Next morning, the same situation as yesterday, I woke up alone. Fanny showed up after a while. Her mother had been taken care of.

‘What about your work?’ I asked.

‘I told my boss that I was taking a week off. She was furious, but I don't care about her. I hadn't had a single day off in the last two years. Let her see what it is like, she'll be fine.’

‘Will she pay you for these days off?’

‘No way, of course not, but I have money, so don't worry.’

Looks like I'd be with her for another week. Cool. She was no longer a young girl, but she had enough energy and zest for life that would have been enough for two teenagers. Along with that, she was optimistic and had an unlimited desire for sex.

‘So, what are we doing today?’ I asked, stretching lazily on the bed.

‘If you want, we can go to the Phi Phi Islands. A friend of mine owns a boat and organizes day trips. Normally, you have to pay two thousand per person, but for us, it will be one thousand five hundred.’

‘What's on these islands?’

‘You will see. It will be interesting. I will call right away and ask if there are any tickets left. Just keep moving, as the boat is leaving soon!’. We quickly ran for breakfast, and it turned out that there was not just one boat, but several large motorboats, professionally organized with even a small cakes and coffee buffet – though unfortunately only instant coffee. I yearned for real coffee, since I usually drink four or five strong coffees a day, and my body was crying out for caffeine.

I bought the tickets for Fanny and myself, and we were divided into groups of a dozen or so people for each boat. We had a short briefing with our “captain”, and everyone was given a life jacket with a number glued to it. The captain noted down the person’s name and number and took a deposit from each of us; if we didn’t return the vest, we wouldn’t get the deposit back. We were advised to go into a local shop to buy shoes for walking in the water, since when we returned from our trip it would be low tide, and we’d have to walk a few hundred meters to the shore over sharp stones and corals.

We went to the shop and Chonticha asked me to shut up, and let her buy the shoes, which were one hundred and seventy Baht a pair, though we ended up paying one hundred and eighty Baht for two; this is normal practice in Thailand, since in small private businesses local people pay much less than tourists for the same thing.

We boarded our boat from a narrow footbridge and the journey began. The boat crew consisted of three people – the helmsman sitting in the front, the “captain”, who called himself “Papa”, talking to us as if we were one family, and a boy “for everything”. We slowly left the anchorage, the sea was quite calm, and we were sitting in international company under a canopy. “Papa”, using a microphone connected to a large speaker, told us what we would do and watch on the way. Cold fizzy drinks and water were at our disposal at all times – we just had to nod to the young chap, and he’d bring it. It was a bit hot in these vests, but “Papa” advised us not to undress too much as soon we would go faster, and it would be a little windy, so it would be cooler and more comfortable. We heard the roar of the boat mingling with loud music, and the boat accelerated.

After a few seconds, we were literally flying in the air, hitting the water every few meters. I held on to the bench with white fingers and thought it could be quite a romantic death – in a boat crash in the Andaman Sea! I could already see the headlines of newspapers and websites in my mind's eye.

We sped along as if possessed, but after a while my body began to adjust to the rhythm of the waves and I relaxed a little. The helmsman seemed quite uninterested, so it was safe to assume that everything was okay. Fanny was also relaxed, taking lots of pictures and smiling with joy. It was impossible to converse in all the noise. Whenever the boat hit the surface of the water, we were sprayed with salty splashes, which pleasantly cooled us. Now and then, “Papa” would turn the microphone on and tell some amusing stories, drawing out loud laughter from us.

After around forty minutes, we stopped in a bay near a few small rocky islets, covered with lush vines. We had the opportunity to go snorkeling here. Papa distributed swimming goggles, pipes, and fins. Fanny couldn't swim, so she stayed in the boat to take photos and videos.

The water was much cooler than the beach shores, however it was crystal clear and the bottom was visible at several meters deep. The water was so salty that when you spread your arms and legs, you could float on the surface and observe the underwater life. It felt like I was in an exotic aquarium. Shoals of fish, of all sizes and colors, swirled around me. Most of them were palm-sized or bigger. They were so beautiful, and I could have almost touched them. I was amazed, looking down and seeing even bigger fish. They were darkly colored and swimming slowly and majestically. Thankfully, they didn't come to the surface, as some of them were quite intimidating.

After half an hour, I started to shiver from the cold, so I had to get out of the water. “Papa” read our names one by one, and we had to present ourselves. Everyone was back on board, so we could continue our journey. Our next destination was near the rocks with dozens of monkeys perched on them. We sailed in a group of several boats, coming very close to their islands. Many of the passengers started throwing food at the monkeys, which they were obviously used to, as they lazily reached for whatever had been thrown. Judging by the number of boats around, they weren't in danger of starvation. Our “captain” informed us that, according to a local legend, the kingdom of Thailand will exist as long as the monkeys on these islands don't become extinct, which is the same story as Gibraltar, thousands of kilometers away.

After another half hour of racing across the waves, we finally reached our destination – Phi Phi Don Island. It was a big island, with numerous dozen boats, similar to ours, anchored at the marina. There was a lot of traffic, boats coming in and out, and many tourists milling around. We had a meal at one of the restaurants located near the marina, which was already included in the tour price. We each got a coupon to hand in at the checkout, with repeated instructions to go to the correct restaurant, as the other restaurants would require us to pay.

We were pleasantly surprised by the selection of dishes in the large buffet. There were various types of meats, a lot of cooked vegetables, raw ones in salads, and a dozen different sauces – both cold and hot. There was a variety of rice, potatoes, fries, pasta and a wide range of desserts. After half a day on the high seas, we were ravenous and ate like horses. After that, we took a leisurely stroll along the coast, checking out the shops and souvenir stalls. Fanny forbade me from buying anything, as the same can be bought for half the price when we returned to Phuket. As there was no competition here, they were attempting to rip off their customers mercilessly.

We admired the beautiful views and read signs warning of the tsunami. Apparently, in 2004 there were many victims in this area. Instead of running to safety, people came to the shore out of curiosity to find out what was happening, unfortunately they had no prior experience with this type of situation. The huge tsunami wave literally knocked them over like dolls.

We heard the whistle of our “captain” and needed to go back. To reach the boat, we had to overcome a long floating gangway, made of large plastic boxes connected to each other. The gangplank moved a little on the waves, and we had fun falling on our knees and bellies.

The journey back was without any stops. Most of the tourists had a nap, stuffed to the gills and lulled by the steady movement of the boats. A young Chinese woman sitting next to me fell asleep and leaned into me a little. Chonticha was clearly irritated by this and when I got up for a moment she immediately switched places with me.

Papa had been telling the truth. There was a low tide and the boat stopped several dozen meters from the shore, so we had to walk on sharp black stones and corals. Rubber shoes proved useful, but walking in flip-flops and moving carefully, also worked. We could have skipped the shoe purchase.

After a whole day at sea, we didn't feel like doing anything else other than lying idle in an air-conditioned room. I mean, I wanted to lie down, but Fanny seemed to have made it a point of honor to bring me to at least three orgasms a day. Unfortunately, after the first time, my body refused to cooperate and all her manipulations were futile.

‘I think you need the blue pill,’ she murmured, hugging me with her hot, dry body.

As usual, she fell asleep immediately and this time, as well as snoring, she started grinding her teeth. She ground them so loudly that, despite being tired, I couldn't sleep. I opened a beer and turned on the TV. I listened mindlessly to BBC news and my eyes started to droop. I gave her a light kick in the butt and the grinding stopped. Finally, I fell asleep.