The trip of a lifetime

When we last posted we had told you all about our escapades in KL and the day after the KL Aquarium we had an early start to get our train down to Singapore.

12/02/08
Up at 7am to make sure we had time to get ready and make sure that we could get a taxi and get down the station in time. As we left the hostel it was just becoming light bit in true KL style there is always a Proton taxi nearby to pick you up. Effortlessly and without a hitch we arrived at Sentral station ready to board the train. Upon finding our seats we quickly got settled as the train pulled out of the station (Ric almost immediately fell asleep and Matthew got out his Ipod and settled into the 7 hour journey).

One of our main reasons for getting the train was that we knew it would be heading through the countryside and many small towns that we would otherwise not have seen should we have taken the 5 hour bus ride instead. As the journey passed we both decided to read our Tsunami books purchased at the beach bar on Koh Phi Phi, its a book written by an Italian chap (Luciano Butti) who moved onto Phi Phi a few years ago after discovering it by chance. He immediately fell in love with the place and opened an Italian restuarant on the beach called 'Ciao Bella'. This is also teamed up with the beach bar to which which we spent many an hour with a bottle of Singha an chatting to Kurt and/or the barstaff (Cob and Yen). With around 3 hours to go we could not believe how fast the time had passed and began to prepare ourselves for disembarking. Towards the end of the trip (just on the border) we had to go through customs and passport control before getting back on the train to enter Singapore.

On the final 30 mins we travelled through the outskirts of the city and neither of us could believe just how clean it was. Normally entering a big city on a train you generally travel through some of the poorer areas before entering the more impressive central areas. Upon arrival to the station we changed out last few Malaysian Ringits into Singapore Dollars before a 15 minute walk to MRT station (subway) to find our way to the Hostel that we had chosen on the Internet which apparently had a fantastic location (just next to a subway stop). Upon arrival we quickly found the Hostel and got settled in. We met up with a couple of people in the hostel and got chatting about Singapore and what we could do in the two days we had there. We came up with some ideas but soon became hungry. We ate at a little restaurant opposite the hostel and had some fantastic pork ribs and pork in beancurd with rice to share. After food we had a walk around the local area (Aljunied) before returning to the hostel to watch a film with the other packers and get an early night.

13/02/08
We woke up in our separate dorms (we'd been split up for the first time in a month as they didn't have two available beds in the same room) and got ready. We got the MRT to downtown Singapore to have a walk around and see what it was like. The first stop was in China Town where we ate some local cuisine. Matt had a double cheese burger and chips and Rick had a Big Mac (Matt had promised Rick that if he was good then he could have a MacDonalds when we arrived in Singapore). We jumped back on the MRT down to Clarke Quay which is packed with bars, restaurants and withing walking distance along the river to Boat Quay. We spent time walking around both Quays through the shopping centres (of which there are plenty) and decided to stop for a drink to quench our thirst. We then made our way back to the hostel after deciding that later on we woulod come back to have a few drinks on Boat Quay. We had a couple of hours where we just chilled at the hostel watching a film and again attempting to upload more photos (again with no success!) and then got ready and headed out for some food. We ate at another small restaurant about 5 minutes from the hostel where the food was really cheap, arrived about two minutes after we ordered it but was very delicious. We labeled it 'the Chinese version of fast food!' and it cost us $5 each (including a drink) which equates to around 1 pound 80 pence!! Affter eating we again went to the station to get the MRT to Boat Quay for a couple of drinks. It was quite lucky that the food was so cheap as the drinks are far from cheap!! Imagine beer prices of central London!! The first stop was at Harry's Bar where they had a live jazz band playing which was really good! The were skitting (which it like musical gobbledegook which sounds really cool!) and we couldn't help tap along! After Harry's we made our way round to Eski Bar. Which is an ice bar kept at a chilling temperature of -5 degrees celsius!!! after spending around half an hour (and the first stages of hypothermia starting to kick in) we stepped out into a brick wall of heat (27 degrees!!). We made our way back to the hostel after narrowly catching the very last train and stayed up with some of the other packers to watch another film.

14/02/08
Got up and get ready to go to Sentosa. This is and island off the southern point of Singapore on which they have built hotels, flower gradens, nature trails and man made beaches. It is only a short monorail ride over to Sentosa and upon arriving we had a walk through the flower gardens and up onto the nature trail which winds down the secondary rainforest to one of the man made beaches. We walked along the beach for half an hour before stopping to get a drink at a bikini bar with cheap beer. Rick popped into the shop next door and came out with a brand new rash vest in preparation for his surfing lessons in Australia! We then continued along the beach to the monorail station and got a sandwich before heading back to the hostel. We had decided the night before that for Valentines Day we would go back down to Boat Quay to have a meal. We ended up at an all you can eat North Indian buffet which allowed us to try a variety of different dishes. After food we headed to Hooters (we were both amazed at the number of couples that had decided to eat there for Valentines Day, but saying that, it is a family establishment!!) for a quick drink before going back to the hostel in preparation for an early start.

