One week to go and then I am home. And I reeeally wish it wasn't nearly over. The last few weeks have been so much fun that i havn't had enough time to get on here and update people on what i've been doing but here goes...

So i left the tour in Chiang Mai and had a few more nights there until i headed south. I booked onto a 2 day trek in Chiang Mai which was a great start because i ended up meeting people that i then travelled with for the next couple of weeks. The trek was amazing...and hard work! We went further north than Chiang Mai to trek, kayak, bamboo raft and elephant ride our way to a hilltribe, where we stayed the night. The sweat pouring from everyone was profuse, and i think all of us were surprised by the amount of trekking we were actually expected to do, but thankfully a few waterfalls along the way provided refreshment. Two girls on the trek i soon made friends with and thats where my original travel plans went out the window a bit.

Instead of travelling straight to Koh Tao, the next week was all about island hopping. We started in Phuket, which i don't think i would ever return to again if someone paid me: it ws pretty much red light district taken to an extreme. We then ferried across to Koh Phi Phi, where we visited The Beach beach, and chilled out during the day, after the parties on the beach at night. It was good fun! The island aswel was absolutely beutiful!

The next stop was Koh Phangnan in time for another beach party, the Black Moon Party, and from what i can remember it was amazing. I dont think i liked the island as much as Phi Phi though, it was too big!

On our way to Koh tao we stopped for a night in Sumui. Im not sure what we made of it: the actual island wasn't anything amazing or bad, but our accommodation was too good to be true! One of the girls knew someone from back home who had recently moved to the island, so a swimming pool and luxury accommodation was soooo welcomed!

And that's a pretty brief description of the whole journeys...we had a few very interesting ferry crossings where i think we were lucky to arrive with our luggage still on board as it was so rough! And we had lots and lots of nights full of lots and lots of crazy stories not to be posted on here perhaps...

And now i've been in Koh Tao for a week. I think i have fallen in love with it. They say it's the Curse of Koh Tao: so many people come here expecting to stay for a few days and end up living here! I can understand why, and i have to remind myself i have uni to get back to otherwise i may become one of them! I've been doing my PADI out here so i'm now an Advanced Open Water diver. It's so much fun and so addictive, i'm finding myself having withdrawals from it if i go a day without diving. Today i participated in the Beach and Underwater Clean-up which happens once a month in Koh Tao, and i really couldn't belive some of the things we found dumped at the bottom of the reefs. In 2 days time i begin a 4-day reef eco-check diving course, which is an extension to the little bit i did to help 'Save Koh Tao' today. I've been given a whole load of theory to read beforehand which is pretty much my Biology A-Level all over again! I can't wait to get started as it's gonna be a packed for days of classroom and diving sessions. After today i hope it will be rewarding. The girls i had been travelling with to here left a coouple of days ago but it's impossible to be alone here, everywhere you look you meet so many people enjoying this place as much as you are! The nightlife is pretty amazing aswel...isnt always a good thing tho when you have a 7am dive the following day but i seriously do not want to leave. I think i can safely say i will definately been returning here some day soon, no doubt about it!