....Enjoying cheapnessI 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...

....Heading for the Beach - no really, 'The Beach'Another blog, another beach to add to the tally. But this one was a bit special, becuase it's the one where The Beach was filmed, and it's pretty gorg.I should clarify that I wasn't actually staying at The Beach beach, this is on Ko Phi Phi, I was actually staying on Ko Lanta which is kind of down the coast from Krabi and only a 5 min hop on the ferry. I decided to stay here because I was a bit...

... Rather rainyThis will make you all feel better about being back in Blighty - I wouldn't say it's been a total wash out over the last few days but it has rained every single afternoon since I arrived in Krabi, and it's monsoon style stuff, sometimes brief but on one occasion it went on for hours. I'm most confused as I didn't think the rainy season started til May...Still, the benefits of rain are two-fold, I have found. One is that it brin...

....Going through the highs and lowsAfter Ko Tao it was only a short hop (well a 1 1/2 hour boat ride) over to Ko Phangan, home of the infamous full moon parties and generally revered in backpacker folklore as a must-do, so I picked this place over Ko Samui as I thought that might be back to smug couple and wealthy elders land....I booked ahead some accomodation aimed at backpackers (good old Lonely Planet)because I thought this would be the best way forward...

....Moving around a bitThe island of Ko Tao is lovey; I'd really recommend it. It's the smallest of the three Gulf coast islands which tourists and backpackers flock to when they've left the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and want to get some white sand between their toes (along with Ko Samui - much bigger and Ko Phangan - much busier). The main draw is the diving which is the best in Thailand according to some but where there's diving, there's ...