Charming Chiang Mai

Getting off the overnight train from Bangkok, we said farewell to our new Thai grandmother friend Kae and caught a taxi into the city. Like Bangkok, the heat in Chiang Mai was unreal (turns out it was some of the hottest weather they'd had!). Unlike Bangkok, Chiang Mai is far less frenetic (for Thailand at least!) and has a nice old-city charm to it. Settled nearly one-thousand years ago, it was the centre of the ancient Northern-Thailand Lanna Kingdom, so the locals are really proud of their heritage and history; the city is covered with temples and ruins. Another thing we love about Chiang Mai are all the little lanes, we often tried to cycle through the city using only the tiny lanes, just to see where we'd end up.

Since there are so many temples in Chiang Mai, you really can't go down a street without passing at least one, often two or three. So we grabbed some bikes and went to find the largest in town: Wat Phra Singh. Supposedly the King who founded Chiang Mai lived here while the city was constructed. One foreigner ticket later and we were allowed through the doors. Pretty impressive and especially the smaller temples behind the main one, it's been left pretty much in it's original state and all the walls are intricately painted with day-to-day Lanna life.

Some of the painted walls

As we were leaving we got talking with a local woman (everyone is so friendly up here). She was really nice, and after asking all the usual questions, she started pointing out places to avoid (the tourist traps), places we should go to, where the good local food is found, and also a Wat we should go see that wasn't on our map. After talking to her for 15 minutes we said goodbye and decided to take her advice, so our next stop was Wat Sri Suphan on the outskirts of the city wall.

Wat Sri Suphan was not like any of the others we had seen: modern, decorated with handmade silver panels and still under construction. On one side of the grounds craftsmen artfully produced beautifully intricate scenes from Buddhas life. We talked with some of the craftsmen as they worked - it was fascinating to watch them making the panels that'll end on the temple: they take a big slab of tar, put a sheet of silver over the top and sculpt using blunt nails and hammers. When the panel is finished they peel the silver sheet off the tar, polish it and then attach it to the Wat. After watching these guys for a while we went off to look at what they'd already done. On the way a man came over and started talking to us. Turned out his uncle was the head monk at the temple and he was visiting him. When he asked us where we were from and we replied "New Zealand" his eyes lit up. We'd found a Thai local who knew of New Zealand - his brother works in the Thai embassy in Wellington and he'd just visited! So we had a good chat to him as he showed us around the Wat.

The photo doesn't do this any justice, it was beautiful

Part of the inside of the temple all made out of silver

Remember how I said it had been extremely hot? It was about 41 degrees and humidity was at an all time high. So just as we were starting to leave I decided now was the perfect time to fall ill with heat stroke. I couldn't have waited until after we had left the temple could I? No, as we were walking back to our bikes I started to faint, luckily Jade got me to a seat before I keeled right over. I thought I was OK after a minute, so Jade ran off to get me some water. Then on the pristine sacred temple grounds, in the shade of the Wat, I threw up. Fortunately I was sitting beside a drain, but it was definitely not my finest moment and I certainly got my fair share of dirty looks (as if I wasn't feeling bad enough about the whole situation already!). I'm sure they all thought I was just another hungover farang, so after downing a litre of water we got out of there as fast as we could.

If you're ever in Chiang Mai you should definitely plan to be there on a Sunday so you can go to the walking street market. We've seen our fair share of markets by now but this one was epic. They close off a huge main road and also some surrounding side streets so everyone can set up stalls, selling tons of locally made handy crafts and all your other usual market finds. There's thousands of carved wooden ornaments, handmade children's toys, clothes, lots of artwork, jewellery, bags and souvenirs... if you can't find something you like in the Chiang Mai walking market, there's something wrong with you!

