanouk broadcast to the Cambodian people to fight Lonol's army with the support of the Viet Kong and Chinese troops. However Lonal had support from allies in Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S.A, and by 1973 had defeated the Viet Cong. Meanwhile within Cambodia a force called the Khmer Rouge, comprising mainly of jungle rebels were becoming a stronger army and wanted to gain control over Cambodia.

Fighting continued until the South Vietnamese, Thai forces and the U.S.A pulled out of Cambodia in 1975, leaving Lonol's army to fall to the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh on the 17th of April 1975. For the following 4 years the Cambodian people suffered greatly under the leadership of a Communist dictator and Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. His idea was to create an agrarian system that had everybody working in fields in a way that took them back 400 years. Pol Pot implemented one of the most radical, brutal revolutions the world has ever seen. The calendar year was turned back to Year Zero. Anyone who was considered educated or spoke a foreign language was considered the enemy and were tortured to death or executed in the many Killing Fields around Cambodia. Hundreds of thousands more died from mistreatment, starvation and disease. Children were the only ones considered pure as they had not yet been corrupted by western influence, and so could be brainwashed into the Khmer Rouge way of thinking. Eventually at the end of 1978, Vietnam invaded and overthrew the Khmer Rouge, although they maintained a guerrilla war throughout the 1980s.

After a bit of brekki the 5 of us chartered a mini van to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, which is the most famous killing field site of them all.

Since its interception in 1995 the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-CAM) has endeavoured to map the killing fields. Through interviews and physical exploration throughout Cambodia 19,471 mass burials in 348 separate clusters have been identified, the exact number of people killed is not yet known but is estimated somewhere between 2.5 - 3 million. The identified mass graves are located throughout 170 Cambodian districts and that number is almost certain to rise as additional regions of countryside are explored.

Between mid 1975 and December 1978, more than 17000 men, women and children detained and tortured at S-21 prison under the genocidal rule of the Khmer Rouge, were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek to be executed, many of which were bludgeoned to death in order to avoid wasting precious bullets. The remains of 8985 people, most of which were found bound and blindfolded were exhumed from the mass graves of Choeung Ek in 1980. In 1988 a memorial stupa was erected in which there are more than 8000 skulls, arranged by sex and age visible behind clear glass panels. Fragments of human bone and cloth clothing can still be seen around the disinterred pits.

As soon as we stepped out of the mini van we were surrounded by kids saying give me money, give me dollar, straight to the point what about saying please. They pretty much followed us around the whole time we were there. I didn't give them any money because firstly I don't believe they are genuine and secondly I'm 99% sure that the money given to them is then passed on to adults, I felt this was confirmed because around the killing fields there are Cambodian adults lurking around slightly watching over the children watching to see what they are given, why else would they be lurking around they are not doing anything. The way around it is to buy the kids sweets, biscuits or fruit etc, which Niamh did, that way the adults using the kids don't benefit.

As we entered the site we walked up to the memorial stupa where inside there are 20 different levels of skulls and bones which have been exhumed. Outside we then got a guide to show us around the site, he told us about the different ways in which the Khmer Rouge killed their victims, not nice stuff. He showed us a pine tree from which the large stems were removed and used to cut off peoples heads with there sharp edges, he also showed us a tree where the soldiers used to pick the children up by there ankles and swing them against the tree until dead. The killing fields themselves are literally fields with lots of holes in the ground from where the bodies have been exhumed and then the soil that was left, put back. Some of the larger holes are marked with plaque’s showing the number of people found there and how they were found ie: headless etc. Walking around I felt like I should have felt something for the victims, but to be honest I didn't.

From here we then went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. In 1975 it was the Toul Svay Prey High School, but was taken over by Pol Pot's security forces and turned into the S-21 security prison, which became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country. During 1977, S-21 claimed an average of 100 life's per day. The Khmer Rouge kept extensive files of their crimes and even photographed all of there victims before and after being tortured and killed. S-21 has now been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum which is a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.

Inside the Museum there is wall after wall covered in pictures of Khmer Rouge victims, lots of which are painfully skinny from starvation. Another area shows the cells the prisoners were kept in, they are no bigger than 4’ x 8’ long, tiny. Another room shows the torture devices used, methods include pulling finger nails out, severe whipping and beating, drowning and hanging stretched out in awkward positions until unconscious.

One room shows pictures of the few people from the thousands of people who worked at S-21 that have come forward and admitted working for the Khmer Rouge. It shows pictures of them then, and now today in there everyday lives, each picture has got a short story underneath. Most of them are in there 40s and 50s. In the same room there is a picture of Pol Pot which has been totally defaced. Pol Pot died on April 16th, 1998 aged 73, he was never charged for his crimes. His 20 year old daughter still lives in Cambodia. I wonder what she thinks of her Father!

It’s crazy to think that today there are thousands of people living in Cambodia that were once part of the Khmer Rouge, and hundreds of then children that were brainwashed and more often than not instigated the killings, children that would now be in there 30s. How do they live with what they have done, do they accept that they were wrong or do they still believe that what they did was right. And what about the innocent victims alive today that have had there entire families killed, and the others who still haven't found their family members and so don't know whether they are dead or alive. To think that anyone older than me was involved one way or another in the situation / war is quite unbelievable. How is this country not full of depressed, suicidal nut cases? At home we have got hundreds of counselling and support groups, what have these people got.

From here we then headed back for some dinner, roast beef with all the trimmings, Beautiful! Later in the evening we headed back to the Magic Sponge for a few drinks and another late night.

An early start, we got the 7.30am bus north to Siam Reap. Six hours later and O' dear, we are trying to get off the bus, the touts are going mad, blocking the door grabbing and pulling people as they get off, fist closed for a sneaky stomach blow if anyone grabs me and off I get. Basically I found that if you raise your voice and tell them to back off or that you’re not interested then they leave you alone, don't they realize that behaving like that just puts people off.

