The journey from Koh Phangan to Phuket was always going to be a problem with my foot and it was.Still not knowing the ratio of Thai time to normal we were due to leave at 11am and arrive at 8:30pm that evening and all seemed to be above board when the tuktuk left on time and so did our ferry.Then the problems started and we were all ushered on to the bus where we presumed would head to Surat Thani where we had been before when making our way from Bangkok around 10 days ago which was around an hour journey on a hot sardine-packed bus.From there we were told our bus would pick us up from the bus station (sort of bus station/TAT) around 4pm which was just over 2 hours away but after only 40mins a guy came up to us and told us to get on this tuktuk which would take us to the bus.To explain, everyone gets given a sticker which basically explains where you are going to all the workers so a guy rounded up 10 people who were headed to Poo-ket and ushered them on the tuktuk.A good 40mins on this tuktuk we stopped again at some local's tourist information (TAT) shop and was told to wait for the bus.We waited and waited for well over an hour and then was asked where we were going which many of us didn't know and after a bit of chatting to others waiting it was agreed Patong was the place we wanted to be and of course the woman then wanted a further 200baht (£4) to take us there instead of Phuket town, which is where we were supposedly heading on the bus.

When the bus finally arrived we waited on the bus for another 15mins before setting off where we did a full 5 mins of driving.It was about 6:30pm-7pm by this time and getting dark.After this 5 minute flurry we had stopped practically around the corner from where we had set off.Funnily enough this involved more waiting and because the bus wasn't quite full, which was unusual, i presumed we were waiting for more people.Everyone on the coach sat waiting for the full 30mins until someone decided to get off and find the driver.It would of been rude to interrupt him because the guy was eating his dinner without telling anyone he just left us sat on the hot bus for 30minutes waiting for him.We set off again and after another 20mins pulled up and filled his petrol tank full which took another 20minutes and it was until around 8pm that we actually properly got going.Apparently arriving at 8pm this was never going to happen and as time ticked away it was 12:30am until we arrived at phuket where we then got transferred on to our pre-paid taxi to our desired destination.No-one knew where to stop apart from a couple of 'flashpackers' but i had an address which someone at the middle stop had actually suggested as being cheap and central in Patong so we headed for that.At 1am not many guesthouses were open anymore, including the one we wanted to stop in, so we wandered the streets with my bad foot (skin flapping about) trying to find a reasonably priced place to stop.A girl we had been talking to named Emma, 23, was travelling on her own and we had managed to persuade a guy in his guesthouse that 1 of us 3 would sleep on the floor in a double room to save money.The room cost 600baht and had air-con for a change.So 200bahht each (£4) it was reasonably baring in mind one person would be sleeping on the floor and the other 2 in a double bed, either me and dan or one of us and a girl we met practically an hour ago J.

We then freshened up and went out for a few beers.We could not believe what we were seeing.We knew Phuket was renown for being a tourist trap and being a big prosistution place but we had seen some rough stuff already in South East Asia and weren't prepared for the manslaughter heading for us.If you think the lads would of got it bad then you should of seen them swarming Emma and grabbing her arm trying to get her in these curtain-shut brothel houses.Within 5 minutes we had figured the whole place out with certain streets being certain places for sex, strippers and what have ya rarely anywhere safe to have a quiet drink.The price of beer had shot up loads in Poo-ket and we were paying almost double to everywhere else but we only had a few and spent the time chatting and people watching, which is actually great fun in Poo-ket (Phuket).Watching groups of guys trying to call girls over without being too obvious (one guy looking at them and flapping his head to one side as to say 'over here', so subtle).One of the guys mates was peering like a meerkat with his arms folding like he was a drug dealer checking to see if anyone was looking lol so funny to see a guy that looks like a computer geek with the look of Bill Gates constantly checking his shoulder why his mates did the talking :D.

Poo-ket also seemed to be the hang out for all the notorious lady boys and we had a bit of a game going who could spot the most, some being easy with boxer style jaws and adams apple's but others were tricky.Those who had invested in their appearance with the expensive of surgery were trickier but we found a few and you could often tell if they grabbed your arm because they were bloody strong :/Its all good fun though.For the first 10minutes.We did this until the bars closed and we ran out of funds.

When we got back Emma was straight in there deciding she would sleep on the floor with me and dan being mates even though we did say we could quite easily fit another one in this bed haha J.We were all woken in the morning by the sound of a smash and a lot of shouting to which Emma rose to the occasion, running like Hussain Bolt down the stairs shouting "shut up!".I was pissing myself as she disappeared somewhere downstairs towards to disturbance and returned with a cracking story i wish i had seen myself.A guy had obviously been with a hooker that night and taken her back to the room of which apparently he paid her but either not the correct amount or there was a disagreement about money,The thai entrepreneur, hooker, had gathered one of her friends and threatened the guy and one of them smashed of the glass panels on his window to his room which explained the smash but what was best was that the guy running the hotel told them to leave and a fight had broken out with the girls attacking the customer which led to the manager picking up a chair trying to hit the girl with it but being held back by some of the staff lol.Emma left it there and went back to bed but was up and about within the next 30mins maybe snoozing in the hope we would get up but as you probably know we wouldn't for a good few hours yet.

