So, We were sitting at the yacht club in Ao Chalong having a beer with some friends when they mentioned that they had spent a good part of the day extending their visas in Phucket Town and that it had been quite expensive. Not what we wanted to hear, as the reason we are in Ao Chalong is to extend our visas. We had applied at the Thai embassy in Malaysia and been granted 60 day visas, but the 60 days are gone and now we must renew. But from the sounds of it it is going to cost us about $50 US per passport plus transportation to Phuket Town and a half day of our oh so busy lives. We went to the Customs and Immigration offices located, very conveniently, on the Ao Chalong pier in the hopes that our friends had it wrong. They did not. We decided to head for Malaysia where the checking in and out is free and easy. One more month in Thailand is not quite enough to get us to the time we need to be heading south, we wanted to meet up with our friends on Chantey, and we needed to go to Kuala Lumpur to start the process to get new passports so it really was the prudent thing to do.

Our friends on Allure also needed to head south to haul out and do a bottom job, so we set off together. While we were getting some work done a while back they had visited Phi Phi Don and had a great time. They had found a bar with a Muay Thai boxing ring that had let their 2 boys have a go at fighting. Zack was super keen to get a chance so that was our first stop. The anchorage at Phi Phi Don is a bit of a nightmare. It is a very popular tourist island and there are numerous dive charter boats and ferries coming and going. The weather was up a bit and the anchorage was wide open to the swell. There are several moorings and we picked one up for the night. We were not hassled at all but on their previous trip here our friends had been approached 3 times by locals trying to collect a mooring fee of 1000 baht, which is ridiculous. (about $27 US) We waited on the boats until 8:30 just to be sure there would be no dramas. The town at Phi Phi Don is really cool and totally geared towards the vacationer. We found the kick boxing bar and it was not what I had expected. I had a picture in my mind of a beach bar with palm trees and a small ring in the back where the kids could mess around while we chilled out. No, it was a full on Thai kick boxing bar. The ring was in the center with balcony seating and everything. There had to be 200 people there watching the bouts. It was true anyone could box and the bar even provided a bucket drink to anyone who would participate. Zack and Luke asked if they could have a match and they were given boxing trunks to change into. They had to stand to the side and wait for their turn and It looked a bit nerve racking for them as they mentally prepared. Finally it was their turn and they got geared up. The bar provides full head coverage and shin pads so they really couldn't get that hurt. Zack had been looking forward to this all day. Unfortunately I don't think he realizes that Luke has 1 year, 4 inches and 20 pounds on him. The bell rang and they came out fighting. It was Luke's second time so he had an advantage. I think Zack was a little shocked by the big crowds. The crowds were cheering and taking pictures so it was a good thing. The boys got straight at it and both threw some good punches. Luke gave Zack a bit of an illegal elbow and the Referee grabbed Luke and held his arms back to give Zack a free punch, but he didn't take it. I don't know if he would have taken it he had actually known what was happening. He didn't take the punch either way so I'll chock it up to good sportsmanship. The boys went 3 rounds and Zack put up a good show. It looked like he was taking a little more than he was giving but he was pretty happy with himself because he said he could tell he landed a good punch when Luke came at him really mad after he'd landed one. It was all in good fun and the boys shook hands and hugged afterwards. They both got medals and a coke for their efforts and it was a great night.

The next morning we headed off to Ko Rok Nok. We had been here before and it is beautiful. The water was perfectly calm this time and we spent 2 days here snorkeling and playing on the beach. Bliss. Next down to Ko Lipe where we had a great night out and caught up with friends from the rally on Quintessa. We had some dinner and watched a fire show on the beach. Ko Lipe is another great tourist island that parties all night. From Ko Lipe we made our way back to Talaga Harbor in Malaysia. The check in was free and super easy as all the offices are in one complex at the marina. Tomorrow we will head around to Rebak Marina to put the boat into a slip so that we can head to Kuala Lumpur and deal with our passports which have run out of pages.