Krabi to Koh Sok

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I left Koh Tao to head over to Krabi to meet Joe who is a friend of a friend who is just finishing his year trip and has done the exact route as me but the other way round - I hoped he would have some handy tips and advice!

I decided to get the night boat over to Surat Thani and a bus the rest of the way. The boat was certainly an experience 50 tiny beds crapped into a space that would normally fit prob 20-30 single beds. When i lay down my shoulders were well over onto the beds next to me (I know I am larger than the average bear but you get the idea) but this is all part of the travelling experience! In the end the bed next to me was free so I actually got a good nights sleep. Once I reached Krabi I had to get a boat over to a place called Tonsai. This small bay and the surronding area is stunning and is reknowed as a climbers mecca because of the limestones cliffs. I have to say that I and the two guys who I was staying with all felt a little inadequate next to the chissled climbers who could barely be human considering some of the cliffs they were going up!

After one night there we went to Ao Nang which is basically like a Tenerife resort dumped in the middle of Thailand so less said the better.

I left the next morning with Joe's friend Jimmy to Khao Sok National Park. We drove up into the hills to get there and our accommodation was a hut on stilts with very basic mod cons but not going to complain for 4 pounds a night. We set off the next morning for a two day on night trek/safari into the park. The park itself is a man made reservoir that was created when a dam was built in 1982 causing the surrounding area to become flooded. I was told if you dive there you can see the old villages at the bottom. We took an hour boat ride to where we were staying in the park the scenery was very unique with hills surronding you everywhere you go and every now and then a tree pocking out of the water - it was the most jaw dropping place I have been to so far. We were staying in huts essentially by the reservoir where you could literally open your door and dive into the very refreshing water - a very peaceful place. After lunch we set off with our local guide Paul into the ''jungle'' we walked for about an hour until we reached the cave we would be going through (apparently it used to be hideout for Communist insurgents/students in the 70's). The cave was a great experience for me as it allowed me to face two of my big fears - spiders and enclosed spaces. There seemed to be 4 creatures living in there crickets, frogs, big spiders and bats not a great combination in a dark cave! However even these lovely things disappeared once we got deeper into the cave as after half an hour we were walking most of the way through water and at times even had to swim. It was quite cramped at times and my head took quite a bashing on the low ceilings but had no problems with claustrophobia - this gave me some hope for the Vietcong tunnels which I may have the opportunity to go through once I reach Vietnam!

This was the most exciting part of Khao Sok but we also went on a night safari on the boat which was very strange as you can't see a thing and all you can hear is the sound of the water and the noises of the jungle. We managed to see some monkeys the next day on our second trek which although not as exciting as day 1 was much more strenuous and after all the wonderful Thai food I was definitely glad for the exercise.

Khao Sok was a beautiful place with an even more chilled pace of life than the beaches of Thailand. It is my favorite place so far and would definitely recommend it to anyone heading this way.

I have been in Khao Lak for the past week a very quiet town with loads of Germans and not much to do but has been nice to just relax for a while. Met up with my other friend Joe and Faiza today for a snorkeling trip to the Similan Islands which was really good as there is a incredible amount of fish to see there. Was nice to see them but must move on next stop Phi Phi!

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