15/02/08
Up at 6am!!! and travelled a mere 30 minutes on the MRT direct from our hostel to Changi Airport (what an brilliant system)!! Arrived at the airport with no problems, got checked in and then waited to board the plane. Again the plane provided a fantastic entertainment system which made the time pass extremely quickly for Matt. Rick on the other hand slept almost the whole flight!! We landed in Perth just after 3pm and Gary was already waiting for us at the arrivals lounge! We drove about 2 hours south of Perth to his home in Australind. On the way Gary asked us if we'd ever seen a kangaroo in the wild. We both replied "no" so he took a slight detour and drove passed his fiancee's aunt's house where there were about 10/15 kangaroos just sat grazing. We also stopped at his local "bottleshop". This is a fantastic service which allows you to pull up in your car at a drive through and purchase crates of beer/spirits/mixers etc! Genius!! We then got back to his house and met his lovely fiancee Jo and her crazy cousin Michelle! Jo had made a lasagne for us and we had a couple of drinks and got to know eachother. We also discussed that the next day we would go on a wine tour around the southwest wine region. Jo had kindly offered to be our chaffeur for the day as she doesn't drink alcohol. We then went to bed to prepare body and soul for the marathon drinking session ahead!

16/02/08
We woke up at about half 7/8 o'clock and got ready for our journey. We covered a total distance of about 350 kilometers on long, straight roads which made the journey pretty effortless. The first brewery was called 'Occy's' where we sampled four of their different brews before heading to the next place (which we can't remember the name of just now). Again we got a sample board of six different brews (it is worth noting at this point that you didn't get a pint of each beer. Each glass was just less than half a pint each). We then stopped off at a cheese factory to pick up some cheese for Jo and we tried a really tasty chilli cheddar!! We then left the beer behind and made our way into Margaret River which is a well known wine making area. We visited 3 different wineries and had a taste of between 5 and 10 wines in each place through from "fruity" whites to "succulent" roses to "challenging" reds! They would always save their best red until last (which also happened to be their most expensive!!). After our wine tasting Gary asked us if we fancied going round to one of their friends houses for a couple of drinks and get to know a few more Aussies. Without hesitation and really wanting to get a glimpse of the really Aussie way of life, we said yes! Upon arrival we made our way through the theatre room, into the lounge, through the games room and out through the back to the pool and alfresco area. There we found a bunch of Aussies all chatting and having drinks. We immediately felt very welcome and they seemed to like us from the word go! After about an hour or so we needed to get some food so Jo suggested we go to the local fast food place for a quick bite to eat. They then asked us if we wanted to go back to the gathering for a couple more drinks. We didn't want to but Rick hyad stupidly left his sunglasses in the games room (doh!!) so we had to go back (what a shame!) They were shocked and pleased to see us back again (Gary admitted to us the morning after that he knew we'd end up going back there!) and we continued to make friends and chat about our trip and just get to know them. We knew we'd been fully accepted when Mike asked us if we would like to try his home made bourbon!! We felt really rude saying no (especially as Matt isn't a big bourbon drinker) but we were pleasantly surprised with it's smooth flavour and not harsh on the back of the throat like Jack Daniels or Jim Beam would be! He was pleased that we liked it and continued to pour more into our glasses until we were rescued by Jo who said that we should leave (thanks Jo!) We made it home and prettly much straight to bed!!

17/02/08
Naturally we got up late and not feeling particularly fresh Jo made us get in the car and drive to Donnybrook (where she works as a primary school teacher) to pick up some fruit and ingredients to make a Thai Red Curry on our last night with them. We stopped at the tourist information to put up some leaflets and then headed back to meet Jo's mum and aunt as they were delivering some furniture for their house. We helped unload and then get showered and changed to go down to Gary's local pub (the Collie Brook Tavern) for a beer and some food and a couple of games of pool. They also set up the karaoke and Gary couldn't resist singing one song! Gary also intorduced us to the bar manager who bought us a round of drinks and offered us a couple of their free stubbie holders. Then we went back to the house to watch a film and get an early night.

18/02/08
Today!! Gary and Jo are both at work so Gary dropped us off in Bunbury for the day to get on a quick internet for photo uploading and blog writing! Now we've going to have a walk down to the beach. Tonight we're cooking thai red curry (currently having withdrawal symptoms from Thai food), then to the pub to pick up our free stubbie holders and an early night. We're up at 5am and Gary will drop us off in Perth in the morning.

Hope you are all well at home!

Rick and Mattxx

Hi all,

We were expecting this post to be written from Singapore, however certain events (which you will soon hear about) will explain why we are still in Kuala Lumpur!!

06/02/08
So we last left you as we prepared ourselves to go and eat pizza as our last meal in Phuket before flying to Kuala Lumpur. The entire journey went extremely well (aside from some very close calls in the taxi en route to the airport and Rick's 7 pound excess baggage charge) and we arived safe and sound at Kuala Lumpur airport!! We managed to get on a coach that would "drop us off at our hostel". After the driver made many stops, at which nobody seemed to be getting off, various phone calls, it became very apparent to his 30 or so passengers that he really had no idea where he was going!! At the final straw we had spotted a couple of landmarks that had been detailed on the directions given by Hostelbookers after we'd booked our hostel. We decided that we'd go it alone from here on in!! After stopping to ask directions from a couple of people we eventually managed to find the hostel! We were very hot, very sweaty and had just spent 2 hours on a coach with a useless driver. We were naturally quite anxious to get into the room take our bags off and relax!! Not a chance!! We waited to check in and then we were eventually given our key. Still with our rucksacks on we spent 10 minutes trying to open the door before giving up and asking the receptionist to do it. After a bit of faffing it opened and she left! Rick then decided to take the valuables down to put them in the safety deposit box (which are just lockers with padlocks on them). All she could say to him was "I don't have a key". What on earth is that supposed to mean? Does she not have a key now? Will she have one later? Will she ever have one? What? Rick gave up and we decided not to bother them again with this "problem". More problems occured with the door as we still couldn't figure out the knack to opening it!! After another 20 minutes we sorted it all out and things were fine. We also came to the conclusion that if we had so much trouble getting the door open then any potential robbers would also encounter these problems and thus our valuables would remain quite safe!! In addition to this point Matthew had no clue how to open the door so Rick was in charge of the key for the entirity of the stay! That evening we had a walk around the local area, which happened to be the best place for cheap shopping and restaurants (the area was called the Golden Triangle). We found a bar/restaurant which served the cheapest Tiger Beer around and also decided to eat there. It was a Malayan restaurant and their cuising is like a fusion of different cuisined to make their own. We noticed on the way back that the streets were preparing for some kind of festivle, but didn't know if they were putting it up or taking it all down! Upon returning to the hostel there were a few lads playing drinking games with dice. The owner of the dice happen to be a very loud, care-free Mancunian called Daryl and loved the fact that this was "his game". We joined in and before we knew it, it was 1am and we decided to hit the hay!

