I'll start with some randoms I've thought of since last time:

- Towards the end of my time in India I began pretending to be a student; some people assume you've not got much money, hence making bargaining that little bit easier!
- Everywhere I go all the internet cafe's are full of people obsessed with counterstrike, in some places they all play in a room with full volume on it's very odd!
- In Singapore there were loads of modded cars, especially Impreza's and Evo's and all tastefully done.
- Every day in Singapore at 3/4pm there was a massive thunderstorm lasting a couple of hours which is a pain as it can ruin your plans and I always forgot to expect it. Luckily, most of the shops, train stations, etc are linked underground so if you're clever and detour a bit you can normally get around without getting wet.
- Whilst diving the biggest fish I saw was a 'giant grouper' (google image search it!) I also saw 2 'triggerfish' (see 3rd pic from top) which we didn't get too close to as they attack anything that enters their 'zone.'
- On the boat on the way back from diving one night I saw flying fish for the first time, I never realised how high (up to 2m) or how far (up to 20m) they actually fly.
- Walking home from the pub one night I found myself swarmed by fireflies!
- We have a massive hill to get to our bungalows which is difficult to get up whether on foot or motorbike.
- I nearly got killed by a coconut again, closer this time. A guy pushed me and as I turned to say "what the hell are you doing?!" there was a thud as the coconut landed where I was stood!
- Eachyear in Asia, 4000 people die from falling coconuts.
- My skin is getting browner and my hair longer and blonder which is good.
- The gecko's and frog's are really loud and wake you up every morning. There was also a cockrel that woke us up every morning, that is until it got so annoying that the bungalow owners fed it to us one night as 'special meat.'
- On Koh Phangan I have seen some amazing lightening and thunderstorms as well as amazing sunsets, probably the best ever.
- Thai's say "same, same... but different" and "can/can not" "have/have not."


Out of everyone I have spoken to about the Full Moon Party I have been the one to have lasted the longest; 1am the next night! A lot of people leave at about 5am on the night, so I lasted 20 hours more than them! After I last wrote I spent the day woddling around as did pretty much the rest of the island. I got back to the bungalow in the evening and sat down for dinner with the others. I was still drinking that evening until I finally got to sleep as I said at 1. The next day was a very lazy one and in fact I can't remember doing anything except lying on the beach and in the lazy area in the restaurant eating and drinking snacks all day. A lot of people arrived at the bungalows this day; before it had just been our little group staying there but by now there were about 40 - 50 people. What a lot of people do is after the party head North to spend a few quieter days relaxing and recovering. That evening I met Joe and Ronan who had done just that! I went back to my bungalow quite early lit some candles and incence, got a beer and some chocolate and lay in my hammock listening to slow, chilled out music. It was sooooo relaxing and after a few hours I fell asleep in my hammock for the night.

The next morning all of my friends from the original group who were still there left to their next destinations. I got the taxi into the town, said goodbye and went to the market. I picked up a couple of bargains before trying to get a taxi back. Everyone I asked was trying to over charge and not really dropping their prices so in the end I worked out it was easier to rent a bike. this time though I upped my style and got a nice trails/dirt bike :-D When I got back I sat on the beach and in the sea talking to Ronan for a while and then we went into the village to watch the football. Had a nice meal with it and the guy working there was cool.