We carried on our sleep and Emma returned who had been shopping, checked the beach out and had some brunch but we were still passed out.Once up we headed to the beach with a few stop off's at shops on the way and when we got there I was disappointed.If everyone believes Thailand is like Patong, Phuket then they are completely wrong.It was the most touristy beach i've ever been on with deck chairs laid out like a concert, jet ski's everywhere, para-sailers, inflatables and thai brides all over the place.Not the stunning natural beach's we have seen elsewhere in Thailand.Dan couldn't be bothered to sit on a beach all afternoon so he went back to sleep, which turned into a few beers at the bar, an hour on the internet and some food lol.Me and Emma however rented a sunbed and spent the afternoon reading (yes i purchased a book, £9 the thieves!), sunbathing and swimming in the sea.The sea wasn't anything like we have seen elsewhere either with the water being a murky green and going chest height quite quickly before settling around that level for a good 50m out, probably good for having a swim without being deep.It was just a bit touristy with no escape for me.No privacy and not the natural wonders we have seen elsewhere.

That evening with the help of some of Emma's scissors i attempted to sort my foot out but by that time the flap of skin hanging from my foot had gone black, hard and crusty so it was possible to break off apart from one bit which i had to cut.That was the painful bit.The rest being dead it wasn't a problem but somewhere in this little flap still hanging down was a nerve that was a little b***** but i did eventually cut it after being a big wuss.So far it hasn't stopped me getting about because i've just been walking on the rest of my foot that wasn't affected even though i did often look a huge spaz, but ah well, they won't see me again.

We all wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.We had a similar reaction to Bangkok when we first got there because it was just too much for us but i think i'd never want to return to Poo-ket again even if it was free.

Our next stop was Koh Phi Phi Le, one of a few islands in this region, but famous for being related to the island Koh Phi Phi Don where the film 'The Beach' was filmed.Many people on our ferry were doing day trips to both of the Phi Phi islands for this reason and also to see another island i'm not sure the name of but was one of the bases for the bad guys in a James Bond film.The ferry ride was the best yet and we sat on the roof with plenty of room, a nice chair, a stunning view and the sun gleaming down upon us.It was a nice comfortable ride which i definitely appreciated with my foot playing up and finding it difficult to lug my bag around but we arrived at Phi Phi and now had the problem of finding accommodation.The larger of the two islands Phi Phi Don is unhabited just because hardly any of it is actually flat but on Phi Phi Le there is roughly a square mile strip no wider than 200m at some points and this is where everyone stays on this beautiful island.There are no roads here, no cars, no petrol stations and only about 2 motorbikes everything is lugged around by foot which i loved about the place.We got a room for 600baht a night which is the most expensive yet but we always knew it was going to be more expensive and this was confirmed when we took a trip into 7/11 and found everything a minimum of 20% more expensive than the south and 40% more than the north.Water seemed to have risen by around 70% just because everything had to be brought in by ferry.

We spent 7 days, 6 nights on Phi Phi and never got around to doing that much so i'll include it all in one.We walked 1km to the 'view point' which then requires climbing up 150m high up steep steps and long climbs up to the top and normally this wouldn't be too hard of a task but when you add in the heat in the middle of the day and my bloody foot it was quite the challenge.It took two stops on the way up but when we got there it was stunning.You could see everything, clear as water, from the top where we sat for a good hour just watching the world go by.After taking a few pictures Japanese style we headed back down, which seemed alot easier than going up taking a fifth of the time to get to the summit.The way down was particularly painful for me and it definitely didn't do my feet any good,i'd later pay the price.It was certainly worth doing but the price of my mobility was jeopardised and i wasnow struggling to walk but not to give in to it like an idiot i carried on walking on it with the limp getting bigger and bigger knowing full well there was going to be a giant blister i was going to have to cut with my penknife when i returned.To my surprised there was only a pound sized blisters on top of an old blister but what i hadn't realised at first was how inflamed the front of my foot had become.With a swollen look and burning sensation coming from my foot i was wary about walking on it but i still made it to the restaurant with a limp that evening.

The following day i was up early from the pain in my foot, not knowing what actually hurt more the burning front of my foot or the infected glass cut on my heel but i now had no good place to walk that foot.I wobbled over to the internet cafe whilst i waited for Dan to get up and spent a while there chilling but when i returned Dan seemed to have disappeared even though i'd let him know i was going to the internet cafe that had free wifi.Phi Phi is tiny and you keep seeing the same people every 5 minutes but it turned out there was more than one place with free wifi and me and dan must of been walking around in circles to find each other, Dan having the key.I looked everywhere, limping around, sweating cobs and still no sign until i gave in and went and asked the reception (a good 5 min walk for me) to let me in the room and when they did, he'd returned!"you could of just knocked" were his first words!