07/02/08
At a reasonable hour we got up, got ready and were out the door in order to take in Kuala Lumpur (KL from now on!), which in the local tongue means "murky estuary/confluence". We headed first to the Petronas Twin Towers (due to the fact that we could see them!) and didn't need to use a map. Every now and then we just looked up, and then went left or right as appropriate!! After having a good look around we decided to see what the Mall underneath the Tower's had to offer. Imagine, if you will, the Trafford Centre in Manchester on six levels with all the designer shops including Armarni, Gucci, Prada, Channel, Tiffany's and Co., Davidoff, Jimmy Choo, Mikimoto and of coure TopShop and Marks and Spencers!!! We then decided that we would go and have a look at the KL Tower, which is the fifth tallest free standing tower in the world (the CN Tower in Canada being the tallest in the world). Upon arrival we made our way to the counter to get a ticket to go up. A lift takes you up 421 metres to an observation deck where you get a 360 degree view of KL!! It's a teriffic experience to be able to see so much from such a great height!! After this we headed back down towards the hostel to chill out a bit before looking for some food. We chose to wealk a little further than usual and ended up in a nice little Italian restaurant and we both had Ravioli! Awww. Again as we arrived back at the hostel, the lads were drinking and chatting and we stuck around a little to see what they had planned for the rest of their trip.

08/02/08
In the mornign we had a walk to the Petronas Towers to have another look around the mall and then, having decided the night before that the KL Hop on Hop off tour looked quite good, we went to the nearest bus stop to wait for it to arrive. They usually come every 30 minutes or so but ours was really quick and we only had to wait 10! After much deliberation we cose a couple of places to "Hop on and Hop off" on of these was the National Forrest which is the green belt of KL (similar to Central Park in New York but more out of the centre and smaller). We visited the National Monument which honours those who died in the First and Second World Wars and then wandered peacefully through a Sculpture Garden and the Lake Gardens. We then went up towards the largest enclosed bird sanctuary in the world and the orchid gardens. We didn't visit these but waited for over an hour for the next bus to come along!!! On the way back we had a 5 minute stop at the National Palace where the King of Malaysia lives (this is similar to Buckingham Palace as you can visit the main gates, poke fun at the guards who can move but not much else). We also had a 5 minute picture taking stop at Titiwangsa which is a park area which had the "Eye on Malaysia" (their version of the London Eye) and a theatre which had similar features to that of the Sydney Opera House. We then headed back to the Malaysia Tourist Centre (MTC) in order to find out if we could get a train from KL to Singapore on the Sunday. All was fine (which you will later see was not!) and we had chosen to get the 14:15 train. We then booked a place to stay in singapore for the Monday and Tuesday night and then went to A lebanese restaurant to celebrate a productive day!!

09/02/08
An early start for us as we departed for the Petrons Towers in order to queue up for the free tickets that allow you to go up the Tower's to the Sky Bridge between the two! When we got the ther queue was huge but moved relatively quickly. The system is that they give out the tickets to whoever but you can't chose what time. If you're first in line then you go up the tower first. Then at 15minute intervals after that with about 28 in each group. We were allocated the 13:15 slot. We only had to wait just over an hour so at half past 9 in the morning we decided not to stray far from the towers but have a wander round the gardens that they have. En route we noticed that we were passing the KL Aquarium so we scoped it out so that after we'd been up the Petronas Towers we knew where to come so that we could do the aquarium in the afternoon before we depart for Singapore the following day. At ourt allotted time we made our way to the Petronas Towers for our tour. It started with a short 3D film which introduced us to the Towers and the company that arranged for their building etc. After this all 28 of us walked into this huge speed lift that took us all up to the 43rd floor in just 58 seconds!! An average of 5-6 metres per second!! As the doors re-opened and our ears popped, we turned the corner to be confronted with a huge glass bridge (which has 2 levels, the lower one for the tourists and the second for the employees working in the towers). When stepping out onto the bridge our feet began perspiring and our hearts racing! We took in the amazing views of the ground which was a long way down!! The large panes of glass gave the feeling that there was no glass at all! Sudden realisation came back to the fact that there was glass when we noticed that there was a guy on the "wrong" side of the glass cleaning the windows!!! He was in nothing more than a metal bucket which he had no fear of leaning out of to reach bits that he'd missed!!! After various photos we made our way back down (again our ears popped) and out. As we chatted about getting back and chilling Rick had completely forgotten that they were suppoed to be going to the aquarium and Matt wasn't sure whether or not to mention it as we were both pretty tired. As we discussed this over our evening meal it was apparent that we were both really gutted to have missed it!! We wen't to a local Chinese restaurant with tables and chairs out on the pavement as we had been curious about the place throughout our stay! The food was delicious and very reasonably priced!! We then headed back to have a couple of drinks with the lads before we detaprt the following lunchtime!

