Hey all

I arrived in Koh Phangan on the 15th after a 12 hour overnight train journey from Bangkok to Surat Thani. From there I then took a coach to the pier and then a ferry to Koh samui and then a ferry to Koh Phangan...so i was basically travelling for about 18 hours. Arriving in Koh Phangan was breathtaking...the sea was turquiose and the island is so green! The beaches are white and the heat was fab!!

We spent most of the first afternoon chilling by the pool...cocktails here are like 50p!! no excuse to be sober now fro the rest of my time here!! haha. Our first night in Koh Phangan was spent chilling on the beach drinking buckets...watching the tiniest of thai guys play with fire like it wouldnt burn if it touched him!! so impressive!! It was very quiet down on the beach tonight. The thai folk are in a period of mourning after the death of the kings sister...so most bars and restaurants are closed until tomorrow. We ended up sat on the sand with 3 aussies and a guy from denmark listening to a canadian play oasis on his guitar....all singing along! it was almost quite hippified how chilled out the beach was at night.

Day 2 on Koh Phangan, we went on a boat tour aroung Koh Phangan and the surrounding islands. We first went snorkelling just off an island called Koh Wao, and then we took a hike up what felt like a mountain up to the most beautiful waterfall...needless to say...i picked inappropriate foot wear (somethings never change) and ended up having to crawl up the rocks because my flip flops were too slippy. But it was worth it when we reached the top. The waterfall was huge and there was a gorgeous pool of crystal clear water at the bottom. The cool water was a blessing after such an intense hike in 40 degree heat!!

Just to back track a bit...I was warned to take high factor suncream today because we'd be out during the heat of the day...but suncream is the only expensive thing on this island and being on a shoestring budget, i decided to go into a pharamacy and see what they would recommend. So anyway...i enede up paying about 8 quid for this unknown brand of factor 50 suncream.

Ok back to the story..after the waterfall...we went to another island for lunch, where i sensibly decided to opt for some shade from the mid day sun...and i thought my skin looked suspitiously pink...so decided to cover up for the rest of the day. In the afternoon we went to a huge sand bank that co-joined two islands to one another and the girls sunbathed and the guys played beach volleyball and tag....my ultra competitive side kicked in which resulted in all the boys ganging up on me and making me loose and practically every game we played...grr!! Very good fun though. Then we made our way back to our beach bungalows where we had a few minutes to shower and get ourselves ready for another night of drinking!! It was now that i realised that the suspicios pink colour of my skin...was infact full on bright red sunburn!! Never trust thai suncream!! let that be a lesson for me to try and skrimp on something so essential to me!! haha.

It was called the snoop dog tour...basically because after the day was over...we had the option of going back to his bar where marijuana was handed out for free!! haha. Me and lizzie stuck to the buckets...but it was funny watching everyone else get high. They did provide dinner though... and it was the most delicious thai food ive tasted yet...and it tasted even better because it was free!! haha. Me and Liz didnt stay out late tonight...cos we had an early start in the morning. So i went to buy some branded factpr 50 suncream and a cheap tshirt to cover up my burnt back and shoulders so i wouldnt have to miss out on any of the activities tomorrow.

We spent our third day on koh phangan on a sped boat tour of angthong marine park which is about 30km east of Koh Samui. Its a cluster of 42 tiny islands and man was it the most beautiful place ive ever been to. The speed boat ride was great fun for me...but for some of the other guys in our group who stayed up late drinking...there was some serious green looking faces!! Our first stop was snorkelling. One of the girls in my group got her foot bitten by a wierd fish/shark thing...so i was almost put off going in the water...but one of the guys ended up pushing me in...so i floundered for a while panicking that i would be eaten alive..but then i reaslisesd that the fish just nipped you...and you'd be unlucky if they broke the skin. After feeding the fish with scraps of bread and drinking more sea water that is healthy...we moved on to go to a gorgeous viewpoint on the highest point of all the islands to get some super snaps. But the hike was hurrendous to say the very least!! I must have climbed a 1000 steps to get there!!...but it was nothing less than spectacular!! You'll have to see the pics to believe how amazing it was! Then we went for lunch and in the afternoon we tryed our hands at sea kayaking.

