The next day we took a tour on a boat to see a few different islands, including 'James Bond Island' (famous for being the set of one of the films). It was beautiful! But I think I would have appreciated it a bit more if I had drank less rum at the reggae bar the night before... We got in kayaks and explored some caves on another island, and went for a quick swim at another one.
That night we left for Patong, famous for it's nightlife. Our time in Patong mainy consisted of sunbathing and clubbing, so not much to report about that.
After Patong, we visited Koh Phi Phi. We were staying in bamboo huts at the top of a hill. The huts were basic and there were LOADS of mosquitos, but it was amazing, and the view from our balcony was gorgeous. Unfortunately to get to our hut we had to walk past the islands sewage system, which somebody had renamed 'Poo gardens'. It wasn't a pleasant smell.... The beach on Phi Phi was amazing with loads of little bars, UV body paint, fire shows, and buckets of Sang Soom (Thai rum). We went out every night we were there - always promising ourselves we would take it easy yet ending up stumbling home in the early hours of the morning. I loved it! We met some amazing girls who we became great friends with and we all went out for a tour on boats to see Maya Bay, where 'The Beach' was filmed. On the way we got to stop at a secluded beach on a different island for lunch and also tried out snorkeling. I am not a fan of it though, and ended up panicking because we were so far out to sea, and also the depth of the ocean. The water was so clear it was like tap water so you could see everything. That night we all bought fluorescent shirts and went out for some UV fun.
Phi Phi was probably one of the best places I have ever been. There were no Taxis because the island is so small everyone just walks wherever they go, and there is always something going on in the evening.
We spent one night in Krabi in a nice hotel and it was such a relief to be somewhere with a lovely clean bathroom and comfortable beds after four nights in the huts.
Next was Koh Tao, which we had assumed would be easy to get to, but typically none of us had actually researched transport. We knew there was a three hour drive to Surat Thani to the ferry, yet didn't realise the ferry would take so long to get there. We were told by the man on reception at the hotel that there was no overnight ferry because it was not high season, and even claimed to phone up the pier to check. This wasn't such a problem for me and Jess as we had a couple more weeks in Thailand so our plans were flexible, but it was for Madeleine as her days in Thailand were limited. She ended up booking a flight to Bangkok from Surat Thani, and checked in online as she wasn't sure how easy it would be to access wifi when we arrived. When we actually got there, we found out that the man at the hotel was infact wrong and the night ferry was still running. Poor Madeleine couldn't change her flight as she had already checked in! We are going to complain about this to the hotel, although they probably wont take any notice.
We had been advised by loads of people to go to Koh Tao, but it seems at the moment there are renovations going on everywhere meaning you can't relax anywhere without hearing sawing and drilling. (I can hear it right now) However, we found some fire shows, buckets, and a drum and bass night, so I was happy. Last night I even tried fire Poi on the beach.
Unfortunately Madeleine had to go home yesterday and we were very sad to see her go as we have had an amazing time with her. Today we were meant to go to Koh Phangan, but we missed the ferry this morning. This has worked out for the best though because when we phoned up the hostel to let them know, the lady told us there had been a mistake with the booking and we aren't meant to check in until tomorrow anyway! So we have one more night in Koh Tao before a week of partying leading up to the Full Moon party!
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