Anyway got a tuk tuk to the Garden Village guesthouse that Ben the barman recommended, on the way the tuk tuk got a pull from the old bill for not having any mirrors. The driver kept giving them money but they kept asking for more, apparently the whole police system is corrupt, in the end he refused to give them anymore money and they impounded the tuk tuk, with that he flagged another one down for us and off we go again. It turns out that there are no rooms available so it’s back in the tuk tuk and off to the Happy Guesthouse, nice big rooms and soft beds, Sweet.

Some chill out time then out for some dinner, Siam Reap is a small city with one big tourist attraction, the temples of Angkor, therefore this place is full of over priced guesthouses and poncy restaurants. Found a nice looking restaurant and decided to go for pasta, it was well nice but where's the rest, it does xxx me off when you get a ridiculously small portion it’s not exactly expensive or hard to make. After dinner I bought a big bag of sweets and a couple of packs of biscuits to hand out to the kids at Angkor tomorrow, not gonna give them money. I was chatting to a Canadian guy yesterday who owns a restaurant in Phnom Penh and asked him if the kids are genuine, he laughed and said no, he also agreed that most are being exploited by adults.

We have chartered 2 tuk tuks for the day tomorrow and are being picked up at 5am so that we can see the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the tuk tuks are ours for the day to drive us around to the different temples etc.

With that it’s back to the guesthouse to chill out and an early night.

Designated a World heritage site by UNESCO, the Angkor Archaeological Park is home to dozens of temples. The temples of Angkor were built between the 9th and 13th centuries when the Khmer civilization was at the height of its extraordinary creativity and constitute one of humanity's most audacious architectural achievements. From Angkor, the kings of the Khmer empire ruled over a vast territory that extended from the top of what is now South Vietnam, northward to Yunman in China and from Vietnam westwards to the Bay of Bengal.

Before leaving, whilst out on his own getting some breakfast, Jeremy had his camera snatched out of his hand, gutting hey? It’s 5am and we are on our way to the temples of Angkor, 20 dollars for a days pass and then our first stop was at Angkor Wat - the largest religious building in the world. As planned it was dark when we arrived and so watched the sun rise over the top. Took loads of pictures but it’s so hard to get a good one because its too light for the flash to work, but too dark for the camera to focus properly, everyone was having the same problem, it’s pretty packed here already, its obviously a good tourist pull. After sunrise we then had a wander around Angkor Wat itself. It’s huge and amazing, every inch of stone is covered in carvings, the time put into doing it must be incredible, thousands and thousands of hours, it beats anything that we could ever build today. If I’m honest though, I didn't find myself wetting my pants over it the way some people do, at the end of the day it’s just an old temple ruin.

We then spent the rest of the day touring around some of the other ruins in the park, all good and well impressive but there are only so many ruins you can look at, after a while they all start to look the same. It’s a bit like, Yeah that's nice, seen that one, next. The Angkor site is huge and we only saw a small part of it, some people spend weeks at a time here, doing what exactly I’m not quite sure. Around the site there are hundreds of places to eat in and the ones we ate in were very good quality, not forgetting the dozens of people pushing carts around selling iced drinks etc.

We spent pretty much all day in Angkor and not once did we see a child beggar. I ended up giving a packet of biscuits to a landmine victim whose face lit up, and the other pack to 3 little kids who wanted their picture taken. It’s no lie that there are loads of kids around Angkor but none of them are begging. They are just all trying to make money for their families by selling books, post cards, silk scarves and home made instruments etc.

There are times especially when sitting down eating that they swamp you, but at the end of the day they are just doing there job and not once were they a problem, I bought a couple of packs of post cards, they are actually quite cute and so, so clever for there ages. We met one girl whilst eating who was 11 years old, not only did she speak English but she knew the name of every country’s capital city, she made us look stupid. She also new all the exchange rate for all the different currencies, so clever and cheeky with it. They can be quite persistent but not once were they a problem.

After Angkor we decided to check out the Aki Ra Landmine Museum, it’s free to enter and survives purely on donations. The founder and owner, Aki Ra, was a former child Khmer Rouge soldier. His story is quite amazing, he is 32 years old and has spent most of his life at war, fighting in the Khmer Rouge, Vietnamese and Cambodian armies, he is now a landmine clearer and his only goal in life is to make his country safe. The museum is also currently home to 16 children that he has fostered, most of which are landmine victims, the eldest is 17 years old.

On entering the museum which is basically a big hut in Aki Ra's back garden, we saw lots of boys with limbs missing, horrible to see, but nothing compared to hearing their stories. We were shown around by one of the young lads, he showed us all the different types of landmine used ranging from human to anti tank, he explained to us how they work and the different ways in which they are set up and triggered, including the bouncing landmine which can kill up to 40 people. Interesting stuff! At the rear of the museum hut there is a dummy landmine which has been set up, they are so hard to spot, you would never know they were there. Not only are they in the ground but also in the trees, they are called Pineapple bombs, set off by trip wires they then fall to the ground, exploding on impact, blowing peoples legs off. The boy showing us around only had 1 leg, he said that he was playing in the woods with his younger brother and sister, he stepped on the landmine and lost his leg, and his brother and sister were killed from the blast. What can you say to that, I was seriously holding back the tears. On leaving I donated all that I had in my pocket, unfortunately only 10 dollars.

Back to the guesthouse for some chill time, then as we were going out for dinner one of the Cambodian guys from the guesthouse, Richard asked if he could join us. He took us to a proper Cambodian restaurant where he ordered for us, fish soup with noodles. They put a little stove and the ingredients on the table and then cooked it in front of us. Beautiful soup and plenty of beer flowing throughout the meal, 5 jugs in total, the service was like nothing I’ve had before, they were constantly topping up your glass etc. At dinner we mentioned to Richard that we had been to the landmine museum, he is the same age as me, and said that he hates the Khmer Rouge for what they did. He was in the Cambodian army and lost lots of his friends and family.

He was one of the lucky ones that walked away in one piece, although mentally he said he will always be scarred.

Another early start, we have done pretty much all there is to do in Siam Reep, Angkor being the main tourist attraction, making it quite an expensive place to stay. So we got the 7.30am bus back to Phnom Phen and then a tuk tuk back to the Grand View guesthouse. A couple of hours chill time then up the road for some dinner before going back to the Magic Sponge bar for another late one with Ben the barman.