10/02/08
The morning of our departure and we got up, packed and had our remaining Malaysian currency (except for 50 Ringgits each) converted into Singapore Dollars. We also arranged for a taxi to pick us up early enough to get us there with time to get our ticket and get the train. This was the beginning of our self-induced nightmare!! Upon arrival at Sentral Station we went to the tiket counter. Here you have to get an electronic ticket and wait for the number to be called. We didn't even need to wait around for our number due to the fact that the board said that there were no available trains to Singapore from KL until the Wednesday (you have to bear in mind at this point that it is Sunday and we fly from Singapore to Perth on Friday). Naturally a little worried we decided that we would try an alternative method of transport: the bus. Having tried to find out timetables using the 50cents we had left in Malaysian coins we found out that there was a bus for late Tuesday evening. This was better than nothing so we paid 1 Ringgit to get the Commuter train to the next station where all the busses leave from. Again please bear in mind that this is the hottest part of the day and we are carrying between 18 and 23 kilos each!! (To put this in perspective its around 3 stone and we only weigh 11 stone each) After departing to train we walked for about 15 minutes through heavy traffic and bustling crowds of downtown KL to the bus terminal. An intoxicating cocktail of heat, sweat, noise and food filled the air as we made our way into what can only be describle as hell on earth. The bus terminal was packed like a Bon Jovi concert. Yet again please bear in mind the weight on our backs and the fact that the packs made each of us two people in size!! After no more than 4 minutes the decision was to head back to the hostel we had left only 3 hours before and start from scratch! Another 25 minute walk across KL (again using the Petronas Towers at our lighthouse in the ocean of the crowd before us) saw us arrive back at our Hostel. As we entered the common area we were welcomed with comments such as "We thought you were on you're way to Singapore" and "What are you doing back?". We peeled our packs from our backs as the air conditioning was a welcome change to the blast of exaust fumes and bus radiators heat! They informed us that they didn't have any rooms left but that they had a sister hostel just five minutes round the corner. We chilled out for half an hour with a cold drink and a chat before we headed off to the new digs. They are nice and comfortable but again with a double bed! After settling in we made our way back to the Train station to arrange for the next available ticket which we booked for Tuesday morning at 8:15am. This would give us 2 and a half days in Singapore. With that sorted we headed back to our old hostel to watch a film with the lads and then to our new hostel to get changed and go out for food. We went back to the first place we ate (as we were very much ready for a beer after a stressful day) and as we arrive it had become very clear that the Chinese New Year festivities were about to begin. The restaurant had a perfect view of the parade and the performances so we decided to stay and have some food. We saw the Malaysian President and a variety of amazing performances of dancing and Chinese Dragons etc. As things came to a close we finished our drinks and headed back to see the guys at our old hostel one more time. They were just starting another film so we decided to stay and watch it with them before heading home and sleeping at about 2am.

11/02/08
Had a very welcome lie in before heading to the KL Aquarium!! Yeah!! Very excited about this following the mishap a couple of days earlier, we wandered through the streets with smiles on our faces. It seems that someone had a hand in making us stay in KL another couple of days (the Chinese New Year celebrations, that we would have missed in Singapore, the Aquarium, and the fact that KL is a lot cheaper to stay in hostels) so we embraced this. The Aquarium was great and we saw loads of different fish and wildlife. After the Aquarium we grabbed a bite to eat and then back to the hostel to update you all on our KL experience!!

So there you have it, We are pleased to have been lucky enough to have a couple of extra days in KL (someone was pointing us in teh ruight direction for that) but the Greek God of Digital Photo Uploads appears to have taken a dislike to us and will not allow us show you all the amazing wonders that we've seen in KL. We'll continue to work on it but we'll probably have to try again in Singapore. You will have approximately 250 to look through when we finally get it sorted!!

Take care all!

Love Matt and Rickxx

Here we go again...

01/02/08
Rick was woken to matthew fumbling about the room (trying not to wake him but obviously did!!) as he prepared to depart early for his scuba diving trip so here he his to recall the story for you....

