Pretty fun last days in sangkhlaburi, and first few day in ko phan nang, had a really long bus journey so had plenty of time to kill, apologies for the massive delay in the blogs, been pretty hard to find wifi on the island.

Wednesday afternoon was spent recovering from the trek. Had a quick shop trying to find more tshirts (I couldn't!) and got some more money out ready for partying at our tropical island.

After our 7 oclock meeting a group of us went to a place called the Burmese inn for dinner. Only been here once, and had a pretty average curry, so decided to give it another shot. On the way there the whole town had a power cut, we were about 18 mins into the 20 min walk so decided to keep going just to see if it was still open. Fortunately they used gas cookers and didn't mind cooking in the dark. So we had a very unusual dinner by candlelight! Had sweet and sour chicken, which was pretty average. The power came back on about halfway through the meal.

After this we headed to the bar for 2 games of pool. (me and my friend have a tournament going, we both won one each so the score stands at 8-6 to me!)

Didn't stop for too long as we had a big party planned on the next day (our last night in sangkhlaburi) so headed back for a very early night at about 11.

Up at 10 for our day sightseeing. Also our last full day in sangkhlaburi. Walked across the huge wooden bridge (2nd longest wooden bridge in the world or something like that, the longest is in Burma) to the mon village on the other side of the river. The mon people are all originally refugees - very similar to the Karen people we got taught about a few days before.

Walked to a temple where a very famous monk was buried. Who apparently had an amazing body that didnt decay when he died. Or something wacky like that. Did some more bowing and bending and got given a bead necklace from a monk which was very cool. Apparently it's for protection. Didn't do much for my hangover the next day though.

Walked to another part of the same temple, which had a big golden pagoda with lots of funky shapes on it, got lots of arty shots with my camera. Then had a look at the little market next to the temple. Picked up a few more presents, have to cut back a bit though as i really don't have much room.

After an hour we drove to the burmese border, which has a fairly famous market. Stopped on the way to get lunch at a 7-11, had another delicious Mexican chicken burger amongst other things. The border market was mainly jewelry, but it also did very cheap alcohol, and some weird health treatment involving goats heads.

Got some authentic Burmese whisky which was very nice. Almost a shame to have to mix it with pepsi that night!

Also got a new anklet. Thought it would be a good idea to get one with bells on it, but I'm starting to regret it as every time i walk I sound like a stupid reindeer.

Back to the hostel for a nap before getting ready for the big party. Another power cut that day, didn't really matter as everyone was sleeping. The theme for the party was Hawaiian so everyone had bright flowery shirts on. I just got a pair of silly shorts that had cartoon cows and sheep on it hugging. They were quite colorful though so got away with it.

Really tasty buffet dinner - especially the yummy fried chicken. The power came back on (we had been using a generator) so the music and karaoke started and we partied the rest of the night away. Woke up with a massive hangover, loads of marker pen on my face and pillow, and part of my left eyebrow missing. So I think it was a good night!

Got all my stuff packed up just in time, said bye to all the coordinators who we met in sangkhlaburi then hopped on the bus for our day traveling.

Basically driving all the way down to a little island in the bay of Thailand. The island is called ko pha nang (google for photos!) may be a slightly different spelling as it's difficult to translate Thai names into english.

The journey was split into 4 parts - a bus from sangkhlaburi to kanchanaburi (stopping off for 3 hours at our last hostel with the pool). Here we sat and managed to get the royal wedding on tv, so in 10 years time when someone asks me where I was when it happened at least I'll have an interesting story.

The second part is an overnight bus down to the coast. We left at about 6 from the hostel, and arrived at the coast at half 6 in the morning. When we arrived at the coast we got on a boat for 2 hrs, before finally getting a quick 15 min taxi from the port to our hotel.

Amazing resort! Will try and upload some of the photos I managed to badly take on my phone. Arrived at about 11. Straight into the swimming trunks and ran out to sea. Bit weird - it's knee deep for 100m or so, then there's a little sand bar which, depending on the tide, is out of the water, or at most about ankle deep. After this it deepens to open water.

Some nice sunbathing on the sand bar - really soft sand, and it's very cooling being half in the water, lots of people burnt! Spent about an hour here before heading to get some lunch. Had a very nice seafood dish that had a peanut sauce on it. So glad we can finally eat seafood (were on an island so obviously it's a whole lot fresher) Off to the 7-11 for snacks and beer.

Half of us are in beach huts right next to the sea, the other half in larger huts set about 20m behind the 1st beach huts. The ones further back (that I'm in) have air con, a flushing loo, a tv, hot shower and a fridge, it's also a lot bigger. So really not complaining!

Beers in the fridge (obviously) before heading across to the pool. A lot of people had naps at this point to make up for the rubbish nights sleep on the bus. But i stayed in the pool til about half 5. Then got out, showered and changed ready for our 1st night in ko phan nang!