Nothing to report, just spent the day chilling out, it’s been raining all day. Watched a seriously violent and graphic French film called Irreversible, nasty but very good apparently it’s been banned in the UK.

Curry for dinner and then our last night in the Magic Sponge, we are flying to Bangkok tomorrow morning and then heading south to the island of Ko Pha-ngan, for some sun and the Full Moon Party on the 16th November.

The 5 of us got a mini van to the airport and then flew to Bangkok. Got a bus from the airport back to the Th Khao San and as soon as we got off it absolutely chucked it down for about the next hour leaving us sitting in a bar eating and playing cards. When the rain eventually stopped I had a walk to the post office to post some more pictures home and then headed back to the bar to chill. Grabbed some noodles from one of the food stalls and then into the 7/11 for some food for our next journey.

We left Jeremy in Bangkok as he is meeting some friends in Phuket and then joining us in a couple of days. We then got a taxi to the train station and then an overnight sleeper train for the 12 hour journey south to Surat Thani.

Slept like a baby on the night train, it’s 8am and we are in Sarat Thani, we got a bus to the ferry port and then a 3 hour ferry to the island of Ko Pha-ngan. The Full Moon party is held in Hat Rin on the Sunrise beach and caters for anywhere between 8-12 thousand partygoers. We decided that we didn't want to stay on the sunrise beach because of the noise and the security of the rooms on the night. On the ferry there were loads of accommodation touts, we met one who gave us his spill and we took his free jeep ride to his guesthouse. It’s a long story but basically everything he said was bull and we have been done up like kippers, we have ended up in a place called Hat Yao which is on the opposite side of the island, don't get me wrong the accommodation is alright it’s just in the middle of nowhere, there is nothing here apart from the odd guesthouses randomly scattered up the road. O well it’s only for 1 night we will be moving first thing in the morning. First thing to do is dump our bags, grab some food and hit the beach. Apparently the beach we are on is pants but there is a really nice one which Christy and I walked to 20 minutes up the road.

First impression, nice beach, clear water and beautiful white sand but what is with all the couples and old people. The water is really warm which is not surprising considering how hot it is. As you swim out to sea it’s actually quite rocky with a fair bit of coral which means you can't put your feet down which is a bit of a disappointment. I was expecting some sort of paradise island, it’s far from that I have been on better beaches in Greece. After a quick swim Christy headed back to the guesthouse and I decided to have a walk up the beach. Found some rocks a fair way out but the water out to them is really shallow, so walked out to them and spent the next couple of hours reading another one of my books. Before I knew it, it was dark and so headed back for a shower before going out.

Hat Rin is where it all happens on this island and we are 27km away. Refusing to pay the asking price for a taxi I was sure that whilst walking we would be able to flag someone down for a ride. Ten minutes down the road and we saw 2 lads on 125cc motorbikes filling up, if you don't ask you don't get and so walked over and asked where they were heading, result and off we go on the back of there bikes. Now I'm normally pretty fearless about most things but O'DEAR, I am just waiting to come off this bike, these 2 Swedish lads are crazy, getting the old knees down around the bends and everything, we actually took off on hitting one of the many pot holes, hanging onto the back of the bike is actually bloody hard work. The journey turned out to be a proper good little adventure! We ended up getting lost in the middle of nowhere. We stopped at the only building around and asked where we were on the map, turns out we are slap bang in the middle of the island nowhere near where we want to be. Check out some of these seriously steep hills here too, the bikes can't get up them with us on the back so we had to keep getting off and running up them. Good exercise and I have still, to my surprise got wicked recovery time. 2 hours after getting on the bikes we are in Hat Rin where getting off the bikes we started chatting to a couple of Canadian girls, Brook and Sharon, turns out they remember me from on the ferry, apparently I was talking to one of them , I honestly don't remember. With that the 6 of us then walked along the beach and found a restaurant for some dinner, this is more like it bars and clubs which open out onto the beach with guesthouses to the back.

After dinner we then sat on the beach drinking buckets and watching the fire shows, awesome. The buckets vary in size but are basically a small bucket full of ice, a bottle of whiskey or vodka, coke and redbull. Obviously we thought it better to share them, by the way the redbull in Thailand is so strong that it is banned in most countries, it contains amphetamines to give you an extra buzz, Good stuff. After a bucket and a couple of beers it’s time for me and Christy to try and get home, it’s only 1am so still very early for here, these bars are open all night but as the Swedish lads have already left we have got a mission ahead of us to get back. You can travel the length of Thailand for less than what the taxi drivers are asking for, one taxi driver said that if we can fill his taxi up with people he would take us for free. Taxi boards in our hands and we are standing in the middle of the street touting, no joy, I don't think anyone else is stupid enough to stay on the other side of the island. After 2 hours of hanging around, haggling and waiting for a taxi that's going that way to fill up I convinced Christy that we could walk it or even run it, I know I could, Christy was definitely not up for the challenge so we set off walking up the road. The taxi drivers couldn't believe that we were going to walk and instantly lowered their prices, still not good enough so kept on walking.

About 20 minutes up the road a taxi pulled over and after some haggling we decided to pay over the odds, at the end of the day we were done up as soon as we got on the island, its just one of those things, we will be moving in the morning.

Only a few hours sleep and we are up, packed our bags and met the Swedish guys at our guesthouse as arranged, they too have been done up. We then got 2 taxis to Hat Rin. Hat Rin is full of restaurants, guesthouses, shops and ridiculously expensive internet cafes, another little backpacker haven.

Pretty much all the guesthouses are full and some of the prices are ridiculous, obviously everything is going to cost more because in a few days time this area is going to be rocking and everyone is on a mission to get here. After walking the length of the beach we eventually found a place for 7 pound a night, we have got our own little bungalow set back from the beach, this is where it’s all happening. A quick bit of brekki and then straight into the sea, this beach is so much better, no rocks or coral here.

It’s so hot that you get out the water and 30 seconds later you are bone dry.