At 7.45am I leapt out of bed feeling rather excited and headed down to the Baracuda diving down by the pier of Koh Phi Phi. By this time the sun is already blazing. As I arrived into the shop I was introduced to my diving instructor for the day. Her name was Daria (a very attractive blonde girl orginally born in Georgia). She ran through the itineary for the day before we departed out to the boat. At this point I had an intoxicating feeling of both nerves and excitement but was more than ready to go ahead. After around 15-20 mins we arrived at our first dive site just of a small island off Phi Phi called Koh Boda. Upon arrival we talked me through a couple of the exercises that would initally get us into the water (and under it breathing normally). In order to dive we spent around 10 mins going through the equipment before climbing into a wet suit and loading myself with oxygen cylinders and a weight belt, and of course a mask. Once complete I was ready to jump. At this point I literally felt like I was walking the plank as I approached the edge of the boat wearing flippers. Once my vest was inflated I took the plunge. Obviously at this point I floated back to the surface where Daria joined me and prepared to lower ourselves a metre or so under the water to perform the procedure of clearing my mask from leaking water (without coming to the surface). Once I had successfully performed the procedure we began the dive. Metre by metre we went down stopping every few 10-15 seconds to make sure I was equalising my head. Without doing this I would have had serious issues with my ears. For some reason the conventional way didn't seem to work for me (holding nose blowing out) , however I found swallowing seemed to work. Before I knew it I we were swimming around 11-12 metres below the surface faced with a variety of corals, lionfish (nasty if touched), clown fish (nemo), baracudas, pufferfish, and variety of weird and wonderful coloured tropical fish all of which were suprisingly curious to our presence. After around 50 minutes (which seemed like 10) we slowly headed up the side of an underwater cliff to the surface where we waited around 5 minutes for the boat to find us and pick us up. We then had lunch jumped into the water a few times (generally just messing about) then we headed over to Phi Phi Ley for the second dive. At this point feeling much more confident, I found I relaxed more and took in a lot more of my surroundings. At one point we spent around 10-15 minutes around a piece of rock to look at a very rare fish known as the frogfish. Apparently on any future dives I perform I will be very lucky to see them again. This was the first time my instructor had ever seen them (and she has performed well over 1000 dives in her career).
After about an hour we headed back to the surface and again waited for the boat to pick us up from floating in the ocean.

Overall this was a fantastic experience which I will definately be doing again. I'm just very pleased that i've done it and I can now approach any future diving sessions with confidence and a basic knowledge of what to expect.

Hi it's Rick again, after that thrilling tale of Matt's experience's, I'll tell you about my day! I got up, had some onion soup, spent 4 hours on the internet trying to upload photos (which I failed miserable at!!) and then went to the beach to wait for Matt to get back!! I can honestly say it was my most favourite day so far!! :-(

That evening we met up with Kurt again (the guy who introduced us to the 9 Aussie chicks) and he said that he was going to see thet Thai boxing at the local stadium with Yen (yet another barman we befriended). The Thai boxing was great but matt felt a little tired after his scuba experience and departed at about 11pm. Rick, Kurt and Yen stayed until the end and then Rick and Kurt went to a bar to carry on drinking. Now it was rick's turn to do the early morning waking (payback)!! At around 3am Rick came home with no intention of waking Matt (yeah right!!) but we both slept very soundly. We're both now used to the time zones and most morning have been up around half 8 - 9am.

02/02/08
Rick falt a little worse for wear but we went for brunch and then just chilled on the beach for the rest of the day. We met up with Kurt again and he offered to meet up with us when we get to Adelaide (as this is where he lives), which was very nice of him! That evening was a quiet one but we met a Danish bloke called Tom who was really nice as well.

03/02/08
Another chilled day on the beach (we kept threatening to go kayaking but never actually did!!). I personally blame the unpredicatble tidal movements as it was often quite a walk to the water's edge!! We had been given a flyer for a restaurant called Talay and decided to check it out. It was a bit of a walk but well worth it!! It was run by a Paddy called Paddy! Who'd have guessed!!?? As it was our second to last night we decided that we would go out on the town. We went to a few bars, an outdoor club (it's like a bar on the beach where you can sit or go inside where the music is really loud!!) and then to a bar called Hippies bar which is open really late and is really chilled out.

04/02/08
Again feeling a bit precarious in the morning (Matt blames the RedBull which is non-carbonated and tastes like syrup!!), we headed for the beach to drink lots of water. Low and behold Kurt was already there waiting for us. We recalled the previous evening antics and drank more water! We spent our last night on Phi Phi with kurt in the Ciao Bella Restaurant (literally 3 steps from the Beach Bar!!!) where we chatted. Kurt learned a lot about the UK that evening and was stunned to find out that Manchester is actually a distance from London (not in East London as he pointed on a map that Rick drew!!) We also learned much about Australia and again Kurt suggested we meet up. We naturally said "definately"! We left early as we had an early start the next morning to catch a boat to Phuket.

05/02/08
As in previous posts, the reason we stayed longer on Phi Phi was due to the bad things we have heard about Phuket, oh and the fact that Phi Phi is beautiful!! The boat journey took about an hour and a half. Upon arrival we couldn't check in until half 12 so we decided to locate food. On the way a guy on the street asked if we wanted a taxi. Rick said no as we were going to look for food. He suggested a place and said that is was cheaper than most places in Phuket and a lot of people go there! Lies, all lies!!! The place was dead and the prices were more than double what we've paid elsewhere (we paid 8 pounds each for lunch!!). Naturally a little annoyed we headed back to check in. Upon reflection we think that it might get busy in the evening and with a huge selection of seafood (lobsters bigger than your arms, tiger prawns the size of your feet and spikey lobsters that looked pretty nasty) we can now see where the attraction comes from. Parts of the restaurant were more like and aquarium!! We got back to hotel which as worked out at 4 pounds each (more like a travel lodge than a hostel/traveller's hotel). We decided to lap it up for a couple of hours int he air con and watch some TV. After a film (Predator 2) we went for a wander to quite an impressive shopping mall. Rick bought some new "Boardies" (long swimming shorts for the English people back home) in preparation for his Surfing in Perth. We then had a beer and scoped out somewhere to eat. The general consensus is that we would like pizza!!! So off we go!

Thanks for tuning in! Speak to you all soon!