Since the cooking class we had done on Koh Lanta was controlled by the class and we didn't get to cook all the dishes we wanted, we decided to take another class in Chiang Mai. After reading some reviews we settled on Smart Cooks and were picked up the next day ready to cook some yummy local food. We started the day with a short ride to the train station where we took a local train 20 minutes down the line. We got off, hopped on bicycles and cycled through the peaceful countryside, stopping at their farm along the way to pick some ingredients. We hadn't even started cooking yet and this was fun! We were then welcomed to the cooking school with a snack, then got straight into preparing our dishes. We started with our salad or appetiser, mine being Som Tam (papaya salad - seriously delicious!) and Jade decided on a beef salad, we then moved on to soups and stir-frys followed by a curry paste each (green and red, so we can pretty much make anything), a currry and finally a dessert. Such a fun day and we now have a lot of recipes, just hope we can find all the necessary ingredients back home so we can try them again!

Picking our Thai basil

Cooking up a storm!

Red, green and yellow curry paste

After my last encounter with a Wat we decided to head to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the most famous in Chiang Mai: it sits high up on a mountain overlooking the city and was built around the same time as the city in 1386. Up a mountain where it would be considerably cooler - no chance of fainting this time! So we hired a motorbike and took off through the city, passing the university and started the climb up the mountain. After about an hours drive we had made it to the top - and discovered the Wat was still a few hundreds metres up the hill by foot! You can either take a cable car up to the temple, or walk the stairs. We choose the stairs option and got going, dodging hawker stalls lining the roadside and footpath. 300-plus steps and one more foreigners ticket later, we walked into the temple grounds. We wandered around, watching the locals pay respect to Buddha, placing incense and walking clockwise around the huge gold-plated chedi three time and then headed back down the steps to our motorbike.

Made it to the top!

Jade then had the smart idea that we'd keep going up the hill, as one of the Kings Palaces was only a little further up the road. I'm not sure whether it was the altitude, the steep hill or it had just had enough, but our motorbike started to make a funny noise. Again Jade thinking it would be fine simply kept going. The noises got worse and the bike started losing power. Jade still didn't want to pull over or turn back, so we kept going. Just as we reached the Kings Palace and were about to head through the gates, the motorbike really started to make some interesting noises and started bunny hopping a little. Realising we actually had to get back to the city (not sleep on the side of the road for the night), Jade finally saw sense and turned the motorbike around. As soon as we had descended a few hundred metres, the noises died down, power returned and we headed back down to the city.

On one of our last nights here we thought we'd go out for a couple of drinks and stumbled upon a bar - not your ordinary bar:  this wouldn't comply with western health and safety standards! It was a sort of truck deck, minus the cab but still had a motor and steering wheel, a bar running around the outside of the deck, with bar stools consisting of bicycle seats attached around the sides. Nothing to stop you from falling off if you'd had a few too many and the one-and-a-half metre drop to the ground would have hurt. But it was fun and they served decent, cheap cocktails too!

Health and safety? Fun times!

Right next door to the cycle bar was a Thai kickboxing stadium and since everyone at the bar was heading there, we thought we'd follow the crowd and go too. Unfortunately it was  for the tourists, as we found out from a French guy we'd befriended at the bar who's brother kick boxed. He tried picking the winning boxer several times, yet the bookie wouldn't accept his bets. Fixed. Oh well, it was still fun to watch but we vowed we'd go to a local game next time - maybe when we went back to Bangkok.

On our last day it was pretty obvious what we had to do, ride elephants of course! After doing a bit of research we settled on Ran Tong Elephant Camp which took you out into the jungle to ride the elephants bare-back, not on one of those little wooden seat things. I don't think I'd ever seen an elephant in real life before, so I had no idea what to expect - I was completely blown away! They were huge! The first one we got to see was a mother and she had her adorable baby with her! We got to feed them bananas which they ate with gusto, before we changed into our sexy elephant trainer clothes. We were then taught the basic mahout commands for controlling the elephants, before climbing up and practising what we'd just been taught. Then it was time for our first ride and since our group was small (thanks low season travel!) we each got to have our own elephant! My elephant was called Moonping and I soon realised she was a very hungry elephant. We couldn't walk more than a few metres before she would stop to pull some leaves from a bush but I really didn't care, it was sooo much fun and such an unreal experience.

Baby elephant sooo cute!

