We got off the train in Hat Yai, a small town just north of the Thai/Malaysia border, and left as soon as possible. The town doesn't offer much accept good connections to anywhere in the south, and up to Bangkok. We decided to break up our journey from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok by stopping off in Krabi for a two days; how we'd rue that decision.

It was about a four hour journey from Hat Yai to Krabi, and we arrived at around 5 or 6 in the evening, and found a place to stay soon after. At the hotel I had my first taste of Chiang beer. It was delicious, cheap, and 6.8% (not that it matters mum), so on the whole a bloody good beverage. That evening, after some food, we made our way down to a very busy and bright night market. Here we found all sorts of food and accesorries for a cheap price, that you could then get cheaper after discussion. While I take part in it, i do find haggling rather strange, especially when you're getting a good t-shirt to 2 pounds, and you won't have it unless its 1.80. I guess small ammounts of money go much further out here, and saving that small ammount if you're a local is far more important than it is for me.

The next day we headed to Ao Nang, and seaside town touching the Andaman sea. It is what you would expect of the Thai Islands, with random outcrops of rock out to see, pristine beaches and a rather irritatingly warm sea, (Its so hot outside, you just want to cool down.) I do appologies for this complaint as I here the weather in England is, well, a bit s***. We enjoyed our time on the beach, and I rented out a sea kayak and explored the maze of rocks just off the shore.

We planned on leaving for Bangkok on the 11th, on a night bus and arrive the next. We were waiting in our hostel to get picked up by the bus, when I got a bit peckish and decided to go to the shop just next to the hostel. I picked my hersheys bar and went to pay, when I noticed that there was actually noone working in the shop: they were all standing outside, staring at the many tourists and locals running up the road. I asked one of them to serve, and she did it giggling constantly (which is rather strange in hindsight.) I walked back to the hostel and Hannah simply said, "James there's a Tsunami coming, get your bags!" It's fair to say this is the first time i've heard this with me being affected, and i didn't really know how to take it, and at the start I probably acted rather flippantly, still, we made our way up the hill away from the sea. As we were walking, with the idea of the Tsunami coming not actually sunk in, we heard a loud air raid siren coming from the beach. Terror struck me like never before, purely due to my ignorance of the situation. The thought we had was that a Tsunami was coming this istance, possibly minutes away, and that we were nowhere near high enough to be safe from it. Anyway a what seemed like a few hundred metres up the hill (which turned out to be at least two miles the next day, without adrenaline), we saw some people moving off from the main street, up the hill from to a very fancy resort. We followed, and eventually took refuge with about 12 othe people in the highest room (with hundreds mnore in the whole resort).

A storm was coming in, so Hannah, Katie and I sat inside this very large bath, because it was covered and free and a comfortable place to sit. I was just sat using my phone and trying to follow the news of the situation. Suddenly I felt a shock go right through me, and i saw a short flash of light at my feet, followed by Hannah and Katie jumping up as well. The lady behind me yeld to get out the bath, and put my phone down, leaving me confussed and bewildered. She informed the three of us that we'd been electricuted by a lightening bolt, although I still yet have no idea how. Katie later told me that I went bright white, but alas, i do not have any superpowers. This left Hannah slightly shaken and I still rather confussed, but anyway we headed inside the bedroom where we discussed what to do next. They put on the t.v. to see what news was saying, in Thai. We'd tried to get the thai people who worked their to translate, but all we could get was "Krabi Hospital gone, flooded" and "Phuket airport flooded". Seeing as there hadn't been a Tsunami yet, or unless some other natural disaster hit the Thai settlements on the Andaman sea, I decided that the information was last in translation.

At around 8:00, after being couped up in the hotel room, i got a bit peckish and decided to head out onto the street to see what was happening and get some food. It was a bit deserted, but the locals were still out in their cars and the mopeds, and there was a huge que to get some street food. I got me and the girls some food, and told them it was probably alright to head out and find somewhere to stay. We stayed two nights, and booked our bus to Bangkok, leaving on the 13th of April to arrive on the 14th in the middle of Songkran.

We are currently back in bangkok after short stops in Laos and Chiang Mai, and Katie has left us today to go home. We wish her a safe flight and enjoy some home comforts. I shall update the blog fairly soon, as i realise i am getting behind. Please forgive me though as i am not terribly well. Peace.