Rick and Mattxx

P.S. as an additional note we would like to say that there is a lot of development going on in Koh Phi Phi in the wake of the Tsunami in 2004. There are mixed feelings about this from the locals, some feeling that they prefered it before as a tropical paradise, others who prefer the fact that tourism has brought lots of money to the island and others (who knew Phi Phi before and after the Tsunami) who think that both have been good for the island. Our view is that it is a fantastic place that everybody should experience! If you want the tropical paradise then you can find it here in Phi Phi! If you like going out for a drink and meeting holiday makers and travellers alike, and don't mind people trying to sell you things on the streets, then it caters for that too! All in all we loved it and can see why people decide to stay! We hope that the development doesn't take over and spoil the traffic free tranquility of the island but we're glad to seeso many people from different walks of life enjoying this paradise.

Hi all!!!

Hope you are all well and not too bored of these posts yet!!?

28/01/08
We last left you after our terrifying trip into the Emerald Cave! We decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing day on the beach seeing as it was our last night in Koh Lanta. So that's what we did! Sat in our little hut on the beach just chilling and chatting and having reaccuring thoughts about our cave adventure. As the day drew on we decided to look on the interent for suitable accommodation for Koh Phi Phi and how to get there. We booked ourselves on the ferry which left at 8am the following day and booked a place to stay. The accommodation cost us a fortune as most places were fully booked. We ended up paying 1700 Baht per night which is about 30 pounds!!! As you can probably imagine, we're not used to paying so much so decided that we'd stay there for one night and then look elsewhere! In the evening we ate at the hostel restaurant. had a couple of beers and had an early night as we we're up at the crack of dawn the following day.

29/01/08
Up at half 6!! Our earliest start yet but we did ok. We got to the ferry port on time and departed for Koh Phi Phi. We had a picture in our mind of what we thought it would be like, coupled with descriptions from other travellers and bits we'd read on the internet. All in all its really not as bad as they made out! It's a beautiful island what is larger than I first expected. As we got to the island we were greeted by the guy who was going to take us to our hostel. Beacuse it was so early we couldn't check in until 1 o'clock so we decided to walk around for a bit and Rick had been reading about the view point on Phi Phi which you can see the whole island so we set out to conquer it!! First of all we went the wrong way so we had to back trach for 10 minutes until we finally found the steps to get up there. As we began to ascend the steps were very steep and very plentiful! There are around 310 steps and even then you're still not at the top! After the steps there is a steep path which winds through the trees and after a further 15 minutes we reached the top. By this point we had both literally sweat half of our body weight and were very pleased to find a little shop at the top which sold very cold water! After soaking in the view for a bit we made our way back down which, as you can probably imagine, was much easier than the way up! We then made our way back to the hostel to check in! We were pleasantly surprised with the room even though the twin beds had been pushed together!! We got showered and changed in air con luxury and then went down to the beach to catch the last few rays! We ended up on Loh Dallum beach which is gorgeous with the warmest water ever. The only downside (albeit very minor) was that it was a little busier on the beach than we were used to from Koh Lanta. Had a beer at 4:30 (the end of the working day!!) and had a pizza each and decided to walk back at around 11 o'clock to get an early night after our long day. This however did not go to plan!! Phi Phi is actually quite a lively place in the evening and we ended up in Reggie Bar which has it's very own Thai Boxing ring right in the centre of the place, accompanied with the sing "Fight your friend and win a free Bucket" (for those of you who don't know...a Bucket is drink with A LOT of alcohol in it!!). Naturally we decided that it wasn't worth it and just watched as two "friends" repeatedly kicked and punched eachother! Sat next to us was a lovely Swedish bloke called Amir who had come down with his mates to watch the fights. He told us that he liked to gamble so to make the evening more interesting Rick suggested that we put a little money on each fight (only 20 Baht, in case people back home think we're going to come home with a gambling problem, is about 40 pence!). Rick, however, got very licky and won all three fights that we bet on! We had a couple more beers and then made our way back to the air con room to get some sleep.

30/01/08
As mentioned above we needed to locate some new accommodation and managed to find a nice little place called Gipsy Village for less than half what we were paying for the night before!! Pretty bog standard fan room with a double bed! It was the only room left so we had to make do. We also booked oursleves onto yet another snorkelling trip (not wanting to have a fear of them after the previous experience) for the following day to go around a few islands around Phi Phi including Phi Phi Leh, which is the isleand where the film "The Beach" was filmed!! Went down to the beach and then at 5 o'clock (beer o'clock) we went up to the bar and got chatting with an Aussie guy called Kurt and 3 of his female friends. We chatted about Australia and the best bits etc and arranged that if we saw them later that we would join them for a drink. As it tuurns out we went for some food in the 007 restaurant as recommended by them and the Lonely Planet travel guide. Half way through Rick's Sausage, Chips and Beans (he was missing home) and Matt's 'THAI' red curry they walk past, spotted us and decided to join us (all 9 of them!!!). So there we were, eating food, watching Anchorman and conversing with 9 Aussie chicks! Finished our food and then went to a couple of bars and then to a bar on the beach before heading home at about 1 ish.

