Sorry this has taken a while to add, just been super busy visiting cultural sites, and having a drink or three! :P

Arrived in Bangkok and immediately the humidity hit us. Under the weight of our over-packed backpacks we struggled to the bus station and made our way into town to find our hostel; Lub d Bangkok. It was lovely and we met some really great people there who keep cropping up along the way. Spent the first night in the red light district, which was an eye-opener with the ping pong shows and lady boys! Had a great night out though and I guess it's all part of the Thailand experience. The next day we headed up to Mo Chit for the weekend market which was complete mahem - about 5,000 stalls all cramped together with no organisation selling anything and everything. The heat and maze-likeness of the place was unbearable, and the amount of animals from fish to chickens to dogs to chipmunks all bagged and caged up was horrible to see. Spent that night on the Koh San Road which we really enjoyed; full of backpackers and had a great atmosphere. Left Bangkok the next day and caught an overnight bus down to Surrathanni...

Got to Surrat in the wee hours and had to wait around for another transfer bus to take us to the pier so we could catch our ferry over to Koh Phangan. About three bus transfers later (a system we still don't fully understand!) we arrived at the pier and took the boat over to Koh Phangan. Took a rollacoaster of a taxi to our hostel, Coral Bungalows, and immediately hit the pool - sooooo nice after 28 hours of travelling with no sleep or any comfort! Randomly bumped into Tom Ing (from school!) in the hostel's bar so that night the three of us wandered into town for some food and had drinks on the Sunrise Beach whilst watching fire shows. The next few days consisted of pretty much the same; late wake-ups (we blame jet lag!), chilling by the pool, grabbing some munch and spending the evenings in town. However on one evening we attended our hostel's infamous pool party. Oh. My. God! Complete and utter mahem! No concern for health and safety at all but the best party ever! On Saturday 9th we went to the Full Moon Party; thousands of ravers, glow-painted to the max, partying from 9pm to 7am and beyond the next day at numerous bars along the beach. Had a great evening and was amazing to watch the sunrise at 6am before heading back for some sleep. Recovered the next day around our pool then checked out the following day and set off Phuket...

Had another overnight bus journey to Phuket and arrived at our hostel, Phuket Backpackers, at 1am. Hit the dorm straight away, waking up the other 8 people in the process - sorry! Walked into town the next day to check out the area, which took all of an hour! Phuket Bay was really beautiful but the whole town was lifeless; full of locals, which addmittedly was nice to experience especially after the over-westernised nature of Koh Phangan, but everything shut at 11pm meaning we had to settle for a toasted sandwich and a can of Chang beer for our dinner in the hostel's common room! The next day we checked out and bussed to the other side of the island; Patong. Being abut 20 minutes away it was a complete contrast to Phuket Town! Hustle and bustle everywhere, pushy shop owners, clubs and bars, shopping malls, ping pong shows, lady boys!! We spent two nights there, having one civilised evening and another not so civilised evening! On our night out we grouped up with a load of Australian's we met in a bar and became honoury Aussie's for the night. After that night out we are both seriously concerned and excited for our time in Australia - it was messy! Feeling a touch worse for wear the next day we bussed and ferried over to Phi Phi...

We are now on our 4th day on Phi Phi Don and absolutley love it! From the moment we stepped off the boat the laid back yet buzzing atmosphere of the island is appaarent - it has the perfect mix of calm, with a really local feel, yet also has so much going on at the same time. The island itself is truely beautiful. the beaches are pure white sand and clear blue waters and the landscape is intense. We hiked (and yes, it was a hike!) up about a zillion steps to the View Point summit and the effort made the journey completely worth it, the view was breathtaking and amazing to stand at the peak of the island watching the sunset. This afternoon we are going on an excursion over to Maya Bay (the set where the film "The Beach" was shot) to explore the island both on land and snorkelling in its shores before having a BBQ dinner on the beach and sleeping beneath the stars on the beach itself and watching the sunrise in the morning. Needless to say we are both extremely excited!

Well that's our journey so far, two weeks in and already it feels like we've done so much. We've both enjoyed every moment so far, even the moments where we struggle with out backpacks or get lost around the towns all add to the experience and are helping to make it what it is. We're both ok and have the tattoos to prove it! (Sorry parentnals!)

Will write another installment soon of our next leg of the trip; heading up to Chang Mai in northen Thailand for a three-day jungle trek before taking a two-day slow boat across to Laos for some much anticipated tubing!

Love to you all at home.
Speak soon.
Lots of love,
Kel and Vik
xxxx