After coming back to camp for lunch it was time for our second ride, this time we were going to a waterfall. Making our way slowly through the jungle I ended up last again as Moonping had to stop every few metres for more leaves, she was obviously still very hungry. When we got to the little waterfall we were given brushes and buckets so we could give our elephants a wash and then it was playtime. One of the handlers got the elephants to shower us in water, pick us up by their trunks, pose with us for photos and at the end we even got a kiss! Although it was more like a vacuum cleaner trying to suck your face off it was still pretty funny. Sadly it was over far too quickly and it was time to head back. This time my elephant handler decided I should ride back on Moonping's head, according to the guy it's more comfortable for them instead of sitting on the elephants neck/back. So I nervously agreed knowing there wasn't much to hold on to and worried I'd kick her in the eye, but I made it back in one piece without falling off! Then it was time for one last round of bananas before we said goodbye to the elephants. The mother elephant was in such a hurry to eat them that she didn't even wait till they were taken out off the plastic bag. Gulp! Down went a bag full of bananas, before anyone had time to stop her. "Doesn't matter, they'll poop it out" we were told.

Getting a kiss from an elephant

We left having had the most fantastic day. It was an amazing experience, something that I'll never forget.

It was time to say goodbye to Chiang Mai. Our next stop: further north, to the city of Chiang Rai.

Touts, Tuk-tuks and Trains

The bus door opened and in rolled the damp heat, along with shouted cries of tuk-tuk drivers desperate for fares. It was mid April - the hottest month of the year, and we'd arrived in Bangkok!

This Bangkok visit was just a quick stopover as we made our way from southern Thailand to the north - we'd be back later in our trip. We got straight down to business: stocking up on much needed items. Number one on the list was finding a spare pair of legitimate Havaianas in Bangkok - harder than it sounds. To spare boring you with details we eventually found a stockist: in the department store at Siam Paragon, behind the women's lingerie. Talk about a needle in a haystack!

Next on the list was sorting out transport to the northern city of Chiang Mai. We opted for the overnight sleeper train and since we're cheap and don't trust travel agents (especially around Khao San Road), we flagged down a taxi and headed to the train station. 10 minutes later, we'd figured out which train we needed and booked. Too easy!

Too easy, until we decided to head to China Town for dinner by tuk-tuk.

Now, Bangkok isn't a city known for rules, with a couple of exceptions: don't buy from Khao San Road and don't use tuk-tuks.

Jade ignores the advice and gets in a tuk-tuk. "It'll be fine" he says, I unwillingly follow and we head off towards China Town in search of street food. All is well until we turn a corner and start heading in the opposite direction. Our tuk-tuk driver then yells back to us 'I have friend, good restaurant, we go!'.

Jade and I look at each other. Shit.

"No, we go to China Town!" Jade shouts
"My friend, good restaurant"
"No thank you, we go to China Town" I yell
"Good food, China Town not good food" our driver says, ignoring our pleas

I start feeling panicky, I really didn't want to end up at some scummy little restaurant in the middle of nowhere, or worse!

"Ok, we stop!" I yell
"Good seafood restaurant, you like, my friend"
"Stop, we get off!"
"Stop!" I scream.
So much for saving face.

He shuts up. A very silent 5 minute ride later and he drops us off in China Town. We walk off in search of some dinner vowing not to take a tuk-tuk in Bangkok again.

We had most of the next day to explore the city a little before our train left for Chiang Mai in the evening, so we wandered around markets in and around the infamous backpacking ghetto of Khao San Road.

When the time came to head to the train station we flagged a taxi down. Several in fact - no one wanted to go there. Those that did refused to use the meter quoting us three to four times the meter rate. We eventually got an honest driver and took off, a short 20 minute ride in peak time traffic. But in that short 20 minutes I counted no less than five near crashes! Thankfully our driver had quick reflexes and managed to avoid the other cars coming towards us from every angle, it didn't stop us from gripping the seat and bracing ourselves every few minutes though! When we finally made it to the station it was packed with locals and tourists alike. Our train didn't leave for a while and the only seats we could find was up on the second level over looking everyone. We settled down and waited. 6 o'clock ticked over and the buzz of the train station was suddenly interrupted by a loud whistle. Everyone stood or stopped where they were and the station went silent. Then the national anthem started, blasting out from every speaker and TV for a good minute. As the anthem finished, the station came back to life and everyone carried on with whatever they were doing.

