Another short ferry ride and I arrived in Phuket, a place I had fond memories of from a previous visit. This time though I was headed for the main resort of Patong for a few days to see what all the hype was about... On the way we stopped off at a gibbon rehabilitation sanctuary to see all the good work that is being done to try to free these animals back into the wild. They are often found in tourist destinations in Thailand being used to climb trees for coconu...

We left Krabi and took a local ferry across to Phang Nga Bay and the small island of Koh Yao Noi. This was my first real experience of muslims in Thailand. Up until now most of the people we had met were Buddhist, but southern Thailand has a large muslim population and the village where we caught the ferry was a muslim village. Apart from the visible difference in the people and their dress it also meant we had to dress differently and to respect their traditions...

At last I reached a beach in Thailand! Stayed in a place called Ao Nang in the Krabi province. There's lots of islands surrounding Krabi, made up of limestone outcrops and caves. There's so much to do from here it's difficult to choose, but I decided to spend my first day on the beach, relaxing and unwinding after a pretty hectic first month or so on the road. I did make some effort to explore before I found my place on the beach and I took the coast...

The other attraction of northern Thailand is the opportunity to visit the Golden Triangle. Basically this is a particular spot where you can stand in Thailand and see Burma on your left and Laos on your right - hence the triangle! We took a songtheow to the Burma border (Mae Sai) where you can cross for a few hours have a wander around, get a stamp in your passport of course and then come back - easy right?! Well it would have been except a couple of us suddenly...

So a short bus ride from Chiang Mai is Chiang Rai (don't get them confused now!). And as buses go this was one of the nicer ones, they even came around and served us with a drink and a snack. I won't comment on how they tasted but it's the thought that counts - right?!?!?! Went for lunch in a famous restaurant in Thailand called 'Cabages and Condoms' and yes it does give them out for free! It's part of a charity type inititave to educate ...