Jumping into paradise

I had a pretty rough night again. No where near like last night but I think being ill made me too dehydrated so I woke in the early hours with a pounding headache that lasted most of the night. When we woke up it had eased but was still not fully gone and while in our sleepy early morning minds we decided not to go on our trip that we had changed to be today. As the morning passed and we considered it more we changed our minds and we were so glad we did! Koh Phi Phi and the surrounding islands are breathtaking. We were picked up from the hotel and headed to a small beach where we boarded a speed boat. We then had the bumpiest ride of our lives and all I kept thinking was how pleased I was that we didn't do this yesterday. We had a baby girl on our boat who was 15 months old and she coped so well with the rough sea. Her grandmothers were very good at making the experience fun and not scary for her even when they had to physically tie her to one of them to stop her flying out their arms. Our first stop was to a place called Bamboo Island which had clear turquoise waters and fine white sand. It was so beautiful it's just a shame you have to share that beauty with hundreds of other tourists. While others swam in the sea we headed down the beach and found secluded rock and beach areas which enabled us to enjoy the island and view so much more. We thought this was a a tour with snorkels available but our tour leader wouldn't let us have the snorkels until the last stop which was a bit frustrating. Next we entered a bay which was surrounded by tall sheer rock faces covered in dense greenery. We were able to jump off the front of the boat and swim in it's beautiful waters for a while. We had two stops where we had to stay on the boat. One was to a cave called Viking cave which you are not allowed to enter as swallows nest in there and they are worried about tourists trying to take the valuable nests which are a delicacy through Asia. Funnily enough we got quite friendly with a Malaysian woman and her 3 children who are our age and her husband owns a bird nest farm in Malaysia so she was able to tell me all about this traditional dish. It was also handy to get some tips from them seeing as their home country is our next stop! The other place we visited where we couldn't depart was a cliff face where monkeys have decided to take up residence. I'm still wondering how these monkeys came to be on these small cliff islands in the first place really. We stopped on Koh Phi Phi Don to have a buffet style lunch. I mainly stuck to plain rice and noodles to be on the safe side. After lunch we had our final stop which was snorkeling in the sea near an island. Unfortunately my gopro has stopped charging so we were unable to take underwater photos which was actually a nice change as it meant I could be completely there in the moment while swimming. We saw angel fish and clown fish that were the colours of Nemo, both we haven't seen before. It's so amazing that even out in the open ocean the water is still warm, definitely don't get that back home! After heading back we were able to Skype home and see my gorgeous nephew for the first time which was priceless but did make us want to climb through the screen and be there too. It's Nick's birthday tomorrow and I've managed to have one opportunity to buy some presents and some candles. It's been impossible when we are together 24/7 and he won't leave my side. Therefore he's got a lot of toiletries which I'll have to wrap in my socks tonight and as I couldn't get a cake he's having candles taped to a Pringles tube! He can't say I don't spoil him! Now I just need to hope I wake up in the night to sort this all out, fingers crossed.Read more