The busy train station

Our train was finally called and off we went to find our carriage and seats. Not difficult: we were seats 1 and 2, right up the the front beside the toilets compartment. Uh oh. There were four beds in each section, Jade had the bottom, I the top and beside us an elderly Thai grandmother named Kae who spoke no English. Some awkward turtle moments followed as the lady sat there staring at us, not saying anything but she soon took a liking to Jade as he took out his Thai phrase book and attempted to introduce us. She also handed us a couple of banana leaf parcels she had in her bag, they turned out to be a coconut and rice mixture that is put into the banana leaf and cooked over a fire, they were pretty tasty.

Jade and his friend Kae

When it came time to get some sleep a nice Thai man came round to make the beds. Yep, that's right he actually made our beds! He pulled out some flat pillows from a small cupboard, tucked a sheet around them and threw a pillow and a thin blanket on top. With that out of the way, I climbed up to my little bunk and lay down. It was like being gently rocked to sleep - just kidding. There is nothing gentle about it, the train didn't go that fast but with every slight bend in the tracks the train lurched sideways. This was going to be fun! Then the smell started to come. As mentioned before, we were right beside the toilets so every time someone opened the door to the toilet compartment the pungent chemical smell slowly seeped out. It was a smell that slightly stung the nostrils, and I may have had to do the lip gloss under the nose trick (Laura and Jess you know what I mean). Yes I was going to have a good nights sleep.

The nice Thai guy making our beds

Me in my little top bunk

I 'woke' the next morning and ate a terrible, cold 'western' breakfast, watching the northern landscape flash by. Jade sat with Kae and practised his Thai language skills for the rest of the morning. Kae ended up actually teaching him Thai and teaching us some useful phrases. A conductor came by and announced we'd be arriving very shortly.

After fifteen hours on a train with little sleep, a new friend made and some more Thai words under our belt, the train doors opened and we spilled out into the overwhelming heat. It was mid April - the hottest month of the year, and we'd arrived in Chiang Mai!

Playground Paradise

Fresh off the plane from Phuket, having enjoyed our in flight snack (with Bangkok airways it was actually more like a meal, for a one hour flight score!) we arrived in Koh Samui - the largest of three islands in the gulf of Thailand.

Coming straight from the hustle and bustle of Phuket, this was definitely what I'd been looking for. No way near as many people as Phuket, with nice white sandy beaches, a super cheap resort (thanks to the low season, best time to travel!) which even had a pool, you can imagine where we spent most of our time. Yep, for the next 2 days once again we were lying on the beach or relaxing by the pool, this is definitely the life!

No I didn't steal this from a magazine

Unfortunately we couldn't stay too long on Koh Samui as we needed to make it to Koh Phangan for the half moon party. So we caught a ferry over to the next island, landed in the small town of Hat Rin, were picked up by our accommodation and driven up a twisting, turning, bumpy dirt track for 10 minutes. My first thoughts were: "where has Jade booked us?!", but as we were led down a little track to our bungalow my thoughts became "wow". We were blown away. For 700baht (NZ$28) a night we had a little wooden bungalow right on the cliffs edge overlooking the sea, a hammock on our balcony and a million dollar view. There were also two wooden deck chairs on a little platform below us, next to that steps lead down the rocks to the water and there wasn't another person in sight. It was beautiful.

After some chilling on the hammock and a walk down to the rocks, I wanted to take some photos so I walked back up and around the front of the bungalow. It was a grassy area with some rocks and trees and before I know what's happened, I stepped on a snake! It was about a metre long, as thick as my little finger and luckily for me he was just as startled and scurried off. My first up close encounter with a snake and hopefully my last!

