Thursday 7th February 2008

Our alarm woke us up at 7.30am this morning, because we were leaving Koh Phi Phi and needed to make sure our bags were packed in plenty of time to catch the boat at 9am... plus we couldn't wait to leave the hovel that was our room - it stank! We got everything ready and then went out for some breakfast, before collecting our bags and walking round to the pier.

As with every other form of transport here in Thailand, the boat ride was interesting to say the least. When we first boarded we went straight downstairs to grab a seat. Once everyone was on, the staff started bringing all the bags downstairs and then piling them on one side of the boat. I was sat on that side and the sea was slowly getting closer as the whole thing leaned to one side. We eventually took off and it was madness - we were traveling on a 30° angle - so we went and sat up on deck. At least then if the boat started to sink, we'd be the first off!

We safely made it to the port over in Phuket and the craziness showed no sign of letting up. There were what seemed like thousands of people all fighting for the attention of just a few Thai staff. Everyone was looking for transport and some were looking for accommodation. We waited until everything died down and then finally got our taxi - it was good to get a nice comfy seat at last. We didn't haven't anywhere to sleep tonight, but had decided to head over to the beach area of Pantong - so we had to ask our driver to stop at various places to find somewhere. In the end he was getting fed up so he dropped us outside a café and I had a drink while Nikki went round on foot. She found us somewhere, which cost 1000b (what a rip off!) and we walked on round. The room is actually pretty clean, so we didn't mind too much... although, it is above a launderette!

The rest of our day was spent exploring Patong - and the best way for us to explain it is... Blackpool on speed! It is definitely the Costa Del Sol of Thailand - with bright neon lights and more English people than Thai. We looked round all the shops and markets and then took a walk along the beach this evening. At one point we sat down on the sand and after about 15 minutes I noticed that we'd not seen any women for ages. It turned out we were sat outside a hotel full of the Beave's 'mates'.

Hmmmm, Phuket's going to be interesting to say the least!