Thankyou for your birthday emails! I had a good day once Dave finally got out of bed (3pm) and we had a nose round Chiang Mai. It's not what I expected here at all, quite a lot smaller than I anticipated but it's nice and chilled out. We bumped into a lovely Irish couple in the town who we'd met on the sawngthaew (nope, I don't have a clue how to pronounce it either. It's a converted pickup truck with a roof, two benches running parallel with an open back) from t...

Oh my God as I write there is the most ENORMOUS lizard on the wall next to me-it's a toucay (think thats how you spell it) and tis bout the twice the length of my handspan-not that you know my handspan...um about 40 cm? The toucay not my handspan. Shut up Jess. Anyway sorry, distracted, um where was I? Oh yeah hadn't started. Ok, well after we landed in Bangkok we spent a night at my Uncle Damian's apartment before heading to Khao San Rd (Sawasdee Banglumpoo...

Oh My God. Just to let you know we (just) survived the boat trip from Phi Phi to Phuket. I haven't been that scared for my life for at least 3 weeks, no, in fact, a month; not since the excruciating plane journey into Bangkok. Seriously, people were throwing up, life jackets were on, half the time we were submerged beneath the waves and the other half of the time we were soaring through the air having taken flight from one gargantuan wave and clinging on in...

It's now sunday and unfortunately that means it's time to fly back to Bangkok tomorrow. I could happily spend another couple of weeks here to be honest but I guess the whole point of travelling is to keep moving and I'm excited about everywhere to come anyway! Can hardly complain now really can I? Anyway the night before last (after our trip to Phi Phi Ley) we went to the beach for some drinks in the deckchairs and candlelight before heading to Hippies bar ...

Wow, relevant photo, are you proud? This is the beach that is in "The Beach" if you follow. It's the film with Leonardo DiCaprio in that was filmed a few years ago here. It's on Koh Phi Phi Ley which is just south of Koh Phi Phi Don, where we're staying. It is actually as beautiful as the photograph if not more so. The water really is that colour. Completely, completely gorgeous. We got a longtail boat from one of the island locals to the island and after this be...