That evening we walked back down the dirt track into Hat Rin to go grab some dinner and after being asked half a dozen times if we wanted a tuk tuk to the half moon party, we began to think it was a bit strange. The half moon was tomorrow night, right? We grabbed some dinner and walked around the town to see what was there, still puzzled why they would be selling tuk tuks to a party that was tomorrow. After another couple of 'tuk tuk to half moon?' and a quick check on the calendar we suddenly realised we had our dates completely messed up. We were a day behind! A mad dash followed to get some fluro clothes (a must), down a bucket (same idea as Phi Phi) and get up to our bungalow so we could change and get back down in time to catch a tuk tuk. We made it though (just) and dressed in fluro, covered in body paint with a bucket (or two...) in us, we partied till the sun came up the next morning. So much fun!!

Fluro - check! Bucket - check!

All dressed up and ready to go

Unfortunately for me the next day just so happened to be Songkran, the Thai New Year. To celebrate the new year and bring good luck water is poured over Buddhist statues, but has turned into a giant water fight where everyone must get wet. In different areas of the country it is even celebrated for up to 3 or 5 days - that's one big water fight! On Koh Phangan it's just one day though and we had prepared and bought our water guns the day before. With me possibly feeling a little worse for wear after the party the night before, Jade set off into town his water gun pumped and ready. A couple of hours later he returned completely soaked and his water gun broken, I think that signals a good fight!

We soon realised that Koh Phangan is basically just a big playground for adults with party's galore - full moon, half moon, black moon, after parties, jungle parties and waterfall parties, just to name a few! Then along with diving & snorkeling there are more than enough boat trips to keep you occupied, kayaking, quad bike tracks, a shooting range, zip lines through the jungle and even a wipe out style obstacle course on water!

Obviously we couldn't try them all, but did mange to fit in an island tour, some snorkeling, a couple of waterfalls and of course the half moon party, which we really enjoyed (even if I did have quite a headache the next day). It's a very easy going place where anything goes really and there plenty of things to do. Definitely be back one day to have some more fun and of course there's still the full moon party to be ticked off the list!

Phuket

Phuket: you either love it or you hate it. If you want massage parlours, prostitutes, bars, touts, tailors, and don't mind all the Aussies, you'll love it. But if you're after beautiful beaches and some peace and quite while you relax, it may not quite be the place for you unless you're willing to spend some big money. Love it or hate it? Well I'm somewhere in-between.

Cramped and sore, we arrived at the Phuket Town ferry terminal from Koh Phi Phi, having just spent a few hours sitting on the floor of the ferry as all the seats were full. After a quick haggle with a taxi driver we headed into Phuket Town and found a place to stay for the night. With that out of the way, we went for a walk to explore the place.

Our not so comfortable spot on the floor of the ferry

Jades Phi Phi diving instructor had recommended we have a Thai massage and gave us a name. Since we hadn't had a massage before we thought "why not?". So we found the place and were handed a menu of options. Not knowing what to expect, we settled on a traditional Thai massage and we were shown into a tiny, dimly-lit room, unfurnished except for two thin mattresses on the floor. Left alone, we giggled nervously. A masseuse returned with a blue pyjama top each, along with some matching fisherman's pants which 3 people could fit into. We awkwardly figured out how to tie the pants and then the masseuses got to work.

Ummmm... not my best looking moment

Starting at the feet they slowly stretched and put pressure on different parts of the body; it's wasn't like any massage I'd had before. I glanced over at Jade to see an uncomfortable look on his face as the Thai woman's hands went higher and higher up his thighs. I stifled a laugh as best as I could. We're then rolled over onto our stomachs and our masseuses proceeded to stand on us. This time it was Jade who had to stifle his laughter as a Thai woman twice my size walked all over me! I felt like I was going to come out as flat as a pancake but it wasn't over yet. The finale had us sit up with our legs crossed and our masseuses then sat behind us with their legs over ours. With a gentle swaying like motion they violently cracked our backs. All goes well for me but as I sat there waiting for Jade, his incredibly small Thai woman loses her balance on account of how big he is and toppled over backwards. I started laughing, but the woman wasn't deterred. She climbed back on Jade and went for round two. This time she managed to stay upright but she just couldn't get leverage, after a third try we were all laughing as it just wasn't going to happen. Jade was too freakishly big for the poor petite masseuse.

And with that, our massage was over. We changed back into our clothes, drank delicious herbal tea and joked on Jade's height.

