'The Beach' beach.

We woke up yesterday to torrential rain which meant the camping trip was definately off! As it was terrible weather we decided to have a walk around the town and found that one of the bars was showing 'The Beach' so, we thought we would watch it before we visited it. Ater sitting and watching the first 20minutes, we were just getting into it, when they turned it off and told us everyone to leave because the police were coming and it was illegal to show copied dvd's. Great! So, we decided to go to the viewpoint, the highest point on the island. It was a really difficult walk, up what seemed like ten thousand steps but it was worth it as the view was amazing.

Luckily, today was much better weather, it was dry and we even had a little bit of sun so, we booked ourselves on abot trip to some of the other beaches around Phi Phi. We started on monkey isalnd, which was actually pretty scary. As soon as they saw us coming on our little kayaks from the boat they all started running on to the beach. I stood at a distance taking photos because i know they can be aggressive little things. And of course, once the food ran out they started getting nasty and chasing everyone around the beach. We knew this would happen and were long gone in our kayak before any monkeys could catch us.

Next we went kayaking on gorgeous lagoon, the water was so clear that we could see all the fish. There were lots of lovely parrot fish which we have now decided are our favourite. Nikki went snorkelling and found some pretty angel fish too, i was a bit scared because there were lots and lots of huge fish, so i just chilled on the boat.

Finally, we went to Maya bay 'The Beach' beach. Of course, it couldnt be a simple process of swim or kayak or walk to the beach. Oh no, we had to swim through a choppy sea to the cave and crawl through a hole whilst holding on to a rope. 'Easy peasy', i hear you say. well, it would have been if the waves weren't huge, absolutely huge! (and many of you know this is my biggest fear) Nikki along with most of the boat decided to put on a life jacket. I thought that i would be okay because the guy on the boat said 'if you're a strong swimmer you'll be ok with no life jacket'. luckily, just before i jumped in, i decided it was a bit too choppy so ran back for a life jacket, while Nikki had already jumped in. Surprisingly, i was the last one off the boat and Nikki was long gone by then. it was impossible to swim in the sea and the waves were getting bigger and bigger. We were supposed to grab onto the rope so that we could pull ourselves to the cave, however, i got swept away by the huge waves along with another girl and we were unable to get away from the rocky area were all the waves were breaking on top of us. I could hear the guys from the boat shouting, 'you have to get to the rope, you have to get to the rope', which seemed like mission impossible i knew there was no way they were coming to help me because they would get stuck too. So, i had no choice but to swim as hard and fast under the waves as i could (another trick i learnt from JT). After getting knocked back a few more times by the massive waves and swallowing a gallon of sea water, i managed to reach one of the guys at the rope and grab his hand. I was so relieved to finally get to the rope and moved as fast as i could along it to get through the cave (which was pretty difficult as the waves were still strong and coming in fast). Finally, we all made it, all with cuts and grazes on our feet and legs.

The beach was amazing, turquiose sea and silky white sands, completely secluded by the huge green mountains. We spent an hour chilling there and thank god, went back via small boats so we didnt have to risk our lives again! Because that would not have been an option, i would definately have had to live on the beach!

Whilst on the beach Nikki noticed a lovely sign that read 'tsunami hazard area'. Pretty scary! I took a photo just for you, mum.

Despite the near death experience, we had a great afternoon and the trip was definately worth doing if you're in Phi Phi.

We have five days of full moon partying in Koh Pagnan ahead of us now. Wish us luck....