Hello one and all!

So here we are in the beautiful south of Thailand. We arrived on 25th October after a long 26 hour coach journey down from Chiang Mai, stopping in Bangkok then on to Phuket. As you can imagne it was a huge sigh relief when we did arrive, but well worth the journey to get here. Our first full day was spent bursking on the beach of Patong working our milky white bods to a healthier shade of sunkissed bronze. It must be in the high 30's out here so a refreshing dip in the sea throughout the day was perfect. Feeling revilalised we headed into town that evening for a bit of nightife along the famous Bangla Road. This busy strip is a big eye opener, full of gyrating Thai girls seeking western men for the night or even to make them their bride! As they say out here- ''no money, no honey!'' Not to mention the ladyboys and rent boys we saw along the way! luckly enough we managed to find a bar a little less seedy where we challenged the locals to a friendly game of Connect Four, Jenga and Jackpot.

The following day with our heads feeling a little tender, it was an early start as we boarded the boat for the Phi Phi islands. This is a group of 6 islands 1 hour from the coast of Phuket, we headed to the main island of Phi Phi Don where we booked into the islands insect hotspot known as...'Up Hill Cottage' den den durrr!!!. This guesthouse left us itching and scratching for the next few days. But after we got know the friendly centipiede that shared the shower, the ants that crawled from the woodwork and made room for the gnats that wanted to share the bed we were fine- haha! Making the most of our time in the Phi Phi islands we went on a day trip around the islands, this was a great day out. We visited Maya Bay home to the set of The Beach. After paddling our way onto shore by Kayak we stepped onto the soft white sand that felt like flour between our toes and explored the island, which is an uninhabited nature reserve. Later we sailed to Bamboo island (pure paradise) where we snorkled over the coral searching for tropical fish and other exoctic sea life. This was an amazing experience, as soon as our snorkels were on and our heads were under we were surrounded by a variety of tropical fish. We even managed to spot some clown fish (Nemo fish) sneaking out from under the coral. Next stop was monkey island, yep you guessed it...home to our furry ancestors! At first glance it didn't look like we would have much joy, we were searching the shore for a good 15 minutes, the next thing you know we were surrounded by more than 20 monkeys some only young babies. They swang down from the trees right onto the beach to scavenge the fruit and nuts they had been left by visiters. They came so close to us, it was fascinating watching them strolling along the sand or fighting over fruit. So later that night after a full day out at sea we headed to one of Phi Phi Dons bars called Hippies, where they were hosting a black moon party that went on late into the night. Here we witnessed the fasinating fire show. Each entertainer swings fire on chains and sticks to the beat of the music all around their bodies and across their skin, then extinguishing the flame in their mouths!!!

We hope all you guys back home are safe and well, look forward to hearing from you as always! Lots of Love- The Essex Girls x x x x