Phuket is huge so some sort of transport is a must. There is a 'bus' system of songtaews who drive around certain areas, but if you want to do things at your own pace a scooter is best. Once again Jade somehow convinced me to hire a scooter; with a quick brake check and a 'don't go over 40km/h' talk we set off. Our first stop was the Big Buddha perched high up on the hill, so big in-fact that you can see him from the beaches down below. From the top you're also rewarded with views looking out over Phuket and can view the sun set over the sea.

Big Buddha is big!

View over Phuket

Next stop was a visit to Patong - 'the' beach, which is just unreal. You can hardly see the beach through all the beach chairs. It's really Little Australia with Aussie bars, shops and tailors all catering to their needs. In fairness I was able to pick up my monthly fix of the Australian Cosmo though, so that was alright (hey, I needed something to read while I sat on the beach!). However the amount of people in Patong was mind blowing, and some of the bars we came across unlike anything we'd seen before. One bar we saw would more accurately be described as a warehouse of sleaze. With 6 long bars complete with a stripper pole every few metres and 50 or more seats on either side, it would fit about 6 New Zealand bars inside. And like I said, that was just one bar!! We dubbed Patong the 'New Gold Coast' and escaped back to Kata beach where we were staying. Away from the worst of the partying Aussies, pushy touts and cheap 24-hour tailors.

Patong beach, it was absolutely packed earlier in the day though

Since we like trying all the local food we kept our eyes out for a dish we'd heard was amazing: mango sticky rice. Our luck paid off when one night on our way home we saw a lady selling it on the side of the road. We opted for the small size just in case we didn't like it, but with one bite I was hooked! It's a sticky rice that's cooked in coconut milk, served with fresh mango and more of the delicious sweet coconut milk syrup for you to pour on top. So good that we had to go back the next night and get a large one!

So yummy, mango sticky rice!!

It was Easter while we were there, and being a largely Buddist country it isn't celebrated. That didn't stop us though, we started Operation Easter Bunny: find Easter eggs or hot cross buns. Seeing as there are a lot of western expats who live in Phuket, we were confidant we'd find something. We were wrong. After searching high and low for Easter eggs the best we could come up with was a bag of small marshmallows filled with chocolate. With a shrug we claimed it as a success: inside-out Easter eggs! They weren't bad but they certainly weren't Cadburys. With Easter eggs ticked off, we turned our attention to finding hot cross buns. After a lot of googling I came across a five-year old blog post that mentioned an Australian owned bakery selling hot cross buns. With fingers crossed we hopped on our scooter and set off, praying to the Easter Bunny that 5 years on they'd still be there. Luck was on our side: the bakery existed, and it made hot cross buns! But they were sold out. Bugger. Fortunately they were making more the next morning, so we pre-ordered and picked them up on Easter Sunday. Not quite the same as back home, but they were still very good!

Hot cross buns!!

Our luck turned when Jade came down with a case of the old travellers tummy, which forced us to stay a couple more days until he was better. By that stage we were itching to leave Phuket, but the only bus to Koh Samui on the other side of Thailand left at 9am, and it was 11am. We were going to have to stay another day. Then Jade had a sudden brilliant idea: we could fly! A quick search on-line and we found a flight leaving at 4pm. Perfect. Three times the price of a bus and ferry - it'd blow our budget out of the water - but we'd be there in an hour versus eleven. An in-flight snack sealed the deal and we took off for the airport.

So that's all from Phuket. Love it or hate it, you'll have to decide for yourself but for me it's a place I'd visit again, but I won't be in a rush.

Monkeying around on Phi Phi

A trip to the famous Koh Phi Phi island obviously had to be done. Yes it's true these days there are lots of beach bars filled with drunk 18 year olds (it seems mandatory after finishing high school), but Phi Phi is a gorgeous island and certainly not to be missed. If you get away from the backpacker ghetto you'll discover where all the postcards pictures come from. And trust me, it really is that beautiful in real life.

With white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue water and massive limestone cliffs rising out of the water, it's easy to see why it's such a popular holiday destination. Koh Phi Phi Le, the smaller island near Koh Phi Phi Don, is the more famous one in recent times as it's where 'The Beach' with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. Now days boatloads of tourists (mostly from Phuket) are dumped onto this beach in the morning to spend their time in the shade waiting for their evening boats to depart.

