Hello all,

Firstly, apologies for being absent for a while. I havent been particularly busy but finding an hour or so to spend on the internet is hard sometimes as 1 computer isnt enough for 1 hotel, and we're spending too much on internet access at the moment (thanks to Kav constantly checking football scores!).

So today we arrived back in Krabi by minibus, driven by another Lewis Hamilton wannabe. Honestly, thank god we were in the back and I have Dream Weddings to play on my DS otherwise I would have been screaming at the driver and trying to get out the side door! It was quite an interesting ride though because we have to go across 2 'bits of sea' on these old rusty car ferries which was fun and we passed through very interesting towns. It only took a couple of hours to get from Koh Lanta to here so not too painful.

Krabi is sh*t though, and hardly anything to do, see or talk about and therefore today was the first day in nearly 3 weeks that Kav and I broke and ate Western food! We very guiltily but ravished a family bucket at KFC! And OH MY GOD it was good!! The only problem I have now is the 7 pounds I've put back on after living on rice and noodles for the past 3 weeks. b*****, but it was totally worth it! I actually dont think Kav and I spoke to each other the entire time we were eating, which probably only took us about 9 minutes.

So I'll try to quickly update you on what we've been up to. I know the last time I updated was January 13th (Kelly bird - hope you had a fantastic 30th and celebrations with the girls. Gutted I missed it!) so I'll start from there. The 14th we chilled by our pool at the lovely All Seasons Resort hotel where we stayed for 4 nights. Loved the name because they were basically trying to be like the 4 Seasons! Had it not been for the fact that we had to manage with 1 curtain instead of 2 for 2 nights while having a room on the main road on the ground floor, I would have given it to them, but they lost points for that. Plus the hotel was directly opposite the busiest bar on that part of Ao Nang so we were subjected to loud music and people screaming and shouting every night but hey, it was cheap(ish) and had great breakfasts and a lovely pool.

We were actually quite sad to leave the hotel and Ao Nang, but really excited about catching a boat/ferry down to Koh Lanta. Kav hadnt been last year and really wanted to go and I'm happy to go anywhere at the moment as long as there's a pool. What's the old saying? You can take Sally out of Surrey but you cant take Surrey out of Sally!!

We booked ourselves into the Andaman Lanta Resort (one of about 1500 'resort' hotels in Koh Lanta!) but getting there was a small mission. Having done pretty well at the longtail boat things a couple of days earlier but hated getting in and out of the damn thing I was quite looking forward to just stepping onto a big ferry, sitting the sun and walking off at the other end. Nope, not quite that easy I was to find out. We jumped on to a truck with our luggage and took a 10 minute ride down with a few others to the pier only to be told that the tide was too far out for the ferry to get to it, so we had to get into longtail boats who would take us out to the ferry and we'd have to climb on board. Well you can imagine what went through my head! I had visions of all sorts and practically had tears in my eyes while Kav was telling me everything was going to be ok fifty times! Between the 2 of us Kav has a fairly hefty big backpack and a smaller day rucksack and I have a bigger day rucksack and basically a huge suitcase on wheels that can also be worn as a backpack - not conjusive to longtail boat travel I must tell you, but somehow we get the bags on and we're the last 2 to get on the boat. Well when I get on those steps the whole thing nearly capsized which was mortifying but then Kav did the same thing so I didnt feel as bad. The boat motored on up to the ferry, the Thai guys on board both boats dealt with the luggage, thank goodness, but I then had to once again very undaintily get from one boat up about 6 feet to the other. By the time I stepped foot on that ferry I was knackered and never wanted to be on water again! But we found a nice little spot on the side of the boat, hung our legs over the edge and enjoyed the sunshine and breeze for the hour or so it took us to get to Koh Lanta. Little mishap by me, I managed to throw our ipod earphone splitter thing so we can both listen to the same music overboard so that put an end to our Don't Forget The Lyrics competition!

Our new hotel in Koh Lanta, the Andaman Lanta Resort was nice enough, but full of Scandinavians again and lots of families which drove us nuts, but it was right on the beach and had lots of nice restuarants and bars near by so we didnt complain. On the Saturday we took another boat ride to Phi Phi. I know people go on and on about Phi Phi but to be honest I really didnt think that much of it. We went to the beach where The Beach was filmed where Kav and some others did some snorkelling and then headed to Phi Phi Don which was just terrible. I've never wanted to leave somewhere so fast in all my life. Maybe its good for proper backbackers who are in big groups and there to soak up the sun and get pissed but it really was too over populated and smelly for me. One highlight was stopping off just by Monkey Island where we had lunch on the boat which was yummy and we swam from the boat to the beach (quite a way actually) and were greeted by dozens of friendly monkeys. I've never been that close to one in real life so that was kinda cool.

On Monday we took a tuk tuk down further south of Lanta to a new hotel that I found which was cheaper and so much nicer. If any of you decide to go to Koh Lanta definitely stay here. The rooms were the best we've stayed in so far, the 2 girls who ran it were so lovely, the pool was nice, it was a 2 minute walk from the beach and it was 27 pounds a night (the only downside was the breakfast which normally wouldnt bother me but we've been trying to live off 2 meals a day to save money so we've been making lunchtime sandwiches from stuff we find at 7Eleven for the past few days). We loved it there so much we even had second thoughts about leaving today and when we got to Krabi and to our new hotel we layed on the bed and listed the things we missed already!

Just a few odd things I'd like to add before I sign off for another week.

While in Ao Nang I read Bill Bryson's Down Under. Fascinating book seeing as we're on our way to Oz but also fascinating because I had no idea of the amount of history that the country has, who founded it and why and when, why things are named what they are, how brutal the outback really is etc. If you havent read it and are interested in that sort of thing I really recommend it - it's very funny in parts too.

Must mention the weather just to make you slightly moer jealous. It's been amazing, but actually some days too hot. The other day we were sitting by the pool playing Ludo (we're having an on going Ludo and Snakes and Ladders competition) and we barely got to the end (I won!!!!!) before we had to jump in the pool because we were both going to pass out. I think if we hadnt of made it we could have just swam in the pools of our own sweat instead (yuck!!). It really is gorgeous out here, and I just love shoving on flip flops and the least amount of clothes you should legally wear in public to go shopping or walk down the street. Hope it's not too cold still in the UK?

I must say as well that although I've only been goine just over 3 weeks and some of you probably arent even missing me yet, I feel like I've been away for months I really do. It's odd because I cant imagine having another 6 months of this because I feel like when I get back I'm going to have to get to know you all again, but I guess if time isnt feeling like it's dragging or going too quickly then that's a good thing.

I miss you all like crazy but having the most incredible time.

Do remember to fill me in on all your own news and gossip - it's a 2 way street remember!!

Love to you all and stay happy and safe,

Sally xxx

FYI - heading back to Ao Nang tomorrow for a Thai massage and dinner then back to Krabi then flying back to Bangkok on Sunday.