Siam Thani Hotel Surat Thani

... aedislegt litid herbergi med viftu, extremely clean. OG TAD VAR BADHERBERGI INNI A HERBERGINU MED STURTU OG KLOSETTPAPPIR OG OG OG HANDKLAEDUM!!!

Vid vorum komnar a tann stad ad tessi atridi voru SJUKLEGUR LUXUS. Vid skelltum okkur i sturtu og nutum tess ad vera a tanum en ekki flip flop i sturtunni, komum svo fram umvafdar i handklaedi, i stadinn fyrir ad turrka ser med ‘backpackers tvottastykki’ sem let manni finnast madur jafn ...

... but I did burn a bit... silly me! We were on the tour with 3 Germans that we got on really well with, it was a good group which can really make the difference between a good or a bad tour so we were very happy. We got onto a longtail boat at the lake and set ...

... off their sides. These scary scooter sightings against the backdrop of lush tropical rainforest and mountains that seem to jut out of nowhere as well as a few moments of shut eye here and there made the bus journey bearable. We were finally dropped off at Donsak pier and told "bags on the boat", a little uneasy about not having our luggage but too tired to care we made our way to the boat ticket office and then ducked to the toilet ...

... we hoped for but acceptable considering the short notice. The Belgian's train was to arrive within a half hour. An hour later he approached the ticket window to discover that lo and behold, he'd reserved a bunk on a nonexistent train! Our strict policy of "don't buy transport tickets from anywhere but a ticket window" was victorious again. With upwards of five hours to kill in tinsy Phun Phin, we wished Mr. Belgian the best of luck and ...

... P1000351173.h tml), written him an email, and he wrote back with some qustions answered and told me to call him the day before. So I called him while on the bus from Ao Nang to Krabi and he said sure, he'll keep a room for us. So now the 5 of us all have rooms, which is nice, because I see travelers wandering the island streets with their big backpacks, looking for accomodation, and I do not envy them at all. Off to go explore!

... the jungle. The canoe ride was a little underwhelming, especially when we realized that the river was really tame and actually ran alongside a road, rather than through the dense jungle as we had been imagining. That said, it was a nice relaxing float down a lazy river in the sun, so it's hard to complain too much. The elephant ride was pretty relaxing ...

... of meats, fish, noodles, veg, sauces and fruit which you helped yourself to. Easier said than done when you have no instructions, all the foodstuff is labelled in Thai and you have no idea what most of the more exotic looking veg is! Its also worth pointing out that I cant cook English food never mind Thai so the results were guaranteed to be disasterous. We helped ourselves and sat back at our table where a waiter brought over this BBQ/Wok ...

... of tranqulity and peace, as the candlelight as well as the outline of the trees and dark sky, would be reflected in the still water. The last structure worth mentioning is the bell tower, which was found right in the centre of the grounds. The bell would be struck with some sort of mallet to signal the start or end of the major sessions. No need for a watch or even the knowledge of time passing. Hearing this bell was incredible, as it's resonance would echo in your mind ...

... so much, it was really good. Then Kiam started showing off his party tricks - he was like a little kid! So we spent a fun couple of hours playing silly party games and card tricks, lots fo fun :o) Particularly amusing watching some bratty american kids also there tying themselves in knots trying to do this weird thing where you have to twist a stick round your body and be super flexible... The next day we went on a walk up to a viewpoint on the mountain, from where we ...

... for a vacant cubicle and when I entered my heart sank as I saw the stainless steel squat toilet in the ground. I half heartedly unbuckled my pants, knowing full well that I no longer needed to go. True to form, my NPS (Nervous Peeing Syndrome) kicked in. I would have to be at the point of explosion before being able to get my 10 baht worth. Fifteen minutes before departure, we boarded the train with our backpacks. We showed our tickets to the railway attendants who ...