....Enjoying cheapness

I only used Had Yai as a stopover on my way towards the Malaysian border but I thought I'd put in a quick entry - days late I'm afraid - because I had the most bargain day! And, being from Yorkshire, this obviously pleases me no end....

Firstly my transport down from Ko Lanta was pretty good value at about 8 quid for a five hour journey which despite the fact that it was in 2 cramped minibuses (which are supposed to be air-conditioned but get way too hot and claustrophobic anyway) is still a pleasing price.

At the changover point in Trang I popped into a big canteen place with the locals for a fast-feed point at the thing that looks like chicken, and rice, which including soup came to a superb B25 (about 40p) - my cheapest meal yet...

On arrival at Had Yai they dropped me at a place "where all the backpackers stay", which was actually listed in the Lonely Planet, as basic, but near the station and cheap, so worth a whirl... Well it was certainly basic, an old-school guesthouse up about four flights of stairs, really hot with struggling ceiling fans whirring over a communal area of plastic tables and chairs surrounded by yellow stained walls.

Anyway they had a single room for B160, whoo hoo! The best I had paid before that was B300... But I got what I paid for - not much. Dirty sheets, overlooked by dodgey apartments, not even a flushing toilet - a bucket job! But the staff were really nice and it felt like a real rough and ready but friendly place so I went for it and bizarrely felt really pleased with myself as I "settled in".

Had a wander round the city and used an internet place which offered the lowest rate I had come across in Thailand, then had a good look round the night market and food market which was a kind of wholesale trading place with the most amazing range of Thai ingredients. Then settled down on a metal table by a hawker stand watching some kind of Thai MTV to enjoy my second B25 meal of the day....

Go budget traveller me!

When I got back to the guesthouse all the other waifs and strays (think most of them were simply on visa-runs to extend their Thailand stay) were sat round dragging on cigarettes and slugging bottles of Tiger Beer watching one of the Brosnan Bonds so I joined them (beer not cigs) and it was all rather nice...

Ok, that really is it from Thailand now. Malaysia here we come...

Note on blog photos

A couple of people have said there needs to be more photos of me with the blog rather than just random scenery - to prove I am actually here and not just downloading internet photos...

I will endeavor to rectify this, but the main reason is that I have, tragically, travelled most of the time on my own in Southeast Asia. Because, as some of you have already empathised with, its not the most single traveller friendly place in the world (very few hostels; all the Swedes and Germans - which make up the bulk of the backpacker contingent - travel in packs; I won't go on...)

But I will try and do better, promise.