31/01/08
Yet another early start in order to go on our second snorkelling trip, which was stunning! The whole thing lasted about 7 and a half hours and included places such as: Shark View Point, Bamboo Island, Monkey Beach, Phi Phi Ley, and Maya Beach (The Beach!). Snorkelling was even better today than the previous trip in Koh Lanta, with different fish and clearer waters!! Each point at which we stopped to swim just seemed to get better and better before finally ending up on Maya beach to chill out beore sunset. On the way back the driver cut the engine and we just floated around watching the sunset. As we were doing this the driver and his friend froma nearby boat started to pull up a rope from the ocean floor, attached to which was a lobster trap in which they had caught............ a squid!!! Dissappointed not to have seen a lobster but it was still pretty cool! We got back to the pier and then home to shower and change before coming out for food and update the blog!! Matt's has just come back from booking his scuba diving trip for tomorrow morning (which leaves at 8:15! hahaha Rick will stay in bed!).

So here we are, all up to date and ready for more adventure. We'll update you soon with Matt's scuba diving antics!

Take care all!

Rick and Mattxx

First and foremost, we must apologise for the lack of postage on this blog so far! We have not had proper internet access for quite sometime and the internet has been down in Koh Lanta for the last 2 days!!

20/01/08
So we left Ao Nang tof Krabi Town by Long Tail Boat having already arranged out accommodation with the first hostel we stayed in. Arrived there, dropped off our bags in the room and went for some food (more Thai food!). With it being a Sunday, Krabi Town was actually quite quiet so we decided to have a wander round a couple of markets, share a pizza (how romantic!) and then head back. We watched a film (matt read some of his how to survive... book - thanks Carol) and then slept.

21/01/08
Awoken to the sound of marching drums at 8:20am!!! As it turns out we were staying across from a Thai primary school and they were all marching into their first lessons to the sound of these almighty drums!! We then got our day sacks together and made our way down to the port in order to get a long tail boat to Railay for the day.

We arrived there at lunchtime to spend a couple of hours on West Railay Beach (which is beautiful by the way!) and then had a walk round to Pranang Beach (which was equally as beautiful but lacked the awesome sunset that the West Side offered!) for the last hour or so.

Got the boat back to Krabi Town at about 5 o'clock, got showered and then headed out for some food! Then we decided to go and have a few beers in a couple of bars and then head back. What actually happen was that we went for a few drinks as planned, then headed back to the hostel where we said we would have one more outside the hostel and then go to bed, this is where things deviated from the plan when we heard the delightful musical talents of one Jonny Cash in the next bar (to put things in perspective here, this was at about 11pm). We went in and got friendly with the owner (A lovely bloke called Charlie) and then just chilled out on his cushions. Then we got chatting to a friendly Dutch couple, Rob and Silvia, and their German friend (who actually lives in New Zealand) called Stefan. Time flew by as we chatted and before we knew it, it was 4am when decided to head up to bed. Poor old Charlie had to wait for us to leave before he could close the place up!

22/01/08
Woke up again to the rhythmic sound of the drums we had a chilled out day in Krabi Town just wandered further up the estuary to see what was around. Saw a Esso garage and decided to turn back. On the way we stopped to admire a fountain ina small green areabefore heading down a short pier onto a floating restaurant for a drink. Continued our walk back down the port and then back to the hostel to get showered and changed. Went out for some great Thai food at a close by restaurant and then (predictably) back to the Old West bar to meet up with Stefan, Rob and Silvia for a couple of drinks and another chat. Went to bed early so that we could have an early start to get the long tail boat over to Railay Beach. Over the last couple of days since we first visited Railay, we decided to find somewhere cheap to stay so we could spend the next 2 days there.

23/01/08
As discussed above, we made our way to Railay Beach early in order to find accommodation. Stefan had told us the night before about some bungalows that he had stayed in that were good and quite cheap. So when we arrived we walked 15 minutes inland (into the jungle!) to try and find the bungalows. When we got there we had a look round one of them and we decided for the same price, we could stay closer to the beach area... so we did! We stayed in a resort called the Ya Ya Resort which was very basic but ultimately functional in design. After dropping of our stuff we had a bite to eat and then went down to Railay West again to catch a few rays and watch the amazing sunset (see photo links below). Had an early night (with no air con, just a fan).

24/01/08
Got up at a reasonable time in order to make our way to Pranang Beach for the day .Had some Thai food perpared from the back of a boat and just chilled some more! The water in Railay is very clear and warm, but it's not as warm as being out in the sun so it's a blessing really. We soon came to realise that because Pranang Beach faced South, we wouldn't really get a great view of the sunset and so made our way to Railay West to watch it set. And boy are we glad! Some little Thai lad kept selling us beer and in order to enjoy them more comfortably, Matt suggested that we dig oursleves a couple of holes and then mould them into seats in the shape of our body. Maximum comfort for the ultimate sunset! (Again see the fantastic sunset pictures). We ate in one of the restaurants on Railay West and stupily ordered extra fresh chillies with our meals, which was uncomfortable for a time, but well worth it! After the meal we went round to a chilled out Reggie Bar on the East sideto which we encountered a couple of English girls (Air Hostess from Dublin and an investment banker from Stockport) teaching an Isreali guy and a Thai local drinking games. Through no fault of our own we were soon invited to join them. This lasted about half an hour before we then settled into conversation about what we did and where we're going etc. They gave us some really useful info about the rest of our trip and when we told them we were going to Koh Lanta, they advised us against it. We didn't listen (we seem to think they wanted us to stay in Railay because we're so cool) and decided to go anyway. As the night progressed we invited more of the people around us to join in conversations and having fun with us. This seemed to be very popular as by the end of the night there was about 15 of us!! All playing Jenga and having a great laugh. We wanted to havwe an early night due to the fact that we had to catch a boat at 10:30 but it was by no means early!

