Boats, Buses and Automobiles

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Is what awaits me later today anyway! 14:00 my ferry leaves and arrives in bangkok at 5 in the morning, ive then got a day there and my bus to chiang mai in the north leaves at 6pm to arrive yet again at 5-6 in the morning! The only bonus with this is that ive saved on 2 nights accomodation and no doubt when i arrive here, i will be bombarded with offers of treks through the mountains as ive heard it is very touristy. You get to visit the "hill tribes" on these treks as well, i say this loosely as ive heard lots of stories about treks to some villages where they are all on mobile phones, sattelite tv on the top of the mud hut, and a mcdonalds round the corner (maybe not that!). But i suppose if they can still make money out of doing these tourist trips to "hill tribes" they will! Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do up here as well, so im gonna look into it.
Im still in ko tao at the moment after a few relaxing few days on the detox, even been doing some running on the beach, check me out! You can also hire mopeds on the island, and is pretty much the easiest way to run around, only 200 baht per day (3 pounds) although have heard a few stories of people getting stung by the shop they hired it off saying they have damaged it and have to pay for repairs of paintwork e.t.c. Can get slightly dodgy on some of the mountain roads on moped tyres!
I also had to at least 2 dives of scuba while i was in ko tao as its what the islands famous for, so did some scuba diving yesterday at koh nang yuan, also known as the japanese gardens due to the colourfulness of the coral reefs. Visibility under the water was severely limited because of the weather and swells, and because id already been to malaysia where the water was so clear and the fish were amaxing, i guess id already been spoilt! It was still pretty enjoyable anyway playing "hide and seek" with the dive instructor who could so easily go out of sight due to the murkyness of the water. I only did 2 dives, the second one turned out to be a lot more interesting. Saw some seasnakes (told afterwards they were one of the most venomous in the world), a school/shoal of barracuda which was pretty amazing when they circling around you like a big vortex (like pic)....also this little git of a fish who follows you around constantly biting you! The clown fish are also really cool to see, never leaving there sea anemone fortress.
Pad thai is now my general meal as it is so cheap, fried noodles with beef/pork/chicken, pretty much like a chow mein. Have also been having lots of thai massages as they are so cheap, although almost felt my back break the other day with some of the moves she was trying to pull on it! Also need to find a laundry service place when i arrive up t'north as my bag is beginning to scare away the cockroaches!
Right so under 2 weeks left now, starting to go alot quicker, although doubt this day or so will and at least it gives me good time to get through my book!

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Photos

Sea snake
very venomous

School of Barracuda
Amazing site in the water, made my dive.