Hey everyone

Today (Monday) we packed up and headed out of the jungle and to the beach! We got up at 7:30 and were ready at 9. we had a three hour drive in a minivan, which was nice and calm compared to the bangkok drivers (still no seatbelts though). It was kitted out! It had extra speakers and a flip down LCD screen, but unfortunately we didn't have a dvd to watch. In fact, we had a dodgy cd of 90s hits to listen to the whole way there. Thank god for ipods. Christina got comfy and fell asleep for most of the journey, except when we spotted two monkeys walking around in the back of a pickup truck. We followed them for a while and it was scary watching them walk along the edge and almost slip off. Yes, we've got photos. Christina also spotted an elephant along the journey, but far more importantly she got a cadburys bar (a really small one... Just three pieces) at the petrol station we stopped at.

We arrived in Ao nang, Krabi at around midday, and it was even hotter than the jungle. The views along the coast of islands and limestone peaks were beautiful, and the small town had the typical buzzing thai atmosphere. We went to settle into our new rooms at the J. Mansion Guesthouse, and they seemed pretty nice (though nothing compared to a beautiful hut in the jungle). We had the afternoon free so decided to all head over to the beach on a nearby bay, which was apparently lovely. We got a little boat there and round every corner were more breath-taking views. We got a bite to eat and all got impatient when the food took a while to come because we were so much more fussed about going on the beach. It wasn't long after we had left the cafe that we were going in the sea. It was warm and quite clear, but there was the occasional jellyfish floating about which looked gross. We spent most of the time playing in the sea, the only breaks being to put more suncream on and to look for a beachball (they were all annoyingly expensive). Back in the sea, the tide was going out which meant that you could walk really far in and the water would still be only waist high.

After spending most of the afternoon in the sea, we got a longtail boat back to Ao Nang. we met at 7 for dinner, and Lynn (our 'tour guide') took us to a pizza restaurant (not quite local cuisine). We weren't sure it was a good place from the moment we walked in, because of the sewer drains just metres from our table. Next, the food was really expensive, and the food wasn't even that great. Christina moaned a lot. what's also annoying is that we had seen loads of really nice-looking restaurants elsewhere, such as one practically opposite the hotel, covered in fairylights. After the meal we went for some drinks, and the bar was in a lovely location right next to the sea, surrounded by palm trees and with a swimming pool, and we watched people light paper lanterns and let them float away into the night sky.

We went to bed early as we decided to go on a speed boat tour of some of the islands and bays the following day, which all our group had signed up for. Xxx