Photos of Phi Phi

Finally managed to hook my laptop again so thought I'd share a few photos with you:
First, for an update on the Phi Phi story, check out my dedicated travel writers story (it's good to be on holiday from all responsibilities):

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/koh-phi-phi.html

And for those of you who enjoy boxing, wrestling, UFC etc then check this out:

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/thai-boxing-in-koh-phi-pih.html

They definitely don't put it on as a show. No acting here - the ous were goin balls to the wall. I think the one guy had called the other guys sister a ladyboy or something like that.

Here's some photos I took from the boat around Phi Phi Island. Epic beaches, snorkelling and a bit of fishing. I'll start off with my favourite one... I think this is the pinnacle in my photography career. If anyone wants to buy my camera equipment then make an offer cos the search for the perfect picture is over. Yes, this is the Holy Grail of Photography. I'm sure any girls (and my mom) reading this are rolling their eyes at me. Anyway, I know the guys (and my dad) will love it so it's uploaded as very high resolution in case you want it as a desktop or something. Just click on it for the super size feature:








There's Nemo!
Plenty of shacks in the water.

Bren's Barracuda. Good eating!

This has got to be the fattest monkey in the world. Too many tourists feeding too few monkeys....

Glimpse of the scene before the tsunami...

Some photies and a close call!

Phi Phi was awesome but had a bit of a hectic ending to it. Had a bit of a late night last night and ended up having a few beers on the beach with some people I had just met and we all decided it would be a good idea to go for a quick swim in a fancy hotel pool nearby. Unfortunately we made a bit too much noise and woke the security guards up. They were super bummed and decided to arrest me (cos I was the last one in or something stupid like that)! I managed to duck and dive for a minute or two by trying to talk to him but he eventually slapped some handcuffs on me. I was rattled!! You do not want to go to a Thai jail. So I offered him 1000 Baht (13 pounds) and he said no no no - go jail. That scared me even more cos it's not like he asked for more.
I thought it was no real use but offered him another 200 Baht anyway and he consulted with his mate and they agreed it was now enough to bribe my way out of it. Very strange. I'm pretty sure the whole thing was to scare me into paying my way out cos all Thai's are like that! Bribes etc everywhere. But a small price to pay for what could have been a nightmare. Will be on my best behaviour from now on!

My publicist is working on the next exciting chapter as we speak. Will have that link tomorrow. But here's some photos so far. Got some epic ones at Ko Phi Phi this week but haven't had a chance to get them off the memory stick yet... Will try tomorrow.

Lifes a beach

So a lot has happened the last week or so. Laos, Long necks, watching Badger down snake whiskey, chilling on the beach, snorkelling, reading etc. It's all good.

My trusty publicist has all the details for you so check it out!

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/to-beaches.html

We're on Phi Phi now. Hasn't changed too much since I was here in 2001 but if you plan on visiting then do it soon cos they are building hundreds of resorts and business is thriving. Prices are pretty steep cos all the hotels are full up! But we still only paying about 5 quid a night so it's all good. We're chartering our own private boat with driver tomorrow to do some snorkelling, fishing and to check out Maya Bay (where they filmed the Beach) and some other islands too. 10 hours on the boat is costing us 30 pounds. Bit better value than a black cab!

Thailand begins

Well the last 5 days have flown and it's been all go go go! So far we've done 3 days of trekking, been into Laos, done a quick stint on the Mekong River, seen the longneck hill tribes, some hot water springs and epic waterfalls. So much for taking it easy. Haven't had a chance to download photos and write some detailed notes so will leave it to the badger. Check out his blog post and photos. I will try smile a bit more in future!

http://badgerstravels.blogspot.com/2007/01/up-in-north.html

(sorry but you will need to cut and paste again - need a lesson from Steve on how to do this properly).

Tomorrow we are off to the beaches! We were gonna do cambodia first but it's too much of a mission from here so we'll go chill on the beaches rather. Got my new fishing rod I bought today for 2 pounds (collapsable with reel, line and tackle) so it's time to catch my dinner as all otters should.... Or just get lazy and pay the 30p for the restaurant food.

Anyone bored of work and wanna come join us?

Photos and stuff

So I finally managed to get my a into g and upload some photos.

http://myfriendcolin.shutterfly.com
(You need to copy and paste it manually unfortunately)


There's 2 albums there so should keep u entertained for a bit if work is boring you.

New Years here was awesome and got to see the best fireworks display I've ever seen (by a looooong way). There were a million people watching apparently. Lucky there's so much coastline with heaps of viewpoints. Photos can't so it justice unfortunately. Been jolling with Markus and Brett the last 10 days or so but they have headed back to the UK now (crazy fools).

Anyway - I'm off to Thailand tomorrow. Original plan was to go to the beaches of Cambodia for a week and chill but Bren (BOC) decided he couldn't miss the flower festival (he really loves those crysanthinums) so it's straight on to Chiang Mai instead now. Will be up in North Thailand for about a week. Bit of a jungle trekking mission and all that! Will update when I know more cos Bren is my travel agent for the next month (I'm taking this being on holiday thing seriously). Hope it's not all flower festivals and playing with barbie dolls and stuff. He's changed since he got engaged I tell u.