An hour or so later when Christy found me I was just a sweaty mess, just sitting down dripping with sweat, and the more you sweat the more the sand sticks to you, nightmare, but wicked. Later in the afternoon Sarah and Niamh found us and introduced us to a couple of guys that they met in Hanoi, Chris and Matt, the girls have also found a place here to stay. The rest of the day was spent doing the usual beach stuff, swimming, frizzby etc. I can't believe how hot it is here, lots of sun cream being slapped on.

Later in the evening after some chill time and a shower me and Christy met Sarah and Niamh and had dinner in a seafood restaurant. Red snapper, salad and a jacket potato. Beautiful. We then walked back to Sarah and Niamh's guesthouse and chilled out for a while, the girls are not out tonight as they are still recovering from last night. On the beach we met Jeremy who was with about 20 other people mainly Australian and Danish, and then out of nowhere crazy Stephanie appeared, Quality. A few hours later at about 2am, we walked out of a bar and some bloke started pushing Christy around for no reason, I stepped in and told him to leave it out and with that he pushed me. O'dear, 1 punch and he is down and we walked away up the beach with Stephanie having a go at me.

About 5 minutes later he returned with a few of his mates giving it a load of verbal and telling us that we are going to die, look at the state of his eye its swelling up as we speak ha ha. I tried to calm him down and offered him a handshake but he wasn't having none of it, he just kept saying fight or die, I said look mate we don't want any trouble, we are all here to have a good time so what's your problem, you go that way and we will go this way, he kept shouting and giving it so I punched him again, I'm not going to stand around arguing. He is out cold face down in the sand, no way is he getting up from that one, you should have heard the cracking noise it made, his mates turned around and walked away. Stephanie started having a go at me again, which I suppose from a girls point of view is understandable but at the end of the day I tried to resolve the situation, he wasn't interested, so I just took him out of the equation as quickly as possible, it's not like I started jumping on him while he was down. To Steph I'm out of order but it's over and forgotten now so lets get on with enjoying the rest of the night. 6am and the sun is starting to rise, time for some sleep.

10am and we are up having breakfast, we then spent the rest of the day on the beach with the others, Sarah, Niamh and the lads. Later in the evening the 6 of us met up at Sarah and Niamh's little bungalow for a drink before hitting the beach bars, lots of drinking games being played. At 12.30am we then walked down to the beach where the action is. A couple of buckets each and then what must have been a good night because all I can remember is walking home in the daylight.

Up and straight onto the beach to meet the others, Niamh and Sarah have got big smiles on their faces, apparently I was absolutely hilarious last night, messing around and dancing with them and other girls, some funny stories.

After a bite to eat we got a taxi boat to another beach further around the island, it’s such a nice beach and there is hardly anyone else on it. The water is so clear and there are lots of little jelly fish everywhere, they are harmless they just feel funny when they brush past you. Chilled and messed around on the beach until dark doing the usual beach stuff. We then headed up the rocks around the bay to a Mexican restaurant overlooking the beach. Between the 6 of us we had 9 beers and 6 big meals all for a grand total of 18 pound, really good food. We then moved to another bar overlooking the bay and chilled out for an hour or so before getting a taxi boat back to our beach. Back to our guesthouses to sort ourselves out and then down to the beach bars, it’s so busy here that me and Christy didn't actually manage to find the others, all I remember is drinking lots of buckets with the Canadian girls and then chatting for ages to a group of Scottish lads. I've no idea where Christy is, and O' yeah, I'm being stalked by a dog.

Obviously another good night because it’s 8am and I have just woken up on the beach next to the stalking dog. Back to the guesthouse and Christy too has literally just got back, he too woke up on the beach. I've got the same amount of money in my pocket that I went out with, apparently I kept nicking buckets, terrible, I've also got about 30 pictures on my camera of the stalking dog, Crazy.

Met the others on the beach and chilled out all day, there are people drinking already. The old red bull is lethal, you don't get any sort of hangover on it although I don't normally suffer anyway, and I just can't sleep on it, I've had so little sleep since we got here and I feel fine, it’s crazy. Later in the afternoon Chris introduced me to a couple that he met in Vietnam, I said to the bloke that I think I have seen him somewhere before. He said yes I was chatting to him for ages at 6am this morning in a kebab shop. What was I doing in a kebab shop? I don't remember leaving the beach.

At about 4pm I thought it would be a good idea to try and get some sleep, never going to happen. I felt fine on the beach, in the shower the room started spinning, then whilst trying to write my diary my hands were shaking, and as for sleeping I found myself just laying in bed like a mong and sweating like a pig. Sleep depravation and the red bull come down, Quality.

Some dinner with Christy and then we met up with the others for some drink time. All along the beach there are lots of florescent body paint stalls, so I got a big dragon on my back. Later on, Chris who had bought some little jars of body paint drew a bra on me for a laugh, xxxx it, its staying on. At midnight we walked onto the beach for the Full Moon Party. The beach is absolutely packed it’s mental and everyone I walk past looks at me, this bra is attracting loads of attention I've got people grabbing me, touching me up and taking pictures. After about half an hour the boys decided that they wanted to share some of the attention so it was shirts off, paint out and bras on, Quality.

There is so many people here it is a complete nightmare trying to stay together, and look at the state of some of them out there little heads on drugs, who needs drugs when you have got amphetamine based red bull. Most of the night is a blur, I remember that it didn't take me too long to lose everyone, I eventually bumped into Sarah who too was on her own and we sat on the beach and shared a bucket before going into a club. O' dear I've lost her and I looked everywhere. Back on the beach and it’s broad daylight and there is no sign of this place quietening down apart from all the people that have passed out all over the place. Whilst sitting down chatting to a group of Thai girls, out of nowhere a bottle of red bull landed in my lap, I looked up and saw Chris walking off up the beach, Cheers. In the sea for a swim, ooops my camera is in my pocket, luckily it’s a disposable there is no way I would bring my digital camera out to this, I’m gutted though there should be some awesome pictures on there.

A wander through the crowds and I met Niamh and Matt and then walking up the road leading away from the beach we found Sarah who was sitting with a group of Thai guys, playing the guitar and singing. The 4 of us then walked back to Sarah and Niamh's bungalow, it’s about 9am and I crashed out in the Hammock.

