Thailand

Since our last update we've covered pretty much all of Thailand.

First on the list was Koh Phi Phi, which after an entire day of travelling and stopping off for a night in Krabi, was beautiful. It was pretty much a textbook desert island. Clear blue seas and white sands fringed by palm trees and huge hills of jungle. We all got a whole bungalow for a tenner a night, which though pricey for the budget we are on, was a lovely taste of luxury.

We quickly booked ourselves on to a snorkeling tour around Koh Phi Phi's sister island Phi Phi Lay. Renting ourselves a private long boat for the day, we had a great day of snorkeling with tropical fish and discovering private white sandy bays. The big part of the trip was going to Maya Bay which is where the film The Beach was filmed, however due to it being monsoon season here the boat couldn't take us directly to the bay so we had to swim to this make-shift ladder made out of ropes and walk to the beach from there - which was eventful to say the least and a life jacket was certainly needed. Maya Bay it self though certainly being worth the trip there.

After Koh Phi Phi we once again set out on a day long trip to the island of Koh Phanghan - the host of the famous Full Moon parties. We unexpectedly took a sleeper ferry boat there and arrived at 5am the next day, exhausted and in need of a good bed which we got. The Sanctuary was beautiful, and so was our private jungle house which had no windows - the breeze coming through the open balconies cooling us down at night. The staff were lovely, we were particularly fond of a man named Sam who lent us his guitar one night which I (Lily) was very grateful for.

The full moon party itself was mental, it was packed, it was bright and it lasted till the early hours of the next morning and we all had a great time and more importantly survived. The rest of our stay in Koh Phanghan was spent relaxing on the beach, renting out kayaks and exploring untouched bays on the island and watching films on the beach. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Next up was the sleeper train to Bangkok. Arriving at midday we journeyed to the famous Koh Sahn road - a backpackers haven with it's cheap hostels and restaurants. Finding ourselves a cheap hostel quickly, and exploring the many markets of Bangkok soon after, all of us acquiring a number of gifts for cheaper than cheap prices.

We saw the last Harry Potter twice whilst in Bangkok as well, enjoying the normality of a cinema and the insanely huge portion of popcorn that we got for the equivalent of one single pound. The Grand Palace was beautiful and very golden as well, the Emerald Buddha chamber housing the largest piece of jade on Earth, and amazingly intricate illustrations covering the walls - it was a great piece of Thai culture.

We laid down a small memorial for Max, Bruno and Conrad. Several people giving us gifts and messages for the boys that we have placed in a small private place on the Koh Sahn road as that was the place they celebrated Conrad's birthday, and it's safe to say they probably had a great night there. It's somewhere where we are sure they made many fond memories.

All in all, Thailand has been amazing. The beauty of the tropical islands, and the insanely cheap markets of Bangkok have been great and we're looking forward to our return here in a few weeks.

Next up, Cambodia.