So after meeting Phil at the airport we had one night in Bangkok before heading back down to the islands. I had my first experience of Koh San Road which is where all the travellers stay in Bangkok. It has a great atmosphere and seems like its always on the go. We did a bit of shopping on the market stalls and managed to haggle to get some good bargains.

The next day we took an overnight to get down to the port. It didnt seem as good as the one I had taken before and definately didnt have as much leg room so I didnt manage to get that much sleep. We were woken up at one point to stop off for food in the middle of the night and the place we stopped at had a very load Thai lady shouting over the tannoys. I didnt appreciate that much at that time in the morning especially as I couldnt understand what she was saying. We got to the port at around 4am before getting a boat over to Koh Toa. We arrived there at about 6am and were meant to get picked up by the next boat at about nine. We went off to find some breakfast and then headed back to the pier at the alloted time. Of course in typical Thai style there was then an announcement to say that the boat was delayed so we had to sit there for another few hours. By the time we got to Koh Phangan we were very hot and very tired. We headed down to a place that some people had recommended I stay at only to find that it was full. There were some bungalows nearby and as all I wanted to do by this point was have a shower and go to sleep we took it. Later I kind of wished I hadnt when I found loads of ants in my bed. In true traveller style I just slept with the bugs and was thankful that we had only booked in for one night. After dinner we walked around Had Rin for a while looking for somewhere else to stay but as it was so close to the full moon party nearly everywhere was full so we decided to get up early the next morning and check out a different part of the island.

In order to get around Koh Phangan everyone uses mopeds so as it was really cheap we decided to get one as well and we used this to explore other places to stay. I really enjoyed having the moped and even did a little bit of driving myself. I think part of the reason I liked it was because I was banned from having a bike when I was younger so felt like I was rebelling a bit. After getting a bit lost around the island we found somewhere really nice to stay. It was probably the poshest place I have stayed in since I left home but was newly opened so was charging less than other places. It had a swimming pool and was right on the beach so I was happy and it meant that we could finally relax a bit.

I knew that one of the girls I had met in New Zealand was staying pretty near us on the island so that evening we headed out to have dinner around where we thought they would be. It turned out that I chose pretty well with the restaurant and just as we were finishing dinner they turned up. It was great to catch up and to discuss what we had both been up to since we left New Zealand. They had been told about a reggae party which was happening just down the road so we decided to go along to that. A reggae party is not normally the sort of thing that I would choose to go to but I actually quite enjoyed it and it had kind of a festival vibe going on. We did nearly get set on fire though when we decided to sit on some palm branches instead of on the floor. We realised just in time that they were pouring lighter fluid on the pile and stood up just before they lit it. Youve got to love the Thailand health and safety.

The next few days were spent mostly chilling out on the beach. We were planning on going to have a look at one of the waterfalls on the island until we were told by my friends that they had been up there and there was no water so the waterfall was just a really dissapointing trickle as there hadnt been enough rain. I was glad I didnt get all the way up there and then find that out. Then it was time to go to the full moon party. This is a massive party on one of the beaches on the island which obviously happens once a month on the full moon. Most travellers in the area try and plan their trip so they are there for the part so you end up with thousands of people all partying on the beach. Some more people that I had met on New Zealand were there so it felt like it was a New Zealand reunion. We all got painted up in Neon and drank vodka red bull from buckets and basicly danced the night away on the beach.

The next day was a bit of a right off due to the late night from the night before and then the next day we caught a ferry over to Koh Samui. As we were all stood on the pier waiting for the ferry everybody started noticing how many people were wating for the same boat and wandering whether everyone would get on. When the boat arrived they announced that people who needed to catch a flight from the airport in Koh Samui were allowed to get on the boat. It was the one time I have seen them health and safety concious in Thailand and there was an official looking man counting how many people were getting on the boat. This of course meant that we didnt get on it and had to wait for over 2 hours for the boat to take people over and then come back for us. It didnt bother me too much as it meant I got to sit in the sun and work on my tan but I think Phil might have developed a bit of a sun stroke as he is obviously not as used to the weather as me.

I was not as impressed by Koh Samui as I had been by the other islands. The beach was gorgeous but the rest of it was really developed. This meant that the main strip full of restaurants wasnt full of your usual cheap thai places but instead had expensive western food. Quite a lot of the restauarants seemed to be owned by people who werent Thai and they seemed to have a go at the Thai waiters quite a lot so eating wasnt as fun an experince as it had been in other places. Nethertheless it was a nice place to walk around and when the sun wasnt too hot we spent most of the time on the beah anyway so it didnt really matter.

Yesterday we left Koh Samui to come back up to Bangkok. I asked the travel agents to book us on a boat and then an overnight bus but when I asked for more specific times of the boats and the buses the lady didnt really understand. All I knew was that we were getting picked up from our hotel at midday and would arrive in Bangkok at 5am. The minibus picked us up and took us to the pier which is what I expected but then instead of getting on a boat they loaded us onto another bus. I found a couple who were going to Bangkok as well and they seemed equally confused about why we werent gettin on a boat but at least we were confused together. The bus took us around the island and then we got off at another port. We then got on a boat took it over to the mainland before getting on the bus again. Just over an hour later we stopped at a random cafe and they told us to get off. Everyone looked around confused until we were told that we would get picked up by another bus later. We sat in the cafe for a few hours watching Jackass and then were loaded up onto a sort of tuk tuk with two long seats along the back of it. Our one didnt have a roof rack but our bags were still thrown up there regardless. Everyone got a bit worried about the bags falling off as they werent stapped on but as soon as we started going we realised they would be fine. As there were 11 of us cramed onboard as well as the driver we didnt seem to be able to move faster than about 10 mph. We then got dropped off at another bus station waited around a bit then finally got on a bus that would take us all the way to Bangkok. We stopped off again for food at the same place we had on the way down and the anoying Thai person was still shouting but I slept really well so wasnt too tired when we arrived. I was also very chuffed that we managed to find a hotel in Bangkok which had a swimming pool on the roof. Ive sat up there for a bit today and you cant even tell you are in the middle of a city. We have one night in Bangkok before going up to Chang Mai tomorrow. I intend to cram as much as I can into the time I have left as it is not that long till I go home now.