Planes, Seatrans and automobiles

Had a busy few days travelling from Koh Tao on the east coast over to the Andaman coast.

Monday was spent soaking up the beach atmosphere with the lovely people I have met on Koh Tao and trying to save a little bit of money to make up for flying by not diving.

However the whole crew were going out in the afternoon and so I decided to do one of the two dives at Hin Wong Pinnacle.

It really ended my diving there on a high. The visibility was so amazing - the shoals of fish, the many angel fish we spotted as well as all kinds of parrot fish, damsel fish, banner fish, squirrel fish, foil fish, butterfly fish and a giant (and I mean giant) grouper.

ANGEL FISH

It was like being in a different place the water was so clear and the colours so vivid.

Michelle and I then sat the next dive out and had a nap on the boat.

That evening we went for a slap-up meal at El Gringo's for fantastic fahitas and a few glasses of wine before retiring to the beachside Lotus bar for farewell drinks.

The next morning was an early start to get us to the pier, take a Seatran Ferry to Koh Samui and then a taxi to Hat Chaweng, the main beach.

We had a few hours to kill and headed to this main strip. It is busy, noisy and packed with sunburned farangs. At first I was genuinely horrified by the loud music blaring from each beachside bar, the untidy sprawl of the main strip behind the beach, the cost of food, the rude attitude of the staff in restaurants, the dozens of sun loungers, offers for cheap alcohol... it seemed a world apart from Koh Tao.

Gradually, as Michelle and I hit the shops hard, we could see the attractions in the dirt cheap imitation clothes and pretty jewellery. If I had been leaving for home anytime soon, I could have bought a serious amount.

Chaweng beach (above) is a pretty stretch of sand but marred by the masses of people even off season, the jet skis and the ugly beachside buildings. The main strip is dirty and the large bars look fun for a good night out but this is where holidayers come. Travellers tend to stay away I suppose.

Samui airport is in the process of a revamp but is currently a couple of bamboo huts next to a large strip of tarmac. Fresh coconuts can be bought next to your airline tickets. There is a great complimentary food and drink section we discovered two minutes before our flight, but this is amply paid for by the 300B airport departure tax. Still, the flowerbeds next to the runway and gardens to sit and wait for your flight make a nice change from Heathrow.

The flight was just 40 minutes to Phuket but the actual trauma of getting in a minibus and to Patong beach was far longer. Patong is the Pattaya of Phuket - the noisy, seedy, beachside town with hordes of middle-aged farang men being handed flyers for ping-pong shows or Thai bozing matches.

I was glad to get the chance to see it in its hideousness, as I was to see Chaweng's certain 'charms', but it was a bit of a trial for three weary travellers. We found a hotel which put an extra mattress on the floor for us (which muggins got) and headed to find a cheap street stall which we did after some searching.

Patong is all bright lights, fake goods and rip-off merchants attempting to sell fake watches for the same price as genuine articles. We had an amusing time haggling for a few odds and ends we needed to replace such as torches but opted for an early night rather than a girlie show.

This morning (it seems so long ago), we took a minibus to the boat and sat up on deck to watch the stunning tiny islands dotted along the route as we sailed to Koh Phi Phi.

Ten minutes after we left port it chucked down so we retired below decks until Phi Phi where the sun came out when we came off the boat.

After lunch, we headed for Mosquito diving where we could find cheap rooms and were hoping to do a live-aboard where we would stay onboard a boat for two nights and spend two days diving. Unfortunately they were not running that tour.

So we are diving locally at two sites tomorrow and are hoping for clear seas and skies. The waters are supposed to hold some amazing sights here.

I have found myself stunned to be here and to imagine things before and immediately after the tsunami.

Duncan was here several months before and has said there is much less development here now. The main part of the island is centered around a narrow strip of land between two rugged outcrops and this is where the destruction occurred as the wave swept across it, destroying everything in its path. There are few beachside bamboo huts now and only a few concrete villas.

Most seem to be further inland and upland slightly.

There are patches of barren or grassy land which were once hotels, restaurants, bars, homes... Much has clearly been rebuilt in a tidier way. Other places have been patched up. The dive shop where we are staying had water to the ceiling of the ground floor and photographs show the destruction the wall of water caused there. It is several hundred metres from the beach.

The people still smile here and the atmosphere is friendly - it seems nicer than Chaweng on Samui where I felt I was not in Thailand. Landing in Phuket province and driving past rickety second-world buses, huts and small shops selling fruit and noodles, ornate temples and everyday houses felt like coming home.

Here, of course, it is different. But the scenery is just so stunning. The water a brilliant greeny-blue hue, the dramatic rocky outcrops rising from the sea and surrounding the bays... It is still a travelling ghetto...but it is a beautiful one.