The Krabi Provence is where its all at! The following takes into account our journey through Ao Nang, Phuket, Railey, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lang. Krabi Town We set off to Krabi Town from Ko Samui. The bus trip was crazy. Somehow they had managed to overfill the bus, so Brides and I had to sit in the isle. So for around 3-4 hours we had to sit on these terrible plastic chairs that killed our ass and offered no comfort whatsoever. To make matters worse my IPOD battery had ran flat which made the journey seem even longer. I even started reading a fellow passengers book that i knew i wouldnt finish cos he wanted it back! yes i was that bored. We arrived in town late afternoon leaving us with enough time to get a room and explore. I liked the vibe, i would describe it as 'quiet and quicky'. Thankfully it lacked any real impact from tourism and was very enjoyable to simply observe. We marvelled at the locals who gatered in herds on street corners to watch TV and the weird food on offer from street vendors. Within 20 minutes of our strolling around town we decided to find a bar recommended to us by a fellow traveller. We asked a local for directions and she just laughed as she didnt have a clue what was coming out of my mouth. However as with all Thai people, she was very friendly and roped in two other locals who happend to be walking past for advice, before long we were on the back of a moterbike getting taken to our desired destination. We arrived but it was quiet so we enjoyed a tipple then set off to bed in preperation for more travelling the next day. Ao Nang (2 days) We arrived in Ao Nang the next day. Ao Nang showcased a good vibe, right next the beach the area was pleasant boasting touristy shops and a few bars. At the beach front there were loads of slick guys trying to sell taxi boats to the surrounding paradise islands. There main selling point when we came along were that there was loads of Swedish girls on the islands today. Within two minutes we had returned our bags to our rooms and set off to the paradise islands! The island we chose was Railay, the taxi boat took 10 minutes just and before long we were chilling on the beach, amazed at how untouched the island seemed and how beautful the island looked with limestone cliffs that dropped off into the sexy blue sea. and yes there were Swedish girls in attendance. When we got back to the Ao Nang we took a walk looking for a somewhere to eat for the night. Eventually we got persuaded to go for an Indian by this awesome Indian salesman. He seemed like a really nice guy, but before long we realised that he was far too nice and far too in our faces, he hung around during the meal, making sure every aspect of our dining experiences was spot on. Such dedication remanescent of the indian receptionist at Ko Phangan. He needed to learn to back off though, a lovely Australian girl even got annoyed with him when he attempted to take her food of her midway through her meal as he was concerned it was too hot for her. funny to watch tho. The next day the weather still wasnt great (i forgot to mention the weather earlier, basically it has been cloudy all the way though the trip) so we basically just chilled, watched movies and looked round the shops. We ate lunch at McDonald, not very cultural i know but it was the best McDonalds experience we had ever had. All the staff were really smiley, friendly and helpful and the place was so clean! should be given an award or something. That night we decided to check out the local street vendors for food. The pancakes tasted awesome. There were even vendors for booze! We were loving the vibe, the barman simply had a stall on one side of the path and a few deckchairs on the other. He sat us down poured us our drinks and we were loving the vibe. Who needs girls and dancefloors when all the action was on the street. We sat chilled next to a Thai taxi driver and an Australian couple who said they had been drinking there all week. Entertainment came in the form of the Thai taxi guy singing Bob Marley and tourists tripping up on the dip in the pavement right in front of our seats. That night we decided to rent a dvd player and watch 'The Beach' in our rooms to inspire us for the rest of our trip though Thailand. Phuket (2 days) Next up is Phuket, not impressive! It was very very toursits, filled with bars/clubs and go go bars and loads of SheMales and 50 years olds with Thai ladies. To make matters worse it rained hard for two days and Brides' illness was getting worse (he had a bad headache which was to get worse and last for around 10 days). Again we opted to watch DVD's at night and save some cash. Ko Phi Phi Don (7 days) This has to have been my favourite island so far. Perfect. It was a small island with 3 streets filled with great places to eat, shop and drink. Being a reasonably small island it had a great community feel to it. There was no tacky touristy shops, she males or go go bars in sight. Being there for a week meant that you recognised a lot of people from day to day and we had a good laugh making friends with other travellers. The island had been hit bad by the tsunami and there was still a lot of building work going on. You could clearly see the devastation left behind when the 3-5 metre wave hit at the begining of the year. Stepping outside of our hostel there was bars etc to our left and to our right there was nothing but rumble and the beginings of building work on new hostels etc. Our hostel was close to the beach and the town and was pleasant inside, which was important as Brides spent the first 3-4 days in bed with bad headaches. I on the other hand had the town to explore, which i did to full affect. I became a regular at the Apache bar and the Hippie bar on the beach, meeting some cool dudes from England and Canada including a Canandian rapper who had rapped at every place he had visited across Thailand. There were a lot of ladies also, Swedish and Danish mainly. Along with a happy hour on buckets (Whisky & Coke) and street vendors selling awesome pancakes and tuna sandwitches my nights were set. During the daytime however the clouds still hadnt cleared, so we just chilled, at times playing beach football or talking a walk round the island. Although it had been cloudy it was still hot and bathing in the crystal clear sea was amazing. Within the week i also went scuba diving. I did two dives round the coral reefs that surrounded Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Leh. Swimming at such depth under the sea was very exciting and after the initial lessons on how to clear the mask and breath properly etc it seemed pretty easy. The coral and sea life was unreal, the fish came in so many different shapes and sizes and the colours at the depths of the oceon were inspiring. Other adventures throughout the day worth mentioning included a hike. Brides and I had noticed a really small beach area just off the main beach around the corner of a rocky cliff. We decided it would be cool to walk there, we found a few items such as shampoo etc left by the Tsunami wave and seen loads of crazy sea creatures. I also managed to capture a tropical fish that later became our pet for a few days! He liked our vibe and we liked his. As the week went on Brides got progressively better and joined in the night time activity. On our last day on the island we did the 'Phi Phi Leh Sunset trip' (where the beach was filmed) and it was a awesome. The Thai people know how to take care of their guests!! the trip entailed a boat trip to an island that had wild monkeys, snorkerling, food and drink, a stop over on Phi Phi Leh were we played beach football and marveled at the scenery and then finally when we were all back on the boat and eating rice we got to witness the most amazing sunset before we travelled back to the island for our last night. Ko Lanta The next morning we caught the 11.30 boat to Ko Lanta with a guy called Rich that we met on the island. I also had to say a farewell to a lady named Julia who had fallen in love with my boggles but the feeling wasnt mutual! (there were good and bad points of the island being so small, i had to bump into her everynight). Anyway we hit Ko Lanta for two days and shared a room with our new buddy Rich. The place was real nice, again it was paradise, overlooking an amazing beach and boasting an impressive pool and chill out area it was a great island just to chill for a couple of days before we said our goodbyes to Thailand. However we did witness an horrific bike accident. One the way back from town we waved down a taxi bike who had to make a turn in the road to pick us up, when he did however he hit a bike coming the other way, its was crazy seeing it unfold infront of our eyes. Thankfully the guys on the bike werent too hurt just a bit of bone to be seen. A great 4 weeks in Thailand, we have felt very lucking to experience it and i hope you have enjoyed our account of the trip along with the pictures. We are now keeping it real in Malaysia! this time its all about the monks! Buddism course in Kuala Lumper here we come!!!