With no time to even think about recovering from jet-lag, we were sailing the Andaman Sea from Phuket Town to 'Koh Phi Phi' promtly at 8 the next morning... The views were stunning...huge rock formations jutted out of the deep turquoise sea...I'd never seen anything quite like it elsewhere...

I'll never forget the moment the harbour bay of Koh Phi Phi island appeared...think 'paradise' and it's a pretty accurate description. Palm trees. Blue water. White beaches. 30 degree heat. What a way to start!

Small beach bungalow-huts were to be our home for the next two nights...located right up on the edge of the hill...a gorgeous retreat.

That night we met friends and sampled my first 'whisky bucket' (pictured) - a rather potent mixture where the alcohol usually outweighs the mixer. All for the equivalent of about 2 quid. So we spent a rather blurry evening on the main beach of Koh Phi Phi...eating pad thai and sipping these wondrous bucket beverages as the sun set and the music began.

Tuesday 12th July then saw us getting a traditional fishing 'longtail' boat across to the neighbouring island of Koh Phi Ley. After stopping off at 'Monkey Beach' - thieving little creatures, but still adorable! - and Viking Cove - for a spot of snorkelling - we reached this beautiful island, famous for where Danny Boyle's 'The Beach' was filmed. What our travel agent - a little Thai lady known as 'Sunshine' didn't tell us - was that this was where we had to: put our bags (incl. camera, wallet etc) into a plastic bin bag, wrap this into a lifejacket "so it would float better", jump into the sea with it, and swim AGAINST the waves to reach the island itself! (the boat could only go a certain distance).... Having no other real option, we jumped in.

The island itself was virtually uninhabited. Apart from the 6 locals we saw eating fried rice and swinging in hammocks, we were almost alone. Think 'Castaway' and that was us.

'The Beach' beach itself, was incredible. Surrounded by huge purple rock formations, we spent the afternoon floating in the crystal-clear water and sunbathing in a somewhat timeless secluded island. That evening we met the rest of the camping trip, where we tried 'Koh Phangan chicken', vegetables in oyster sauce and (unfortunately), more of those wondrous whisky buckets as the sun set....After roasting marshmallows and singing songs, we slept under the stars and (almost) full-moon on the beach itself...lulled to sleep by the sounds of nearby crickets and the crashing waves...

Once again there was no time to be hungover the next morning....we had to make a full-day's travelling to reach our next destination: The Party Island....aka 'Koh Phangan' in the Gulf of Thailand sea.