Good night out, a 10 min taxi to a huge beach where they hold the full moon parties (Haad rin beach if you're interested) Lots of bars and shops along the front. Went to a bar where because of where we were staying we got around about a 20% discount. (the guys on the bar didn't have great maths skills so it was a bit random)

Really spectacular fire dancers entertained us all night. Swinging round sticks, or balls on chains lit on fire. Looked so good in the dark. One of our coordinators had a friend running the fire show who very kindly let me try! Had done a similar thing on the trek but with a bigger stick, and also used to play tennis and badminton a lot so can do some funny tricks spinning the rackets round - quite similar to this. Got it dipped (I think it was kerosene from the smell) and then lit it up. Really looked good for about a minute, then realized I'd dipped a bit too enthusiastically and it was also burning up the handle! Dropped it quickly before things got too hot, but did scorch the side of my hand a bit. Got a tiny blister slightly smaller than my little fingernail. All my friends got some really great photos of me doing it though.

Was still going a bit green on the booze despite it being a couple of days before. So only had a beer and a bucket before calling it a night on the alcohol. Spent the rest of the night dancing on the tables by the beach and generally looking after the rest of the group who were in a far worse shape than me!

Some more brilliant activities later on in the night - fire breathing (my hand was still stinging so gave it a miss for tonight) a few girls with longer hair did singe it a bit if they didn't blow hard enough, but overall fine. And finally the balloon game (tie a balloon to your ankle and try and pop everyone elses - winner gets a free bucket)

Got to about half 1 and all the fire dancers packed up (they had been going since at least 9 when we got there - pretty impressive) so called it a night. Got the taxi back, put a few drunken people to bed before chatting for about an hour by the sea. Eventually got into the hut, quick spray in the shower to get rid of the sand. (I hate having sand in my bed) then slept through.

The next day myself and all the other guys went out for a fishing trip! All the girls had an exciting day laughing about us going on a fishing trip and getting rid of their strap marks.

Got up and had breakfast (toast and jam, same as the last place sadly) then rested by the pool for a few hours until it was time to leave for our trip.

Got on the pickup truck and headed to the sea, stopping on the way to pick up 3 other Thai guys who were also fishing. Got on the boat and set off for a fishing spot, about a 20 min cruise along some really picturesque beaches.

Set up the fishing rods, with our smelly bits of squid on the end for bait, and waited... And waited... You get the idea, didn't really catch anything, in fact the 1st thing we caught was a rock. So moved along the coast a bit to try another spot. Much more success for the other guys, they had all caught at least 4 before I caught one! After this we lost count as all our "scores" went over 10. The fish were fairly small - the largest was about a hand length, so moved to another spot where they're were supposedly bigger fish. One of the Thai guys caught a big fish in about 5 mins, then nothing for the next half hour. I fell asleep.

Drove to the final spot, set up the rods and instantly felt lots of big tugs on the rods. After we pulled the lines out of the rocks we realised there were actually a few big fish down there. I managed to catch 3! Got the biggest one of the day, and also a weird flat fish that had a horn, apparently we couldn't eat it.

While this was going on the guy driving the boat was de heading the fish and grilling them on a barbecue. Finished up and had the most delicious grilled fish sat in the sun on the boat. Cooked the fish with just salt and pepper, and it had really nice crispy skin!

It was really nice sitting eating fish that we had caught, in the middle of a clear turquoise sea, with 4 good friends, knowing we have 5 days left in our tropical paradise. Seriously considering giving it the title of 'best day of the holiday so far'.

The other Thai guys on the boat had a much better idea - they had brought a chopping board, a knife, then wasabi and soy sauce. Then just cut it up and had sushi! (sashimi if you're being specific.) They very kindly came over and let us have a try - very delicious fish that was incredibly fresh.

Headed back to the hotel for another pool session, then had a nice Thai curry for tea. No one could be bothered going out so we stayed and played cards and talked. Early night ready for the black moon party tomorrow!

In other news - my Canadian work visa has been accepted, and i got the work contract in the post, just have to sign it and send it back! So happy it's all been sorted - one less thing to worry about.

Hoping you all had a fun time with the 4 day weekend in the uk. Dont be too envious of me chilling on a tropical beach!

For now,

Josh xx

Picture is of Thailand's answer to easter eggs! Found them in a 7-11 and got one of our coordinators to translate. Basically - rotten eggs, boiled, then covered in Chinese herbs. Sounds yummy right? Apparently even most Thai people dont like them. Guess it's a bit like black pudding. So yes I am missing my big chocolate Easter egg!

Auntie Claire - sounds yummy! Really want some smoked salmon now! One of my fave foods. Actually havnt tried the red curry out here yet (Ive had a few green ones) something I'll have to try before I leave.

Steph - pad Thai is almost an art form out here. There are far too many variables, for example I had 4 different types of noodles in just one pad thai! Then add to that what veg you use, what meat to put in, and if you use any flavoring (most use tamarind paste). This is all before you add anything to it yourself! Most places offer dried chili, sugar, chili oil, fish sauce and soy sauce.
At the moment I prefer the wide flat noodles, lots of peanuts, quite a bit of egg, some spice, quite sugary, and with fish sauce. Not really too bothered on what meat, (usually I go for chicken or pork, but even the tofu is tasty). Think you can tell just from that it gets quite specific!

Dad - think you know how important food is to me!