Some time last week (we lose track) we set off from Koh Tao, heading to Krabi on the west coast of Thailand... and over the course of last week we seem to have used every possible form of public transport as we've travelled down to Malaysia!

We got an overnight boat from Koh Tao to the mainland - which consisted of one deck being made up of numbered mattresses and pillows... A surprisingly good night's sleep, although we were lucky the boat wasn't full or we would all have been sleeping like sardines! A bus took us across from the east to the west coast, dropping us at Krabi bus terminal, from where we got a taxi to Ao Nang pier, followed by a longtail boat to the Railey peninsula.

The accomodation we found - YaYa's Resort - was basic but fairly clean and comfortable and one of the few budget options since it was on the eastern side of the island, where the beach is covered in trees!

The best day was thursday, when we had an organised day trip taking in sea canoeing around Ao Thalame and elephant trekking. Our guide, Ping, was excellent, showing us monkeys, the mangrove trees, canyon, caves, a crab-infested spit of sand, as well as providing us with a fantastic lunch and a snack of freshly cut pineapple and watermelon. Much better than school trips! We got to swim in SE Asia's deepest underwater cave - a beautiful freshwater lagoon that actually goes down 240 metres! Also were shown one of the caves that apparently was used in the filming of 'The Beach.' Elephant trakking was amazing... Although a bit hard work to stay on the seat and we could have done with some extra padding - it was a bumpy ride!

All in all a fantastic day out, ending with dinner on west Railey beach, watching the sun go down!