As the ferry raced from Phuket towards Krabi I stood on deck marvelling at the tree covered limestone islands jutting out of the Andaman sea all around us. The seawater splashed up against my face but I didn't care. The sun was out and there was a wonderful breeze, I can handle a bit of salt water beating I thought in exchange for this view. Charan and the rest dozed in the cabin, evidently still exhausted from our New Years shenanigans so there I stood alone feeling pretty high on life.

Now having promoted the wonders of travelling to my wife, this moment of bliss was accompanied by a slight feeling of unease as we approached our first nights stay in a hostel dormitory. The last thing I needed was for the hostel to be dirty, mosquito ridden with overly loud drunken roommates which in combination or as isolated factors would have driven Charan crazy. It was important that Charan's first experience was a positive one and boy did the I Krabi Hostel deliver!

The super friendly staff placed us in a private two person dorm, the place was clean and the other guests were pleasant. She's happy! Brilliant. Time to really kick off the adventure.

Financially things were not quite going to plan. The wallet was taking a pounding from the super inflated peak time resort prices which had me sweating. Travelling at these prices was just not sustainable with accommodation at £9 pppn and meals costing £3 a pop. Fortunately the rest of s.e Asia offered £5 per night accommodation which we had to look forward to so hey we thought, let's stop our moaning and get on with it!

And so the seize the day philosophy had officially set in.

The following few days included hanging out at our cousin's luxury resort (Krabi Resort), kayaking through mangrove forests and caves, swimming in emerald pools and soaking ourselves at a hot springs waterfall. Kayaking and the hot springs is an absolute must when in Krabi. The scenery is breathtaking and the experience of guiding a two person kayak through caves dotted with ancient cave paintings was brilliant.

One of the key sights of interest for Charan since we left the UK was the Phi Phi islands (the place where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed). We travelled over to the islands on our super cool white speedboat and were greeted with the crystal clear waters off Maya beach. The beach is situated within a cove with cliffs towering over the powdery soft sand. As we ventured barefoot through the sandy jungle pathways behind the beach we marvelled at the diversity of the flora. Now this is what you call paradise! The rest of the day involved snorkelling around the various islands and going for swims in the deep ocean. Charan, a person who normally panics when sticking her head under water whilst breathing through a pipe made great progress and even managed to spot some stripy zebra looking fish. This is a trip I would definitely recommend and the Ko Phi Phi tour company definitely delivered.

Foody Charan's top food and drink discoveries are as follows,
- Green tea vanilla latte cold from Fresh Cafe, Krabi Town

- Fried rice with prawns served in a pineapple at a sushi restaurant opposite the Krabi Resort in Ao Nang

Both of these delivered one of the biggest smiles I've seen on her face since we've started this trip. In contrast, the excitement of the snorkelling trip combined with a slightly chilly ride back gave me a rather unpleasant cold. Despite the groggy feeling, paradise has a funny way of making you feel gooood!