The journey here was a convoluted one, with multiple stops and transport changes required. It took a few days, with a stop in Lampang, a train change in Bangkok, a night in Prachuap Khiri Khan and a bus ride to Krabi. I was quite glad once I’d got there!

Lampang

I started in Chiang Rai and went back to the original bus station that I had arrived at. The bus wasn’t for another hour, so I went across the road and got something to eat in a restaurant that I had been eyeing-up on the inbound journey. The journey was fairly long and boring, with some people still throwing water, which was quite refreshing with the wind from the bus. At the end, when we made the stop in Lampang, I got off, not realising it was Lampang, in order to go to the toilet and get something to eat. I ended up getting a fruit shake and getting back on the bus, only to find out that this was Lampang and I needed to get off.

After finishing my fruit shake I found a shared tuk-tuk that would take me to the ‘centre’ for 20 Baht. I got informed by my fellow passengers one we’d reached the centre and I got out, finding some taxi drivers who were willing to tell me where we were on the map.

Once I’d checked-in to my hotel (or guest house), I went straight down the road to where I could hear drumming. What I found was a big open-air stage, built out of stand and in the middle of the river. Whilst I was watching they had a tug-of-war, some kind of wrestling (where the loser would fall into the water) and a drumming competition. I ate a lot of snacks and stayed until it was dark.

The next day I loitered around the hotel until it was time to get my train at 19:19. The train was late and as it had been raining, there was a power-cut in the train station, so we had to sit there in the dark.

Bangkok

On the journey to Bangkok I met someone interesting on the train. I had upgraded myself to the air-conditioning carriage, as I genuinely wanted to get some sleep this time and someone from Thailand asked where I was from. It turned out that he had been to Taiwan too and stayed in the same hostel as I had, going to a few of the other places I had been to too. I got a recommendation for a university that was good for teaching Chinese and we departed in Bangkok, expecting to see eachother in Taipei some time.

Once in Bangkok I got a train timetable and hurriedly scanned my guidebook looking for places that I would like to stop. Prachuap Khiri Khan seemed convenient, so I managed to get the last ticket there and went for a wander whilst waiting for my train.

Prachuap Khiri Khan

In Prachuap Khiri Khan I got off the train as it was getting dark. I ended up staying in the hotel closest the station and went for something to eat in the night market. Whilst trying to figure out where I was going next, I spoke to someone from the Netherlands who had been a tour guide in Thailand for 8 years. He was able to speak Thai and ended up translating a conversation between me and the owner about why the Internet was so rubbish.

The next day I figured out how I was going to get to Krabi and hurredly got something to eat. Outside the restaurant there were some tuk-tuk drivers and one of them took me to the bus station, which was just a stop on the main road. Here I bought an expensive bus ticket to Krabi.

Krabi

The bus to Krabi was very nice with a lemon sponge cake and soya bean juice provided. I got to Krabi and a nice taxi driver showed me where we were on a map and another one took me to the town centre. I think there was a bit of confusion, as we ended up driving round for a bit, but I eventually found a hostel to stay in, as it was easily the cheapest option.

The next day I got the ferry to Railay, in order to find a famous south-Thailand beach. I decided to get a later boat and go in search of a new mobile phone, as my original one had broken and refused to charge. Once in Railay, I decided to go for a walk through the jungle and try and find Ton Sai beach, as Railay West beach hadn’t been exactly what I had been looking for. Ton Sai beach was very similar, just with fewer people and after going for a swim I pretty much decided that in order to find the properly nice beaches (white sand, crystal-clear water), you had to go out to one of the islands. This it was not possible to do, so I ended up staying where I was and having to run for the last boat back to Krabi.