1pm and I'm up and feeling good, I got a few laughs on the way back to my guesthouse with the old bra on, I am covered in paint, handprints and everything. Back at the guesthouse and Christy is sitting in the restaurant with his foot all bandaged up with a pair of crutches next to him. Some time this morning he trod on a broken bottle and has had to have 11 stitches in the bottom of his foot, he has got bags of painkillers and antibiotics etc.

And guess who he saw in the hospital, the guy that I punched, luckily he didn't recognize him, apparently he looks a right state, his eye is all black and he has got a big cut across the top of it, Christy heard him telling the doctor what happened, he said has been in a lot of pain and would like some X-rays. Don't really know what to say to that, it’s not nice but if I'm honest it did put a smile on my face. The beach is absolutely deserted today, what a night, had such a good time. There were a lot of idiots out last night and a fair bit of attitude, it wouldn’t have been too hard to find trouble. I can't understand people like that, we are all travelling the world together, on an island famous for its Full Moon party's and you get people that just want to go out and have a fight, what is the point in that, sort it out. Hearing lots of stories today about fights and injuries, Christy met a bloke that got stabbed with a 7" blade for trying to stop someone kicking a dog around the beach, luckily he is alright, another bloke died of a heart attack, probably drug related. Some useful information but I find it quite amazing, in Thailand the sentence for murder is 5 years, (you sure V?) the sentence for getting caught with 3 ecstasy pills is 15 years, how mad is that.

Found a friends bar and had a beautiful pizza, no buckets today, I feel fine but know I should try and get some sleep. Later in the evening we sat on the beach minus Christy and just had a couple of beers, we then left at 2am for an early night.

6 hours sleep, beautiful. Back on the old beach with the others, it’s a bit overcast today so not much point in sunbathing. In the afternoon me, Chris and Matt decided that we would hire some motorbikes, 2 pound for 24 hours, how cheap is that. With the girls on the back it’s off exploring the island.

Ten minutes into the journey and it is seriously chucking it down, a quick stop under a shelter till it calmed down and then off we go again, we are looking for some waterfalls apparently there is quite a few on the island.

Found the entrance to a waterfall sight and took cover from the rain in the little restaurant area, after a hot pot and a sit down there doesn't seem to be any sign of the rain easing off, and the waterfall is a 15 minute walk away along dirt tracks which at the moment look like rivers so we decided to make our way back. On the way back I opened the bike up and hit 100km an hour, it would have probably gone a bit more but these roads are just too dodgy.

Later in the evening we all had a pizza at the wicked pizza place and then found a little bar for a few games of pool and some drinking games, it is still hammering it down. When the rain eventually eased off Christy, who can't drink slowly made his way back to the guesthouse on his crutches, the rest of us made our way back to the Cactus bar on the beach front. It’s no surprise that there is no one on the beach tonight, not with this weather. I was dead set on not drinking any more buckets but they keep getting handed to me and it would be rude not to drink them. Had such a quality night, lots of dancing with the others and also 2 Australian girls that we met a couple of days ago. At about 6am me and Sarah walked up the road for some food and then I walked her back to her guesthouse, again we got caught in the rain. A good old chat on her balcony and then when the rain eventually stopped I walked home.

10.30am and I'm wide awake, it's still raining. O' dear, look at the beach, the sea is up to the front of the guesthouse restaurant area, every bit of sand is under water, the sea is proper choppy and the palm trees are being blown all over the place, a proper little monsoon. Had to take the bike back, the roads and dirt tracks are like rivers and the town is absolutely deserted, no one else is silly enough to leave there guesthouses, obviously Christy can't, I love it though it's quality, once you are soaked you can't get any wetter so its not worth worrying about. With the bike returned me and Chris met Matt, Sarah and Niamh in a place called the Lazy bar, we basically just laid around all day watching films and eating. Later in the afternoon when the rain eventually stopped we found a travel agent and bought our tickets for tomorrow’s journey, we are heading to the island of Ko Phi Phi. Had an awesome time on this island, lots of mad nights but it’s time to move on again. Unfortunately 6 is going to become 5 as Matt who is Australian is leaving tomorrow to fly to sunny England.

After a bit of time to ourselves we then re-grouped in the Lazy bar. Me and Sarah wanted sea food again, no one else was up for it so we headed off on our own. Whole sea bass this time! beautiful. There is nothing at all going on between me and Sarah but last night Niamh kept asking me if I liked her and what the story was, and then this morning Christy asked, me being me they didn't get a straight answer. Over dinner we decided that we could have some fun in winding the pair of them up by flirting and holding hands etc.

Told Chris the situation as I didn't want him thinking I was treading on his toes, so he too is in on it. After dinner and back at the Lazy bar the girls went home for an early night. Me, Chris and Matt ended up back at the Cactus bar for a few beers with the 2 Australian girls. Whilst there, it rained like nothing I have ever seen before, UNBELIEVABLE.

At about 2am we walked up the road to chicken corner for 1 last chicken Schnitzel before heading home. We have got to get a taxi at 6am to the ferry port.

Less than 3 hours sleep and it’s bags packed and poncho's on, and up the road in the rain to get a taxi to the ferry port. A ferry, a bus and another ferry (8 hours later) and we are in Ko Phi Phi. What a beautiful island, there is no cars on this island just the odd motorbike, bicycle and long boat taxi option for getting around. Had a proper mission trying to find somewhere to stay, most places are full and we can forget trying to find budget accommodation, there isn't any. It’s an expensive island, not much cheaper than home, probably due to the rebuilding after the Tsunami. It's not worth worrying about though, money is for spending, it might not last forever but the memories will. In the small village there are lots of shops, internet cafes and Italian, Thai and sea food restaurants. The beach is lovely but it’s the scenery and Island views that make this a paradise island.

After eventually finding a place to stay we walked down the road for a bite to eat. Then after a wonder around, we found a bar playing some really good 80s classics, a few beers and card games and then me Sarah and Chris moved onto a club. It’s weird, when I drink beer the buzz isn't as good but I seem to notice a lot more of what's going on, the 1st thing being the moody atmosphere in this place and the 2nd being the drug taking, such a shame.

