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We were supposed to leave Siem Reap on another early bus to cross the Cambodia/Thai border, but much to our alarm the bus and everyone else waved goodbye and left the 3 of us standing on the side of the road. We were just told to wait, for how long we were unsure, but were relieved when half hour later a taxi turned up. Seemed that we had the better deal as we overtook the bus bumping along the potholed roads of cambodia and arrived at the border 2 hours earlier than expected. Was too good to be true though as after passing through to Thailand we were again instructed to 'wait'. 3 hours later the bus we had left behind arrived to take us onto Bangkok!
We arrived about 9 and immediately hopped in a tuktuk to the station, fingers crossed we would be able to get tickets in the next few days to get us down to the beaches in the south. Bad planning on our part meant we had forgotten to book train tickets at the busiest time of the year and we had been told we would have to wait in bangkok for a few days. when we arrived we managed to get a train that night, although it meant sitting upright for another 11 hours, but we decided we would save on a nights accomodation so gratefully accepted.
Arriving in Surathani early next morning we boarded yet another bus to Krabi and after a failed bartering attempt at the bus station we got in an overpriced taxi to catch our boat over to Rail Lei. Our exhaustion went from our minds as we approached the gorgeous sandy beach of Rai Lei and looked forward to the next few days catching up on some sleep and some sun. This island was divided into the West (rich holiday goers) and the East (budget travellers) so knowing our place we traipsed over to the East and found ourselves a nice wooden bungalow complete with mosquitos, cold shower and no sink (difficult when brushing your teeth but soon got the hang of using the shower head to rinse and the toilet bowl to dispose of it!).
We explored the island instantly realising the prices here were going to be much more than we were used to given that it was a holiday resort oriented towards couples and families. We managed to find somewhere cheap for dinner, although Nikki wasnt too comfortable with all the cats trying to share hers with her. Back to the bungalow to find a visitor, a cockroach in the bathroom, which after some girly screaching Leanna bravely captured under a bucket while Nikki helpfully watched from the doorway (Zak was still out watching a film but did thankfully dispose of it in the morning).
Next day and Zak tried his hand at Thai boxing while Nikki and Leanna set off for the beach where they planned to stay for the day. These plans were interrupted by random downpours of rain which saw us all running for cover and then hopefully trudging back out when the rain stopped. Nikki decided she better invest in a footscrub when a thai lady touched her feet and tutted disapprovingly. Soon a man was sat at her feet scrubbing away and proudly showing us what was coming off them! Gave up on the beach after the next downpour so headed for lunch where we met some canadians, who we would meet again later that night in the liveliest bar on the island (8 customers in total). After seeing more cockroaches (flying ones this time) we didnt stick around for long, but arranged to see them amongst the 30000 others at the full moon party on christmas eve!
Next day and more activities for zak, a day of rock climbing, and another strenuous day on the beach for Leanna and Nikki. Got bought a coconut by an English guy living on the island and he introduced us to some of the locals and rich resort owners. We were soon offered free sunbeds and shelter if it started to rain again, proving its all about who you know around here! Was not surprised to here they get a few famous people on the island given the type of resorts along the seafront. We had our first celeb? spotting, Jeff Brazier (z list, ex of jade goody) who seemed to follow us on to Koh Phi Phi the following day as well. After watching the sunset on the beach and stopping in a few of the shops for some much needed make-up we headed out for dinner with an exhausted zak.
Our last day on Rai leh and another long wait while the thai tour companies figured out how they were going to get us all to Koh Phi Phi. Being a Muslim holiday there appeared to be noone around to drive the boats! After a 2 hour wait we were finally sea bound and all set for our next dose of island adventures...
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