Krabi beach aka PARADISE!!! No kidding look at the picture I have used for this blog!When we arrived from the coach the first thing was to have very needed wee. After that we got our room keys and headed straight to the beach! But I will first talk about the room because I have not mentioned them at all yet. So far everywhere I have stayed including Hong Kong I have had a room to myself, and they have been luxury! Double beds, large bathroom with great shower etc. everyone else so far has had to share with either someone they came with or stranger/new tour group friend. Krabi was no exception, Im had luckily been given the deluxe room by myself with double bed but had to pay extra for air con, I didnt bother, fan was ok for 4 days. The rooms were actually called beach Bungalows but were seven minutes walk from the beach and town and were really nice, the seven minute walk 4 or 5 times a day was great exercise, it was swealtering weather to be walking in.

At this point in the trip I still didnt know everybody, I knew some names but was still getting to know people and make friends.There are 16 in total of us, David and Doreen from Birmingham about retirement age doing some travelling together. Marianne originally Dutch but now lives In California, late 60's, is extremely well travelled and isnt nearly finshed travelling yet! Fraser from Scotland now working in France on private Yaughts, and loving it, around 30yrs old. Seema from London again nearly 30, travelling and an absolute great laugh and fun to be around. Liz and Louise travelling together for 3 months has done same trip as me but in reverse so lots of great tips from them about what to do wen I get there! Both around 26. Chris, 23 unbelievably from Bedford and doing 9 month tour til September, travelling big stylee! Alice from Syney Australia it's self, 21 yrs old travelling for bout  9 months aswel long trip! Alex 18 yr old girl studying next year at uni to be a doctor from Bristol. Freya 18 from Uk. Dave of course from Cologne in South Germany, 24 travelling for 5 months. Dan the man from Newcastle 19, propa Geordy, travelling with Deborah 27 also geordy! Kimberly originally from Detroit and then moved to Boston, is a P.E. teacher in an all girls school in Bushey, near Nan! Sophie our (French), I mean European tour leader 27, shows us all the great places around our area including the best bars and clubs! And then of course me.

Anyway back to Krabi! We hit the beach immediately and jumped straight into the warm lovely sea before even getting swimming clothes! The water was soo incredibly warm and gorgeous that I felt like I was in paradise! We spent the whole day on the sand and in the sea and also wondering around the seaside town looking at markets and shops etc. by the end of the day I was burnt to a crisp on my shoulders and face, despite smothering in lots of factor 25! We finshed off the day as usual with a nice group meal to a local cheap Thai reataurant which I loved!

The next day I was so burnt I stayed out of the sun all day by covering up and mainly seeing the local town shops for a few hours, I also chilled out in my room and went on the cheap internet for a while at the Beach Bungalow reception. It was a relaxing day and so nice to know I didnt have to pack my bag again for 3 days as this was already becoming a very tedious task having to cram the bag to the top every single day or 2!  That evening we went out to a very nice freshly caught seafood restaurant which also did a western menu with burgers, pasta etc if u really wanted it. But tonight was the night I got brave and did one of the first things on my travelling to-do list. I ordered a seafood Thai green curry, with Mussels still in their shell and prawns unshelled yet. I had some tips from experienced seafood eaters in the group like David and Doreen and Seema on how to actually eat these things. So I learnt how to prepare the prawn for eating with pulling off their tail and skin, and then I went for it, I put it in my mouth and ate it, thank god I didnt embarrass myself with everyone watching and having to spit it out or turning my nose up, because it turned out to be lovely and I enjoyed it. The next one was the really adventurous food, the Mussel. I was shown to crack open the shell and then shown to put the shell in my mouth and rip off all the Mussel meat with my teeth, which again I really enjoyed and would definately eat again! I had a great sense of achievment that night and everyone was very proud of me for trying the seafood for the first time and adopting the " Just go for it and see what happens" attitude and being brave!

The next day at Krabi, I did some horse riding with Debs and Louise on the beach and spent the day getting to know them better. Had a great day in the Sun again having fun with more group members and getting closer to them all. This included going out before and after dinner for a few local beers, including Singha beer, Changi beer, and my all time favourite Thai beer now, Tiger.

The last day was spent travelling on a public taxi type boat to the surrounding islands including Phi Phi island and Phra Nang and back to Aou Nang beach which was our town one. We then had a few beers again that evening with a BBQ all u can eat which was very cheap and very nice. The now forming closer friend group of about 5 then just chilled out to some beers and music back in my deluxe room til bout 2 in the morning. We left the next morning about 7.00 by coach again heading for the Malaysian border to Penang. We had some toilet stops and arrived at our Hotel in Penang about 5.00 in the evening.

The rest rest will follow later! Penang!