After leaving Tokyo we landed in Bangkok on Halloween, which was a serious assault to the senses... once we got used to it and found our bearings we made the most of it, did a bit of shopping before heading south for the islands - koh tao first stop.

Took the night train from Bangkok to Chumphon, about 458km south of Bangkok where we took the catamaran the following morning to Koh Tao... (where we'd been told it had been raining heavily for the last week!) Thankfully when we arrived the sun was rising and the island looked like a picture postcard - a huge change from Bangkok! We were met off the boat by the scuba diving club that we're diving with, who showed us around the island and gave us a choice of accomodation. And so we ended up, quite literally living in a teeny hut on the beach... there's just enough electricity for light and a fan to cool us down. Back to basics for the champagne backpackers..!!

After organising our scuba diving itinerary for the week we settled into our new digs and went for a walk on the beach. About five minutes after we got back to the hut and smothering ourselves in suncream, the heavens opened and an almighty thunderstorm hit the island... and didnt stop until the next morning. So we took the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep..

The next morning the thunderstorm had abated and the sun was out so we spent the afternoon sprawled on the beach while Caroline tried desperately not to get sunburnt. With occasional dips in the sea to cool us off, and some good Tiger beer... we have finally reached heaven and we're not moving from here!

Our next door neighbours are two English girls who we've befriended so we all went for dinner and drinks that night. One more day of relaxation before we head back to the classroom to learn how to scuba dive - hopefully! Watch this space....