Bob says: The top beach picture was where we stayed and the other pics are some islands off phi phi were that movie 'the beach' was filmed. Exactly where I am standing complete with a squirrels tail around me chin, Leo de Crap was stung by a mozzie!
All is not as it seems in paradise. Post Tsunami, Thailand has been re developing this coastline at an incredible rate. Unfortunately, all inclusive resorts, 7 elevens and macdonalds have been given free reign. Ruth visited Phi Phi before the Tsumami and says that the island has lost much of its original beauty, accommodation on the island was pretty much restricted to wooden hut bungalows set amongst palm trees, now there are a multitude of concrete eyesores. And Phi Phi is supposed to be a National Park! This unfortunatly is the tip of the iceberg. Whilst in Krabi our Thai climbing instructor told us that following the Tsunami many people not only lost their houses, friends and relatives; Apparently in Thailand there are few laws relating to land ownership if you do not own a building on that land, so following the destruction the developers moved in and the people had to leave! I kid you not!! Along this coast nearly 9000 people lost their lives. I can't imagine how many homes were destroyed. It is the saddest thing I have ever heard!!
Bob says: Now you maybe thinking that now we are in OZ we would be buckling down and getting some work done, well you'd be wrong. Here we are camping and walking in the beautiful mountains during our trip back from Melbourne to Sydney. Again, thanks to Andrew and Sue for lending us the camping gear and the car!
Bob says: We spent a superb xmas with a difference, i.e. hot and sunny, with my Uncle Andrew and Auntie Sue. A highlight for the wife was a day at the boxing day test match, I have never seen her so excited! We also toured up to the temperate rainforest north of melbourne where this parrot kindly posed for a picture. Thank you to Andrew and Sue, plus extended family for putting up with us and treating us to a fine xmas.
Bob says: After Phi Phi, the island of Tarutao was a true Thailand paradise we had been looking for. It is a national park so tourist development is currently restricted, this allied to the fact that it is difficult to get to, meant that we had the island virtually to ourselves. Top picture shows the tent that we hired from the park office. We spent 3 days like Robinson Crusoe, Ruth being man friday but with a nicer ass!
Ruth says: We had an incredible week in Krabi. It is not really a place where you can away with sitting still for very long. There is so much to do, and all the bodies on the beach are carved muscle. Along with kayaking and jungle trekking we decided to do a rock climbing course, Krabi being one of the top spots in the world for climbing. It was the most exhausting and terrifying and fantastic and painful experience ever. Bob and I are both completely covered in bruises and scratches from the rocks, the ends of our fingers no longer have any feeling in them, and we now know why the bodies on the beach were so fit. The views from the top of all the climbs were stunning and every day we got better and better; by the end of the course we were doing 35 metre climbs (see the pin prick photo, 3rd down, of Bob 35 metres up). The bottom photo was taken after we climbed up into a cave, came through to the other side and then abseiled down. Scary stuff, but so worth it.
Ruth says: To get from Siem Reap to Battambang we took a fantastic boat trip along the river past floating villages and river side fishing communities. There were hundreds of children all along the river bank swimming and playing and messing about in boats. They looked like they were having a fantastic time, a bit of a contrast to some of the incredibly poor children we saw in the cities.