After a few more beers I left at 2am leaving Sarah and Chris in there. The wind up is working, both Niamh and Christy are curious and asking questions, ha ha!

Apparently after I left the club last night it all kicked off, I knew that place was full of dicks. English breakfast and a cup of tea! Yummy. Sarah spilt the beans to Niamh this morning about the wind up, and then the 2 of them tried to switch it onto me by telling me that Niamh was really angry with Sarah because she really likes me and that, that is why Niamh went home early last night. Nicely done and they very nearly had me, unlucky girls ha ha. We then got a long boat around the island to another beach, Long beach.

Beautiful and very quiet, the water is so clear. Christy came with us, Chris had to lift him in and out of the boat. Me and the girls hired Snorkels and masks for the day and done some snorkelling around the rocks, even though I have done it before it seems really weird and a bit freaky being able to see and breath under water. See some good sea life, no sharks though, yes these waters are shark infested but to be honest we didn't give it a second thought. After snorkelling I wondered off up the beach on my own for some Vinny time, laying in the sun lost in thought and humming to myself, not sure how long for but by the time I got up the sun had started to go in. A swim with Niamh and then back into a long boat and back to our beach.

Sorted ourselves out and then we booked a boat tour for tomorrow around the islands. We then had dinner in an Italian Restaurant called Amico Resto, seriously nice food, had starters and then a mixed seafood calzone washed down with a glass of red wine.

After dinner we made our way to the Reggae bar, it’s massive, 2 floors with a boxing ring, pool tables and plenty of seating. The Thai boxing started at 10.30pm, it was good but more of a show fight than proper Thai boxing. When the fighting was over we moved onto a club on the beachfront, Apaches, not really where I want to be as I am not drinking tonight, thought I should have a night off. What is with all the lady boys in this place, some of them are seriously ugly and so obviously blokes dressed up as birds, yet there is still tourists chatting to them, someone is going to get more than they bargained for ha ha.

A boat trip today but without Christy for obvious reasons. We met the girls and walked along to the pier and boarded our boat. I’m not going to name all the places we visited but we basically spent time on or around 6 different Islands, including the island made famous in the film The Beach. Lots of swimming and snorkeling in the sea and sunbathing on the boat. The views are unbelievable and the islands, paradise. The water varied from place to place from deep blue to crystal clear. I’m a bit gutted because I couldn't get on with my snorkel today, the face mask kept leaking, I tried a few and all the same, no one else seemed to have a problem. I'll happily swim in any water, deep, choppy or shark infested but when breathing through a snorkel I feel restricted and after a short amount of time I have to take it off, its weird it almost makes me panic. What I saw under the water though was amazing, lots of colourful fish, sea slugs, star fish and all sorts of weird and wonderful plant things. On one Island, which was without a doubt a paradise island, it was beautiful, the kayaks came out, a good crack and some big waves too. It was hard work rowing with the girls on it as well, good exercise though. At another stop which was meant to be a shark view point, we didn't see any, everyone started jumping off the top of the boat or off the spring board on the second deck into the deep blue see, Quality.

At another stop out at sea we stopped near some cliffs and rock formations, a few jumps off the boat and a swim with Sarah. Chris and Niamh started throwing melon around us, within seconds we were surrounded by thousands of yellow and purple striped fish, I was scooping them out of the water and one of them hit Sarah in the head ha ha, it’s times like this you need an underwater camera, Amazing. Nine hours on and off of the boat and we are back at our guesthouse for a freshen up before going out for dinner. Dinner was a bit of a bulls up, we found a nice seafood restaurant on the sea front and ordered. Niamh's chicken was raw, mine and Sarah's seafood was mixed up and mine without rice, and my fish is half raw, obviously we complained and left without paying. We then just headed to a little pub/bar and I just had a jacket potato with chicken curry on top, not great, I was so looking forward to seafood. After dinner me and Chris had a Thai massage, so relaxing, I actually fell asleep and at one point was dreaming, I'm ready for bed now.

We met up with the others at the Reggae bar, Christy included as he can now walk and drink, back on the buckets, 2 for the price of 1. After a few buckets we moved onto Hippies bar, some good fire shows but not much atmosphere, a quick drink and then onto Apaches. Somehow we all ended up splitting up, apparently I pulled a blonde Swedish girl but I don't remember that. What I can remember though is my little nightmare that followed.

Listen to this. Walking back to my guesthouse, ruined, a lady boy came up to me putting his arms around me, trying to kiss me and pulling me up the road. Xxxx off, when away from me I instinctively patted my pocket, O' dear my money has gone, he has obviously pick pocketed me, I ain't having that and so confronted him about it, obviously he totally denied it so when he pulled his purse out, I grabbed it and took his money out of it. As I turned to walk away he jumped on my back going mental, I managed to throw him off, grabbed his hair and I must have punched him in the face about a dozen times before I let go and he fell to the floor. I ran up the road and before I knew it he and about 4 other Thai blokes were shouting and chasing me, obviously being ruined my punches haven't had the desired effect, for all I know they could have been police, drug dealers or pimps, I wasn't going to stop to find out. I ran until I couldn't run any more, I even stacked it through a river before eventually hiding under the back of a beach hut amongst rocks and rubbish.

My mouth is so dry it is unbelievable and I've got to admit I'm xxxxxxx myself. I could see and hear them running around looking for me, they even had torches and they are so close. I have got no idea how long I stayed hidden but it was daylight when I slowly left my hiding place, and I have got absolutely no idea where I am. After eventually getting my bearings I started to make my way back to the village when all of a sudden they appeared in front of me holding a meaty length of wood, Give me my money back he was shouting, look what you have done he said pointing to his lips, O' dear he won't be working the streets for while his lips are all cut and swollen. Walking backwards I tried to blag it, what are you going on about, I don't know you, all I am doing is walking home.