There is a mountain in the middle of the island, the highest one, and since I arrived I set myself the task to conquer it! Monday was the day I attempted it. I set out on my bike, making two stop-offs on the way. The first was to a monastry where I watched all the monks playing and climbed the hill to see the buddha statue they worship. The second was to the Chinese Temples which were really nice up in the mountains but suprisingly empty. It then took me a good hour to find the bottom of Khao Ra, the mountain, before I began my ascent. I saw lots of crazy fungi on the way up - bright blue, green, yellow, red etc, two poisonous centipedes, a moniter (massive) lizard and lots of branches which looked too much like snakes! But it wasn't much fun. I was eaten alive by various insects for a start. I walked over parts that looked suspiciously like traps set by tribesmen or something and I took WAY too little water, only about 300ml worth. After half an hour I was sweating more than I ever have in my life but kept on going. I was really determined to get to the top. But after another half an hour, realising I was slowing and only half way to the top, and with no more water, I decided it would be stupid to continue. I turned around and walked for another hour to get the the bottom which was bad enough in itself. After partial recovery I rode down to Haad Rin (party central) to get some food and ended up sitting eating with an Israeli girl. I rode back up North into the village and bumped into Joe and Ronan watching more football so joined them in this very chilled out restaurant. Once back at the bungalow I made a repeat of two nights previously, some hammock time with candles, incence, music etc and fell asleep in the hammock again!

On Tuesday I finally left Koh Phangan. The original plan was to spend 3 days there but it was so great that I ended up staying there for 12! I joined Joe and Ronan on a 12 o'clock boat to Koh Tao, the neighbouring island where I still am. The boat journey over was an interesting one as there was a storm at the time, never before have I been on a boat where the windows on the sides touch the water :-s The island is TOTALLY centred around scuba diving. So much so that you can't really find anywhere to stay without signing up for some form of diving or otherwise paying a lot of money which is a bit silly. Joe and Ronan are doing their Open Water course so we got a room for 200 Baht a night which is split between us and actually works out really cheap (a pound a night each). It's even got satellite TV! We had rented bikes to explore the island and check out the diving schools, visiting 10's of different ones before coming to a decision. On our travels we bumped into 2 friends they had made in Laos and arranged to meet that evening. 2 more people they had met also turned up, so we got some food before heading to the pub to watch the football. It was on until 2.30am so we ended up drinking for a long time and getting to bed very late (early?) that morning.

Hence the lie in the next morning until midday and the day of generally doing nothing except watching films, eating and taking naps! That really is all that happened all day. OH< except for one thing... that evening we found a FREE BUFFET! I had already just eaten but wasn't going to miss an opportunity like this so had about another 2/3 meals worth, some very nice yellow thai curry and pizza being the highlights :-) Yesterday I decided to have a more action packed day and got a bike again. I first went to Mae Haad, the main town to have a look around. Found some got DC/DVD shops and nice restaurants/bakeries and had the BEST baguette in one of them. I came back and met Martin and Seb (from the previous night). Seb had to go diving but me and Martin went down to the South to do some snorkelling in an area where there are sharks on a daily basis. We got there and walked along some boulders and rocks for 20 minutes to the beach only to be told we had to go all the way back. We got out to the shark area, marked by 2 buoys, but very disappointingly didn't see a single one. I dropped Martin back home and continued my exploration into the North where there is a beautiful bay. I rode toward this bay for about half an hour along the worst track I have ever been on in my life before deciding in a similar way to my mountain walk that enough was enough and turning back. Once back on a main road I saw some guys I had seen snorkelling earlier and they asked if I wanted to join their group. So there was now an exploration team of 6 of us! We found a good snorkelling site and all cut ourselves getting out of the water climbing on this rock. Then we went West, found a cool bar on the hillside where we had a drink before going down to the sea. Did some more snorkelling and then found a rock that was high enough with deep enough water below to do some jumping and diving. Before long the sun was setting and so I got some really cool pictures. We drove back to where we're staying (they're all just down the road from me) and I went back to my room. Joe and Ronan were back from their diving and just about to head out with 4 girls we had met in Koh Phangan (it's getting weird how much you bump into people!) so I quickly got ready. We went for some food before bumping into the rest of the group and heading down to the 'Lotus Bar.' We stayed there all night but not too late because of early morning dives but it was good fun.

Today I took the bike back in the morning after going back to the amazing baguette place and then bumped into Zach, one of the guys from yesterday. I've been walking round with him, got some food etc before coming on here. Gonna go to the pool at his hotel now to chill out then meeting up with all the guys later as there's ANOTHER FREE BUFFET!