We arrived at the bus station late afternoon and was quickly ushered onto the back of a truck with a few other people, heading into town. This was a taxi - basically a truck, whereby everyone sits in the trailer section and makes for an interesting journey - know in Thailand as a sangthaew. There was obviously a little deal going on between the truck driver and one of the local guest houses because we got dropped off right outside 'Pops Guesthouse' and were greeted by the owners trying to sell us an air-con room, which was apparantly the best in Trat. So, partly due to pride ( not feeling like we'd been conned into staying at this guest house) and feeling sorry for the other guest houses that weren't getting a look in, we decided to have a wander around and look at other places. We soon found one five minutes down the road. It was a double room with air-con, all for 300 Baht (£6), which was half the price of 'Pops'.

After dumping our bags we decided to head straight back out to discover the little, traditional town of Trat and find something to eat. As we did this we met a fellow backpacker doing the same thing; a South African guy who tagged along with us.

The town appealed to me instantly, with its relaxed attitude and quaint little alleyways lined with old teak houses. Although Kirsty appreciated it, she wasn't as keen as me because it wasn't as tourist orientated as Bangkok and perhaps, not as safe.

We soon found the bustling food market, advertised with a big sign (in English), quite ironically as, 'Food Safety Street'. Ironic, because the first thing we saw as we sat down to eat our pad thai was a crowd of rats. But it turned out, the food was so good that we went back for seconds later.

We were so taken in by Trats charm that we bought some of its famous yellow oil , touted as a remedy for pretty much anything from insect bites to athritis.

That was to be all our time in Trat, as the following day we were embarking on an exciting trip. Just a 10km boat trip to the rugged and beautiful island of Koh Chang. It was slightly unnerving but also refreshing as every journey we now seemed to be taking was leading us further and further away from civilisation.