He swung the wood and as he did I turned and put my arms up, it hit me straight across the back. With that I was off and being chased again, I took another blow to the back but with the whisky and adrenalin being pumped around my body I didn't feel a thing. These Thais can seriously run, but so can I, I don't think I have ever ran so fast, luckily I could maintain the pace and they couldn't, they started shouting at other Thai people ahead of me to stop me, had to dodge a couple of people, no way am I stopping. I don't know how but I eventually ended up on the beach and I just kept running, they are a long way behind me but they are still coming. I ran all the way along the beach and around the bay until I was out of sight and then climbed up the mountain through the jungle, my legs were not going to stop. When I did eventually stop I was absolutely Knackered, no way are they going to find me this is proper thick jungle, I just sat behind a tree listening for them and at some point fell asleep. I woke up with no idea as to what the time was, my arms covered in mosquito bites and I've got red ants crawling all over me.

How long have I been here, I have got no idea, and are they waiting for me at the bottom to come out? After a bit of sitting around and feeling seriously knackered and quite dehydrated it was time to brave it and slowly make my way down to check out the situation, all good. Took my t-shirt off, stuffed it down my trousers and then slowly walked up the beach. My back hurts and I can feel a great big lump on it, a Thai guy on the beach actually asked me what I had done, I just said that I had fallen over and asked for directions to the village, I think he was quite curious as to where I had appeared from, it’s a mission, I didn't realize how far I had ran. Walking along the beach and back through the village was horrible, I was looking everywhere hoping that they were not still around.

Walking through the village I spotted Niamh eating breakfast, it's 11am. We walked back to my guesthouse together and told the others what had happened. I'm filthy and my back is really starting to hurt, it’s cut as well, should be a nice old bruise. My camera is absolutely knackered, full of water, luckily the memory card seems to be ok, I would be gutted if it wasn't. A bite to eat and drink and then onto the beach, I really don't want to be walking around, I'm really paranoid, just can't help but think I am going to bump into them, it's a horrible feeling.

Anyway into the sea for a swim and then I fell asleep on the beach, the sea water is making me sting, I've got scratches up my arms and around my neck and my necklace is missing. I am so glad I can look after myself and even more so, that I am fit and can run, no way could they have kept up with me, not with the added adrenalin boost, if they could things could have been a hell of a lot worse.

On the way back to the guesthouse, a girl who works in a diving shop where me and Niamh made inquires in earlier today, called me over. She said that she had seen them walking up and down looking for me, she said that their story was different to mine but going by the state of his lips had guessed they were talking about me. She told me to be very careful as they were planning to get me tonight, thanks, now I'm extremely paranoid. Back to the guesthouse and that's where I am staying, I'm not going to take any chances I'm getting off this island first thing in the morning. The guys are great, especially the girls who stayed and played cards with me for a bit and then went out and bought me a ferry ticket for the morning. I am heading to Phuket, Niamh is going to come with me, the others are staying to do some diving and will join us in a couple of days, we will do our diving in Phuket. Dinner in the room, Chris brought me a pizza back, beautiful.

I spent the rest of the evening in the room on my own, writing my diary and listening to music. Cant help thinking about tomorrow's walk to the pier, I can't really do to much with a backpack on, but if they are out looking for me tonight they will hopefully be in bed in the morning. I'm sure it will be fine.

Beautiful sleep, my back’s still hurting and my legs are proper aching from all the running and climbing. Met Niamh at 8.30am and Chris walked with us to the pier, carrying my backpack, so at least if anything should happen my hands are free.

On to the ferry for the 2 hour journey and it’s raining. The ferry is so packed out, there are people sitting and standing up the centre isle and even people sitting on the deck in the rain, we were lucky to get a seat. We arrived in Phuket, it looks a lot brighter but it is still absolutely chucking it down.

We got a tuk tuk to Phuket town which is the second largest city in Thailand and found a place to stay for the night. Had a bite to eat and then had a wander around the town looking for camera shops. Some chill time back at the room and then a wander around in the rain for somewhere to have dinner.

This town is really quiet, all the bars are empty. After dinner we got a taxi to an Irish bar called O'Malley's, it's empty but we decided to stay, we are not exactly spoilt for choice. Had a few beers and a good old chat and then left at midnight, we had arranged with the taxi driver for him to pick us up but he didn't show. With my homing beacon on, we walked and somehow found our guesthouse. We are going to get on the move again tomorrow, to Patong, the main tourist beach area of Phuket.

Sorted ourselves out, a bit of brekki and then got a tuk tuk to Patong. This is more like it, a huge long beach with loads of shops, guesthouses and restaurants. There is a fair bit of building work going on, especially on the guesthouses closest to the beachfront. I suppose repairs from the Tsunami damage, found a place to stay, dumped our bags and then hit the beach. On the way I found a police station and reported my camera stolen. A really nice beach.

Phuket is another one of Thailand's main prostitute areas famous with sex tourists. On the beach there are lots of old men with Thai boys and girls, and a hell of a lot of lady boys. Walking back from the beach a few hours later and we bumped into a couple of girls, Gemma and Rebecca that we met in Ko Pha-ngan, we arranged to meet them later on tonight. Back at the room for some chill time and O' dear it is chucking it down, what is with this weather.

When going to meet the girls we were knee deep in water, the drainage system here just can't handle the amount of rain, it’s crazy, all good fun though. The main strip is basically one long road with lots of bars along it and side roads coming off it, with more bars. Its very seaside, lots of old men with young Thai girls, boys and lady boys, a proper sex capital. We just had a few drinks in a few of the not so seedy bars and then arranged to meet up again tomorrow.

All set to meet Gemma and Rebecca on the beach but it's raining so that plan has gone tits up. Instead we just spent a bit of time on the internet and then I shopped around and bought a new Fuji digital camera and memory card, hopefully my insurance will cover it but either way I need a camera so it's not really an issue.

It’s such a miserable day. We found a dive centre and booked a day’s scuba diving for tomorrow, it's just a day’s basic training with 2 dives. Got to see how I get on with the old mask and that before I book the 4 day Padi course which I will probably do in Kao Tao. After dinner it was time for some more internet action, no drink tonight, diving tomorrow.