Postcard shot

The famous beach, Maya Bay

Phi Phi is also a pretty well known spot for its diving, so of course Jade had to try it out. After trying to talk me into it and failing off he went. Personally I had a very enjoyable day laying on the beach finishing my book but 7 hours later, Jade comes back and he can't stop raving about it. After a bit of umming and ahhing he decides he liked diving so much he wanted to become an official Scuba Steve and do the PADI open water diving course, involving 4 days of study, tests and practical work. He still hadn't given up on getting me into the water either, so after some more convincing I nervously took a test dive in a swimming pool - and passed all the requirements with flying colours. Apparently I'm a natural!

With that out of the way we were taken by longboat out to a bay on Koh Phi Phi Le. I was geared up with everything: on went my mask, snorkel, flippers, weight-belt, BCD and gas tank. I was then told to sit on the edge of the boat, cross my flippers, hold my regulator in - and next thing you know I'm pushed off the boat! I tumble backwards into the water in a very James Bond style entry and sink in a cloud of bubbles. Thankfully my inflated BCD brings me back to the surface, I give the OK signal and I'm Scuba Sarah for the day!

After a bit of difficulty equalising my ears we finally reached the sandy ocean floor, a very strange feeling. Breathing underwater is also very weird and you feel like you've suddenly become an asthmatic. It's quickly forgotten once you start looking around though, there are soooo many fish! Big, small, colourful, quirky, cute. The coral was also healthy and brightly coloured, a very pretty sight. On our second dive after lunch we even saw a giant turtle just swimming around happily, munching on all the coral. I have to admit it was pretty cool but don't think I'll be becoming an official scuba Sarah unlike Jade; I'll stick to snorkeling thanks.

A trip around to Monkey Bay was also on the list so we hired a kayak (managed to haggle them down to a reasonable price, starting to get the hang of this haggling thing!) and paddled around to the bay. Soft white sand covered the small beach with water so clear you could see the fish swimming around, but no monkeys to be seen. We'd hired a snorkel so we could swim around the bay and investigate what was hiding in all the rocks. Jade managed to find a very territorial fish which was guarding his rock with a fierce sense of purpose, it even took a bite at Jade when he got too close! When we came back to shore the monkeys had emerged from the trees. Cute little things on first inspection but get between them and what they want - mostly your things - and you'll think differently! Luckily for us we had been smart and tied everything to our kayak before we went for a swim, other people had not been so lucky. The monkeys were raiding bags, taking food and any water bottles they could get their furry little hands on. One girl was especially unlucky when her whole bag disappeared up a tree, and I don't know if she managed to get it back! The monkeys also know exactly what to do if you try to stop them: they hiss, growl and take a couple of steps towards you and you go running. Well nobody wants rabies do they!

I'm a cute little monkey...

...but I'm actually going to go through all your bags

And steal your stuff!!

Another thing that seems mandatory to do on Phi Phi is have a bucket. A bucket of alcohol that is. Come night fall just about every shop on the island sets up a stall with all the necessary ingredients, so a quick look around to see who had the best price and we were set up with our first Phi Phi bucket. It's pretty simple: a small plastic bucket filled with vodka, Thai whiskey or rum (whichever takes your fancy), add in some Thai Red Bull and your choice of coke, sprite or juice. Pretty simple really but be careful, they'll quickly sneak up on you!

The necessary ingredients

My first Phi Phi bucket!

Our last night on the island we splashed out and went to an upmarket French restaurant on the recommendation of Jades diving instructor. I had duck with a mango sauce and it was delicious - but the thing I was really excited about (and never thought I'd say) was that it came with mashed potatoes! As nice as all this Thai food has been, you still can't beat some decent mashed potatoes. It's small things like this that we are starting to miss, especially dark chocolate and good wine!

Well Phi Phi has definitely been my favourite place so far and I really did not want to leave; we came for three days and stayed eight. I think it just has a good mix of everything and is such an incredibly beautiful place. I'm already planning when I can come back!