Ao Nang nightmares and Railay chillaxin'

After a lengthy bus journey from Malaysia through the troubled town of Hat Yai and into Krabi, where delicious night-market food eased my soul, the beaches were calling. First stop was Ao Nang, and what a mistake it was! Like the Costa del Sol on steroids, the small town heaved with tourists of many persuasions but mainly the lumpy, swollen-red variety with obnoxious behaviour and rather too much flesh on display. However the hotel room was nice – own balcony and huge bed for 400 Baht – one positive thing (although I did lose my hair brush there, quite a calamity!)
The infamous Phi Phi (say 'pee pee' and you have it right) islands are nearby – think The Beach – but ended up going to Railay Beach instead, a short longtail ride from Ao Nang but a world away. There are resorts there, but far fewer and the place has a much more laid-back feel. Here I met Joe and Erik – Canadian and American respectively who had met in the Philippines and decided to reunite in Thailand. Still traveling with Edwin, we made quite a group and many fun times were had; drinking at various bars, making trek-worthy crossings to a nearby beach (basically a combination of rock climbing and hiking over a jungley hill in the dusk, then clambouring back again drunk and sweaty), making friends with a group of Spanish girls, two very philandering Portuguese brothers and two more Canadians. As the time came to leave, the four of is decided to continue on together to Khao Sok, one of Thailand's National Parks that promised yet more adventurous times.

Khao Sok was far quieter and much sweatier than Railay and, as it was right there, we decided to go on a jungle trek. Having only my flip-flops and trainers, I thought I'd go along anyway, and it was fun! Some of the paths were really slippery (made even more so on the way back by a rain storm) and at times I was worried I'd slip and fall down the steep hillside on the other side of the narrow, sloppy path, but luckily I didn't/ The two Dutch girls we went with were rather dry but pretty nifty on the trail – unlike me who was much slower and got 'attacked' by about 10 leaches, many flies and massive coughing fits. The phlegm-ridden hacking cough I'd had since just before Georgetown was not letting up and it really hindered my breathing. One massage and a nice meal later, however, and it didn't hinder me from enjoying a cheeky spliff among friends...one that set me off an an almost hallucinogenic trip.

While everyone else was talking I started, at some point, to listen to the noises of the creatures around us and tried to pinpoint where they all came from. This then turned into a very very calm state of what amounted to near bliss and a huge sense of well-being and shininess surrounded me. Apparently when I spoke it was so quietly and mumbled that no-one else understood me (nothing new there then!) but I felt so in touch with my breathing and the frog and insect noises all about that the whole thing was like a magical orchestra playing... this then turned into some sort of epiphany moment when I came to realise that there are some things in my life I have to stop worrying about because they are fulfilled and instead put energy into focusing on getting where I want to go and start believing more in myself and that I can do these things I dream of. At the time it seemed so achievable, and now...well, a little less so but still there. I guess the real challenge is making that all work in the 'real' world with all its distractions and issues.

The next day we were all exhausted and decided to have a movie marathon, starting with the Mission Impossible series (not much on offer in Khao Sok). Due to the lack of a remote control and inability to switch languages it was watched in Thai with okay English subtitles but # 2 & 3 were unavailable for viewing. Not to be out-done, we wandered the tiny village looking for another place with a DVD player. To no avail. Many shops and bars there were open-air and just left open and unmanned.. Lovely that they are able to do that with so much trust but a little strange when you want to try to talk to someone but no-one is there so you sit at an empty bar for 10 minutes until one of the village dogs comes to sniff at you to see if you are still alive. More DVDs were procured, and Crank was first on the list. The sound was terrible but there were English subtitles too, and they were absolutely hilarious! So many terrible errors that we were often in stitches on the sweaty pleather sofa, trying desperately to cool off with numerous bottles of water and sparkling citrus beverage. Pointlessly. In Thailand (in April at least) the sweat just pours off you and you feel constantly hot. Even under a cold shower. Oh well, only another 2 months of sweltering, humid-ridden weather for me!