Once again, it's a full day of travelling. Returning knackered and broken from rock climbing, a 7am wakeup is not something that I would put on my wish list. Rush to the bus which of course takes its bloody time and doesn't move until 9am and sit down. Sit the whole damn day. 143km to Surat Thani; we manage to do that in three hours. Then it's about half an hour to the train station where I leave my suitcase behind. I will pick it up after Koh Phangan on my...

Finally leaving party-ridden Phi Phi, the three o'clock ferry takes me straight back to the coast; to Railay beach. The ferry stops in the deep waters just outside Railay East bay where we transfer onto longtail boats together with the luggage. These zip us towards the coast, but have to stop 50 metres or so off because of the low tide. Everybody gets out - with luggage - and make their way through the murky, slippery salty waters. Glad I don't have to carry ...

"Paradise on Earth" proclaim the advertisements everywhere. Postcards show stunning sceneries from Phi Phi, oozing luxury, exclusivity, things everyone wants; for a price everyone can afford. Indeed. The skies are clear in the morning, the sun is shining, there is a slight welcome breeze and as the ferry sets out from Krabi these tropical islands slowly reveal themselves. And they're brilliant! Deep-green jungles with small open places filled with crispy white...

Krabi is gorgeous! I have rediscovered Vietnam's Halong Bay! But this is actually much better! Same karst cliffs, less - much less - tourists, and you can actually get a motorbike and whizz through them! I don't know why everyone is so ecstatic about Halong Bay when it is so overhyped! The night I arrive I look a bit around, see about the activities, tours on offer, and to my delight discover the local night market for some very cheap food. I've never had a wh...

By Thursday evening it's about time to leave Bangkok. We're heading up north, to Laos. I have no idea anymore what the original planning was/is we had in mind, but we're taking the night-train to the Thai - Lao border, crossing the Mekong. This way we'll skip most of northern Thailand, including Ayuthaja, Sukhotai, and Chiang Mai. We can always visit these places on the way back, but apparently if you've been to Laos, Cambodia, or especially Burma, the art in T...