My last morning on Ko Chang started much like any other morning where I've had to get myself up for an early start: late. Usually this happens because I inexplicably ignore my two alarms to steal a few more minutes of nap time, which inevitably turns into more. Anyway, I was pretty much fully packed and went to have breakfast while waiting for the 9am boat. It arrived at 8:30am. So much for finishing the book I'd borrowed from the resort. 90% finished, and there were even mutant hyenas in it. Who can turn down mutant hyenas?

Anyway, I digress. I finally got to check the Ashes score at the weird hostel back in Ranong before running for a bus to Krabi. Once there I sat in a sawngtheaw into town with a chap called Lars who I ended up sharing a room with, saving me 300B over two nights. I also managed to replace the swimming shorts I left on Ko Chang (I never liked them anyway) in Krabi's night market, in the backdrop of some god-awful karaoke singer.

I put my accommodation savings towards a snorkelling trip around Ko Phi Phi and its neighbouring islands. A day on a speedboat with free drinking water and Pepsi, a huge buffet lunch (which, as a proud Matravers, I brutalised) and two great snorkelling sites where the fish were literally two inches from my mask. Incredible. I will definitely be snorkelling again before my travels are up.

What to say about Phi Phi? It's an amazingly beautiful place with white sand beaches and millions of western tourists. I'm probably not even exaggerating. The place is rammed and it's tough to find budget accommodation, though we saw dorm beds for 250B quite close to the main beach. It's also relatively expensive to get boats out to the islands, so take a bus or sawngtheaw wherever you can.

Krabi has also been the first place where the weather has deteriorated. It rained on the bus journey and has looked a bit grey each day since. We were lucky that the sun came out during our day of snorkelling. The rainy season should really be over by now...