25/01/08
We made it up for our boat journey to Koh Lanta which was very refreshing (having spent most of our travelling so far on a plane!!). There were people on the boat suggesting places to stay and seeing as we hadn't booked anywhere, we decided we'd have a look. Found a nice looking place with bungalows for 600 Baht per night (about 4 pounds each). We decided to take a chance on it and the free transfer from the port helped seal the deal. Arrived in Koh Lanta and a group of about 8 were told to jump in this pick-up truck with all our backpacks!! Rick called shotgun for the air con in the cabin and Matt had natures very own air con running through his hair at 40mph!! In the truck Rick got chatting with these two Southern faries (Kirsty and Hannah) and got chatting. As it turns out, they are doing (overall) a very similar trip to us without America. As the truck came to a halt we took in our surroundings to be confronted with this amazing little green area surrounded in bungalows and about 20 yards from the beach!! What a result!! We spent the rest of the day in a little hut on the beach just chilling in the shade and every now and then we took a dip to cool off. Met up with Kirsty and Hannah, and a new girl called Marie, later on to have some BBQ on the beach (no drinking even though there was one free beer on offer with each meal, which we replaced with water). Then we all retired to one of the huts on the beach for some very indepth conversations about relationships! Which really helped get to know them. Matt managed to say approximately 3 words all night, Rick stretched to 7 words, boy can these Southern types talk!!!

26/01/08
Had another quiet day on the beach chatting with people and getting to know our surroundings, and obviously the bar man! We then booked a trip with the 3 girls to go on a 4 island tour with snorkelling and a trip to the Emerald Cave. Just had a meal at the hostel restaurant and then into the bar for 2 beers. Had an early night as we had to be up at 8:00 to catch the boat trip.

27/01/08
Up at 8:00, showered and dressed appropriately for the trip and then down to the beach to catch the boat. The journey to the first island took about 2 hours due to the fact that the sea was VERY choppy!! On a narrow, long tail boat, this causes problems (like having to bail out every 15 minutes) and to take it slow. All in good spirits, except the Americans at the front of the boat who were drenched!!! Rick on the other hand was as dry as a bone with the best seat in the house...right next to the driver!! Got to the first island for some snorkelling. The driver threw out some leftover fruit from our trip which caused a frenzy of activity in the water. After swimming around for 20 minutes it was time to move to the second island for another 20 minutes to see some different varieties of fish and coral life. Rick spent most of the second stop jumping off the front of the boat with a little Swedish lad that decided to befriend us on the boat, meanwhile we couldn't get matt out of the water as he was entranced by the spectacle before him! The third island stop was a little different!! Everyone got out of the boat and was asked to follow the boat driver into a cave. The water was pretty deep and consideringwe haven't done much exercise recently we were both excited and aprehensive at the same time!! As darkness fell about 20 meters into the cave there was much screaming and yelling (please bear in mind that the water was still way to deep to stand up, you couldn't see your hand infront of your face...literally!!!) It was truly an experience like no other but nothing in comparison with the journey back!! Half way through thankfully someone switched on a head torch and we could continue on our swim. As we began to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel (again literally!!) our heart rates decreased slightly to behold this wonderful little hideaway with a shallow pool of crystal clear water and cliffs all around for about 300 feet. There was no way in or out (unless you are very skilled with a helicopter of dare brave the journey back through the cave) so we stayed for 20 minutes to soak it all in. It looked like a volcano from the inside with many rare species of plants and other wildlife. This place actually used to be a place where pirates would bury their treasure to return at a later date to pick it up and move it elsewhere due to its secret entrance. And so our 20 minutes were up and as previously stated, the only way back was through the cave - the nightmare begins (Julie if you're feeling squeemish then skip to the next chapter)!!! Our group began to follow the guide into the cave but unfortunately for us he didnt have a head torch! There were a people lagging behind and before we all knew it we were treading water in the pitch black darkness of the cave (and as you all know...that's pretty dark!), banging into the rocks and then realised that the guide had gone on without us!! (Mild) panic soon set in as people began to clutch onto each other in the darkness for support (both physical and mental). After what seemed like a lifetime we made a group decision to swim back the way we came in order to follow one of the other groups who had a head torch! Our wish was granted and before we knew it we were out of the otherside in the open water with a short swim to the boat. After such an ordeal (which whilst very scary at the time, was really amazing!!) the 4th island was a welcome relaxing hour on a fantstic beach with the clearest, bluest sea you've ever seen (Koh Ngai)! After our hour was up we jumped back in the boat and proceeded for about an hour and a half (through much calmer waters!) back. On route, however, our driver decided that he needed to pop to the local fishing trawler out in the ocean to buy his tea! Quite an experience and not usually on this partuicular tour! The fishermen were just pulling up their nets as we arrived and the driver made his purchase of sardines and small swordfish. The sardines were particularly nice so fresh out of the water!!! And then we came back to the bungalow to write this post and keep all you lovely people back home. As we look to our right we can see the sun setting and the silhouette of an extremely cheeky monkey that Rick has become very attached to and would love to bring it home.

On that note we would love to be able to leave you with some links that you could click on in order to see some photos. However, everybody except Facebook seems to be agains us uploading loads of photos at any one time so we apologise for this. What we will do is research alternative methods asap and get back to you with an answer.

The sun is setting and we are going to grab a quick beer.

Take care all and speak to you soon!

Rick and Mattxx