Well, I (Nic) managed to stay on the plane & we landed finally at Bangkok in the heat! We then caught a pink taxi??!! (which Adam was most amused about!)to the older airport where we boarded to our first destination - PHUKET! We landed pretty late and managed to have our first experience of the thai way!.......the taxi guy randomly stopped at some travel place where the ladies tried to get us out of the taxi telling us that our hotel was full and that we couldn't stay there....thankfully we had read about it on the plane so refused to budge and eventually the guy carried on..


We travelled down towards the lower end of the island and on reaching Patong, all I can say is that it was like... IBIZIA but 10x the size!!

Fast food/neon signs, bars,massage (well we think?!!) places, lots of noise and people/parties everywhere but thankfully we were not staying there!

We finally (after the guy did a detour to a restaurant saying he needed the loo which took half an hour!!) arrived at our hotel which was perfect... loads of palm tress, chilled and like being in a mini jungle! Adams was most impressed too as believe it or not, then is a BOOK SHOP!!! next door and is the only one we have seen in Phuket!!





 

Since then we have managed not to do alot as without setting alarms we seem to wake up at 3pm each day and have had 13 hours sleep a night, miracle! Kata beach near us is pretty rammed, beautiful white sand etc.. but very touristy. They say that the western culture has hit Phuket and that is definately true but it is cool to be here and a fab start to the trip!






So far we have spolied ourselves with an hours thai foot massage for about two pounds and a thai massage also, which consisted of the lady walking on my back.... very painful to say the least but invigorating! Adam managed to charm the thai ladies in the massage place and got given a can of beer at the end, a refreshing tradition perhaps??! It was so funny though as at the end of the foot massage the ladies all went outside and started drinking beer which was a great sight to see, they definately like to have fun in Thailand!





 

New Years Eve was eventful to say the least! We ended up eating in a make shift dinasour style posh restaurant ( felt like I was in Sandown on the Isle of Wight!) after which we went to a swedish style kareoke bar served by a very gay thai guy and lady boy, it was all very amusing!



Stumbling home we then ended up in a British guy's pub who gave us free drinks to the early hours and then admitted he had just come out of jail at home and couldn't go back there!! Yes sounds all abit mad but was REALLY good fun and definately a new year to remember!














After new years day we treated ourselves with xmas money (Thanks Bruce!) to a speedboat adventure around all of the beautiful islands off of Phuket, one was where the film 'The beach' was filmed, it was beautiful, emerald sea, white sand etc... I won't go on!



We also saw monkeys on the beach and then did some snorkelling, the reef was fab! We saw a reef shark which was pretty scary to say the least and then a small swordfish swam right across my snorkel at which point I thought it was a baby shark and panicked (slightly!) to which our guide laughed and told me what it actually was!



After then chilling with lunch on the beautiful Phi Phi with some fellow travellers and eating fresh pineapple on another isle thinking that without doubt giving up everything for our world trip was definitely worth it! Rainy Heathrow or pineapple on a white sand island...uuuum!











The next day we attempted motorbiking round the island which is a hairy experience to say the least and Thailand has the highest road death rates...what are we like!


Good experience though, beautiful beaches, temples, mental roundabouts & a few bizarre gear changes catapulting us with a few near misses (Adam was driving course!).. Then to end apart a flat tyre....need we say more but to fix it cost 50 pence, bargain! I think we will stick to the local tansport in Thailand for the future - the TUK-TUK!!







Anyway our first week of a 'holiday' is coming to an end and we actually hit the back packing life finally where the proper travelling will begin! No more nice hotel, taxi's, speedboats and massage but onto crammed hot buses, too heavy backpacks and dormitories!!! We can't wait....or can we?!!