Got picked up by the dive centre mini bus at 7.30am and drove to the pier. We then got a boat out to an island used as a dive site 1 and a half hour’s away. Whilst on the boat we had breakfast and then met Marco our instructor and another guy called Daniel who is diving with us, what a weirdo.

Marco explained a few things to us about what we are going to do and also explained some of the safety things that we have to do in order to equalize the air in our lungs etc. If not done correctly the sudden change in pressure could cause our lungs to explode, our ear drums to burst or mean that we need a trip to the local decompression chamber, sounds good don't it. After a good chat and after learning some basic underwater sign language it was time to get kitted out with the gear.

Wet suit, weight belt, B.C.D (buoyancy control device), oxygen tank, mask and fins and then off the boat and into the sea. We swam closer to the shore to where the water was about 3 meters deep and the first thing for us to do was deflate our jackets and sit on the sea bed, just getting used to breathing under water. Halfway down I hit the inflate button and to come back up, that feels weird, only being able to breath through my mouth and the fact that you can actually hear yourself breathing, and when you breath out loads of bubbles come out the side of the respirator and up the side of your head. Looking under I could see Niamh, Daniel and Marco sitting on the floor, what am I doing, get down there you pussy. At the bottom we just sat for a minute or two, breathing.

We then had to do some basic underwater skills which included filling our masks with water and then emptying them underwater, removing our respirators and swapping air supplies with each other, no problem with any of them. It was then time to start swimming under water to the reef, we went down to 11 meters in depth and saw some really amazing sea life but to be honest I was more interested in just getting used to the equipment rather than taking in all the sights. After about 30 minutes of diving we resurfaced, with a safety stop on the way and then got picked up by the boat. Lunch and a chill out on the boat and then the boat driver drove us around the bay to another dive site. Gear on and back in the water, this time down to 15 meters.

Fantastic, lots of colourful fish, huge sea slugs, different types of star fish, rock fish and all sorts, Amazing. After about 40 minutes of diving Niamh stuck her fingers up at me, I made a gesture in return and she xxxxxx herself laughing, her mask filled up with water and she hit the inflate button and shot to the surface, we were only about 6 meters deep at the time so luckily all was ok, the 3 of us followed as Daniel is also running low on air. With that it was back onto the boat for a shower, a drink, and the journey back to Phuket. A quality day, so glad we done it, Marco was awesome, we both gave him a drink as we said thanks and goodbye.

Back to the guesthouse for another shower and Christy and Sarah have found us, Chris is staying in Phi Phi for a bit, there are no more rooms available and so we are all in the same room for tonight. Up the road towards the main strip there is loads of seafood stalls, which is where we had dinner, another barbequed red snapper, beautiful, and so cheap. It was then up to the main strip for a night out. This place just isn’t the sort of place where you can have a really good night out, its got no atmosphere, all the clubs are of the sex show kind, all the bars are over priced and the streets are full of hookers, lady boys and sex tourists. If you don't think about it too much it's actually quite funny, and so open. Old men walking around with beautiful Thai girls, others with lady boys, maybe they know, maybe they don't. Some of the lady boys are obvious but no lie some of them are absolutely stunning. As a rule the Thais say that if a girl is tall and extremely sexy, the chances are it’s a geezer, sounds stupid don't it. I find myself looking at the size of there feet, hormone tablets can't change them, there is no point looking for the old Adam’s apple, they can be removed. Another clue is if they have got big tits, Thai girls generally don't have, you can't even tell by looking at their hips, its crazy.

Anyway we found a small bar called U2 which played some really good tunes. Had a couple of beers and I really can't be bothered to drink just for the sake of drinking, I'm not going to get ruined so what's the point. Back at the guesthouse and I'm in the double bed with the girls and Christy is on the floor.

We spent most of the day on the beach. Later in the evening before going out, me, Niamh and Christy done a litre of whiskey between us, Sarah was on the beer. We then went out down the main strip, first into an Aussie bar and then back into the U2 bar. A good night, all pretty ruined. O' dear at some point in the night my new camera took a fall and it is now a right off, sods law ain't it. At 4am I was ready for bed and so walked home on my own, shortly followed by the others.

A nice sleep, beans on toast for brekki, packed our bags and got a mini bus at 1pm to Krabi. The lens on my camera is knackered, hopefully it’s easily repairable, it’s not worth worrying about it, if not i'll just have to buy another one I can't travel without a camera, 5 days and I will be in Vietnam. 3 hours later and we are at Krabi bus station, it's a bit of a mess. We then got a taxi and then a long boat to Railay beach, a nice little beach resort with quite spectacular limestone cliffs and rock formations all around, Krabi is famous for rock climbing. A mission to find a place to stay, we eventually got a nice wooden hut with 2 double beds in it and its own bathroom, it’s about a 5 minute walk from the beach. A shower before going out and O' dear, what a surprise, it's absolutely chucking it down and we have got a power cut, so we are getting ready in the dark.

An hour or so later when the power was back on and the rain had stopped we walked down to the beach front where the few restaurants and bars are. There really isn't much here at all, there is lots of building work being carried out so it seems as if this area is very up and coming. We had a meal in a restaurant called Bo Bo's and then had a walk looking for a bar. There is literally only a couple of bars here, we found one called Cupid bar and tonight is actually the grand opening night, and so they have got a live reggae band playing Bob Marley style. The band is really good but we just had a couple of drinks and then headed back to the hut for an early night.

A nice lay in, brekki then straight onto the beach for the day. I hired a kayak and with Sarah on board kayaked around the bay to the next beach, Ton Sai beach, to check it out, apparently there is more night life on this beach. The beach itself is pants compared to ours, very rocky, but there is a lot more bars and so definitely worth a look one night. We then kayaked out to and around some small little islands, some wicked rock formations and little caves, lots of crabs too and bloody good exercise.

Back on the beach it’s 3pm and it’s chucking it down, with that it’s into Bo Bo's for some shelter and a late lunch. Apparently Thailand has never had so much rain, it’s actually wetter now than in the wet season, crazy. Back at the hut for a couple of hours chill time and then out for dinner in a restaurant called The Rock. We then had a drink in Bo Bo's and then headed back to the hut for a reasonably early night. 11pm.