Hola! We're currently in Penang staying in Georgetown which is 'OK' and apparently backpacker central but doesn't seem to be too frantic. It's pretty same same here and every street is similar. First day here (yesterday) we went to Penang Hill which had some pretty good views but nothing to shout about. In the afternoon we went to the Queensbay Mal which put to shame any of the shopping mals back home and I bought some clobber to replace what I've had nicked! To...

It's our last day in Koh Tao today as we're travelling to Koh Samui tomorrow morning. Completed our PADI open water course on Wednesday which was quality. Did 4 dives in total to depths ranging from 12-18M. Unfortunately didn't see any sharks but still an amazing experience. We learnt several skills to do whilst underwater - mask removal and replacement, clearing your mask, buoyancy control, etc. We were on the sea bed doing the mask removal skill and in a moment...

Hello from Koh Phangan. It's actually our last day here and we were due to get a taxi but, not suprisingly, it didn't turn up. A lot of the organised trips and taxi services here aren't the most organised or reliable! We're now leaving for Koh Tao at 12:00 today instead, hopefully... Koh Phangan has been eventful, a serious bout of food poisoning and diarrhoea (nice!) for Mr Howes - thankfully now under control with antibiotics, the Full Moon Party which was bon...

Sawadee kap! Have just been on a long boat to Phi-Phi Le island (where the film The Beach was filmed). It's an amazing place, like paradise!... well worth the 600 baht (fiver) it cost us! We went snorkling around it too which was good. Yesterday we went to Monkey Beach and it was awesome - the monkeys are brilliant, they even like Singha beer! Mind you, if you upset them you soon know about it and have to scarper for the sea as they won't go into the water. It's ...

Hola from Phi Phi Don island! This place is awesome - much better than Bangkok or Phuket. Weather is v.good, about 35' today. Went to a beach party last night at a bar called Hippies... saw a magic show and some Thai firestarter blokes - both were awesome. Have some good pictures and videos of what we've seen so far but won't be able to upload until I find a PC that isn't as old as the hills! Have seen lots already - floating market in Bangkok, cobra snake show (...