This was massively fun. Me and liz shared as kayak...i was utterly crap!! I couldnt get any sort of momentum going and felt like everytime i paddled left i was going to roll the kayak. After about ten minutes of liz shouting left...right...left ....right...i soon mastered it. We eventually after a guelling 45 minutes of rowing...against the bloody currant...arrived at a beach for a little swim and a rest for our arms. The paddle back wasnt as bad...probably because i knew theyd be a pina colada waiting for me!! Today was a super fun day though and in managed to come back with no sunburn!! result!

Tonight was the pool party at coral bungalows...about 5 minutes outside of haad rin. It was like something out of an american movie!! Girls dancing in their bikinis by the pool side and guys with topless girls on their shoulders wrestling each other in the pool. We all had a great time and drank way too much...but as it got to about 4-5am...things just started to get crap...it ended up being like ten to two in your local club back home when all the guys started throwing themselves at all the unattached women...and with alcohol comes domestics...and a few of the guys from my group started falling out etc...so me a lizzie took ourselves home at 5ish.

Tonight was the first time ive really felt homesick. It was a bit too much like an 18-30's clubbing holiday for me and made me feel like a right old git...haha. I think ill just stick to buckets on the beach where theres good conversation and dancing!

Day 4 on koh phangan. We went elephant trekking. Probably my favourite day so far!! We drove for a good 40 minutes into the thick of the jungle to get there. The elephants were fab...we fed them bananas first and then we had to climb up onto this reickety wooden climbing frame to get onto the elephant. I asked if i could ride the elephant barback rather than sitting on the seat. It was soooo hairy and prickely...not how i imagined it to be at all. You sit practically on top of its head...right on top of its shoulders and as it walks you can feel it moving under your bum. The jungle trek wasnt how i imagined it to be at all....we literally went off the beaten track and i feared for my life and the elephants life on a few occasions!! It was so slow moving....but the guide didnt hit the elephants with sticks...which made me feel better. My legs hung down by thge side of the elephants head...so for the entire trek my legs were being whipped by its ears!! haha. The worst bit was coming back down the hill...because you have nothing to hold onto! you just have to hope to god you dont topple forward and be trampled down by the elephant!! I made it back in one piece though!! it was the best thing ive ever done! so so cool!!

By the time we made it back to our bungalow..i was well and truelly knackered. Too many late nights and action packed days...so i decided id treat myself to an aromatherapy thai massage...cost...5 quid for an hour!! bargain!! The massage huits were a stones throw away from the beach in an air conditioned room. You laid on a matress overlooking the sunset. It was fantastic...until she got a bit rough and ended up folding me and pulling in in all sorts of wierd ways!! hahaha...i did leave feeling completely detoxed and refreshed...so now i was ready for another night on the buckets!!

Tonight was just more of the same really...although there were a few of the group leaving for their onwards flights to bangkok...so i suppose it was our last night together. We went for a mexican and then went to cactus bar on the beach. At 200bt for a vodka bucket you cant complain!! Spent the night dancing like a loon...again! Rolled into bed at about 5 am....seriously need to get my body clock re-adjusted!!

Most of the group have decided to stick around in haad rin for an extra couple of nights...mainly because its the half moon party in the jungle tonight. So we spent most of the day shopping for outrageous stuff to wear for that. We all ended up wearing neon sweat bands...full moon tshirts and covered from head to toe in uv paints!! We looked like complete idiots!! haha. After several warm up buckets on the beach..we got a taxi to the jungle. The half moon party was brilliant...you could see it from miles away with all the uv tents and lanterns. I had so much fun. Unfortunatly the party was a bit too busy for some of our group and so they didnt enjoy it...so we ended up leaving at about 5am...which was early considering the amount of red bull i have pumping through me!!

Today we had a lazy day and a lazy night...spent most of our time making plans for tomorrow and where we wanted to head to next. After spending 2 hours in a thai travel shop we've managed to pretty much book everything up to the date i fly out to sydney. Our plan is to head to koh samui on the ferry tomorrow for 4 nights and then we are heading to koh phi phi via krabi on the 26th for 2 nights before making our way back up to bangkok from surat on the 28th.

Ill write my next blog entry from samui...i hope its as good at koh phangan!!

Love to you all x x x