We checked out of the guesthouse this morning and got picked up at 11am for our transfer to Surat Thani where we would get the sleeper train tonight back to Bangkok for the third and final time!

We were picked up on time and, after collecting other people from Aonang, were dropped off at the bus station in Krabi. Our next bus was leaving an hour later so we sat and ate some sandwiches while we waited (these places always sell ham and cheese sandwiches - they must think that's all we Westerners eat!). We were keeping our fingers and toes crossed that the air con on this bus would be better than the last one which was very sweaty and uncomfortable. We didn't hold very high hopes though, after we saw the driver hosing down the engine to keep it cool!

The journey turned out to be a little better than last time, although it was still too hot. The little flow of cool air above your head doesn't do much when there's heat radiating from the windows and floor! After about two hours the bus pulled up at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and the driver called for passengers who were going to the train station. We had to get off, stand in the ditch by the side of the road to collect our bags and then get into a minibus waiting along the road - ok then! Everyone else on the bus was heading to the islands off the East coast where we were last week - I'd rather get the sleeper train to Bangkok than do that journey again!

We arrived at the train station nice and early - 3 hours early in fact! Now, I know I like to be early but this was a bit extreme! Luckily, we were able to leave our bags for a very small fee, and set off to find an air conditioned café. We found one quite quickly and realised that everyone from our bus had gone there too - they must make good money out of tourists waiting around for trains! We enjoyed some Thai food, cheesecake and drinks and killed a bit of time.

Back at the station we paid for an hours wifi before getting on the train. This time we had one lower and two upper bunks right next to each other. As soon as we set off, the guard for our carriage asked us if we were sleepy, meaning do we want the beds made up - yes please! We all ended up going to sleep quite early after reading for a little while - we're getting used to these sleeper trains now!