Apart from going to the 'view point' we also booked a trip that involved going to monkey beach, shark bay, cliff jumping and to 'the beach' which took 5 or so hours returning on sunset.Monkey beach was as cool as it sounds with all these monkeys jumping about and the guides bring them watermelon that you can throw up to them which they catch and eat and also they will come up to you and drink from a bottle of fresh water.Its pretty dam cool but if you touch their heads, they do bite.....i didn't learn the hard way, the guide had told us.We also snorkelled in 2 places, 1 being sharks bay where theres meant to be a collection of small sharks but as always i saw nothing with only 1 person supposedly seeing one of these small sharks, hmmm.O yeh i did this whole trip with 6 plasters on my feet which were taped around my foot to stop them falling off and all held together by wearing socks.Yes i looked a big TIT but at the end of the day it definitely helped but i was unable to wear flippers which slowed me down snorkelling but i managed and saw a fair few fish i hadn't seen before.It can't be compared to Egypt snorkelling wise though.Cliff jumping was amazing, but i only got 1 jump because my foot hurt so much after the first one.We were made to wear these hard shoes and gloves which was all explained when we saw what we had to climb to get up there which was basically rock climbing on knife's where the sea had cut into the rocks.The jumps started at 8m, 10m, 12m and the epic 20m.The guide made you work your way up and Dan only had time to get to the 12m sadly but it was good anyway.Finally we went to 'The Beach' which i think i must be the only person ever to not watch this film but anyway i went can now say 'been there' when i actually get to see it.We spent an hour sat around there waiting for sunset where we took our little boat back to Phi Phi Le.The return journey was the best bit because the seas suddenly got rough and we had a fair few close calls of tipping which was exciting but we all got drenched with salt water in our eyes trying to watch a stunning sunset.I enjoyed the trip even though i didn't get the full potential out of it, but you can only spend so much time sitting around getting frustrated with going out.

The nightlife in phi phi was good and had bars on land and on the beach.The beach bars were a bit like small versions of Koh Phangan with the fire displays, music and drinking but alot smaller and more expensive.Big chang's cost over £2 here compared to £1.20 on the other islands, so if we drank we got it from the supermarket next door to the bars.I struggled big time to drink and never fancied it at all.As Owen (a guy we have constantly met along our way, originally on the slow boat that tipped over) said that this may of been down to my foot in some way, which was probably true.I bought a man chang one night and upon drinking the last bit i gagged and was sick a bit in my mouth....nice i know, but i'm not the new Robbie, something obviously wasn't right.That night i went out for a bit and just chilled before leaving Dan to enjoy his night.

The nightlife on land was also good and the Reggae bar was unique. It showed live football on big screens but the highlight of the place was the Muay Thai Boxing ring in the middle of the bar which you could put your name down to fight another person to which you got a free bucket, but also pride.The fights were funny due to the fact that no-one really knew the rules and just went mad kicking and punching each other until one gave in or the referee called it off.It was well refereed so no-one got seriously hurt but one guy we had met a few times from Sweden threw a punch and dislocated his shoulder without knowing from the adrenalin of the fight but the ref spotted it straight away and knocked it back in its socket and called the fight off.He was probably lucky because the other guy was a lot bigger than him, against a stick insect swede.

We left Phi Phi having had a good time there and happy to recommend it to anyone.Its completely different to any other island we have been to and there is just something in the air about the place that you just love about it.

Next stop, Krabi.Theres nothing to do in Krabi but the idea was to spend a couple of nights here for me to rest my foot a bit and save some money before heading to Kuala Lumpur.We got the same impression in Krabi as Da Nang because a lot of the locals were like 'ay, 2 English guys walking down the street with their t-shirts off.Bit strange?'.Also there was a lot of laughing and attention from girls.We weren't sure if they were laughing at how rough Dan was looking or how i was walking or just the fact we're white!

Currently on the bus, again!11am to 5am the following day and so far its been by far the best journey we've had.Apart from a 3 hour wait that we were aware off and could drift off around this town for food and a shop it's been amazing and when our bus rocked up there were smiles all around.It has a capacity of about 30 with huge full reclining chairs back and foot rest that rise and is only ¾ full so we can recline away.The air-con is that cold i'm using my blanket to keep warm and we have our sleeping tablets that should see us through the night all being well.Last night the sleeping tablets we purchased from the pharmacy seemed to work a treat.We were told they take an hour to kick in and last for 10 hours lol, which seemed spot on.I woke up once about 4am because the TV was blazing away and then again at 9am the time i wanted to wake up and straight after the 10hours were up.Magic.Why can't you get them from any pharmacy back at home, they're amazing!