So very quickly. I got my bus to bangkok, and they put me on the wrong bus. I got to the part where everybody was going onto ferries, and I was like, “Bangkok by bus”, and they were freeking out. well, then rushed me to another bus company, and I got on that bus so it all turned out fine, but it was a nice intrducktion for this leg of travel. I got in at 5:30 in the morning, and couldn’t be bothered to figure out where I was or where to go, so I went to a guest house that had a van there, and a cheap room. whell this guest house was not the best, but t served me for the time, and I started on my chores. I had a few things to do in bangkok, and very shrtly I really didn’t want to be there. I found a respectable travel agent to do my visas, and becase it was going to ake a week for them all, had them courriered to Chaing mai, so I didn’t have to stay in Bangkok that long. then I just wondered for a while, and walked ALOT. So the next day a switched over to a new accomadation, called Shanti Lodge, because how could I now stay there. this was much nicer, and to start enjoying myself more, as well as doing the rest of my errands, such at getting a jab, and booking a flight to Europe. SO then at the end of my three days I didn’t hate Bangkok anymore, and I’m sure that when I go back, and I do the tourist things, I’ll fave a good time, and now I know my way around the city. If only it didn’t have so much smog!! SO atthe end of that time, I cought a overnight train up to chaing mai, with a sleeper, the only way to travel.

Well, because internet was so expencive, and I’m way too lazy, I haven’t written about thailand yet. so here goes the first part.

Leaving langkawi, malaysia. we got to the ferry terminal about nine o’clock, the ferry was leaving about 9:30, and there was a huge line. we just all hoped that they wern’t going to leve on time. they didn’t and it was an OK trip. then we landed in thailand. now with every new country in asia, it seemed more and more like asia, and this was true here. the wait to go through customs was way too long, but we made it through. then we had to find a way to get up to krabi. so we got a bus from one of the touts at the terminal, who put us in the back of a truck, and too some bus on some road that we boarded. we wern’t sure when it was going to take off, and so didn’t get any food. it took off eventually, nad the drive but on a disk of kareoke thai pop songs. so bad, too loud. and then halfway there we stop. we ask how long, and they say five minutes, so not really enough time to get something to eat. 15-20 min later we leave, and this time and even worse, even louder music video is put on, truely terible. go we finally get to krabi, and now we have to get to the beach. it’s about six o’clock, and they keep saying the beach we want to go to (rialey) is all full, and so we eventually settle to go to ao nang, were we can get to rialey easily. the place we get to is OK, nothing special, but at least were here, and we can go eat. we are all a little (at least I am) iritable for not eating all day, and with the bad bus trip, but after eating, and getting our accomadation, everything seems better. We don’t do much here, just wonder a bit, and get used to being in thailand. It’s nice. The next day we head off for Rialey, and relaxation. so we hope on a longtail boat for our journey over.

Now abouta longtail boat: These are one of the greatest things I have ever seen. PIcture a long wooden fishing type boat, with a large moter on a long pole driving a propeller. I don’t know how they came up with it, but I think it’s amazing, only a little load.

SO then we make it over to Railey. again we leave two of us with the bags, and Vicky and myself head out to find us a place to stay. We look at almost every place, and the one at the very end, with the LONG stairs, is amazing. (this is a trend) SO we head back, it’s been about an hour, and gather the troups, and to our new abode. now we don’t really do much while here, we explore the area, but it’s not that big. sit on the beach a little, but the nice one is overcrowded with day trippers, and we have a reall nice pool at our resort. but for our first and last nights, I can describe them in one word, Bucket! and if you don’t know what that is, ask someone whose been two thailand. I really like Rialey, and was kind of sad to leave, but it was time to move on, and Jim had to make his way back to Singapore, so we left him, and I took off with the girls, our little party was dwindeling. It as a chore to make the 9:30 ferry to Phi Phi, because of the word I had said before, and Claire olmost didn’t make it, and she had our tickets. but eventually we made it on the boat, to the island, and found ourselve a not very nice place for our first night. The girls spent that first day alomost entirely in the room sleeping, and I made my was around the part of the island alittle. that evening, not wanting to do much, I just went to a bar and watched the beach, which was filled on Koh Phi Phi Ley. I had never seen it, and It was cool to see it where it was filmed. next we decided to move over to a much quiter beach called long beach, and again, we found a great place at the very end up a LONG stair. Over the next few days, we went on a boat trip around to the beaches and islands, a little lackluster, but did do a little snorkling, and saw a snake the freaked the shit out of me. and then I went diving. I did my first wreck dive, and I can see how you could spend alot of time doing these. we didn’t do alot at night, but it was very relaxing, and a nice place to be. But then it was time to go. The girls were headed to Samui, and me to Bangkok, the next great adventure.

A little about langkawi. a wonderfull island off the northern west coast of malaysia, also a tax free island. I was really nice to get here, be on a beach again, and have nothing to do. it had been about a month since I’d really just sat on the beach, and I did kind of miss it. and this was nice. we got a place littteraly on the beach, and with everything being duty free, beer was incredable cheap. and we spent alot of time on the beach. one day we rented a car and drove around the island (super cheap) we went to the cable car and observation platfiorm. amazing, probably one of the best things like that I’ve ever been two. after that we headed to seven wells, a place place with a bunch of rock pools, that you can slide between, and then a big waterfall at the end. amazing place. then just around the island. overall just a very relazing place, that we easily could have stayed at longer, but the erge to move into thailand was too strong. so after four days, we were off, except for dean, who had to return to KL and then start his australia trip.

Our next stop was georgetown, on the island of panang. an ok place, but just another big city. we really didn’t do much here, as we all had our next destination in mind, Langkawi. We did go the a really cool temple, and then up panang hill, though we got there late, and didn’t have any time to explore it, and it did seem like a good place. But at least it makes anther place to go back to in malaysia, which is nice to have. but then it was time, to take a ferry over to Langkawi, and true tropical paridise.

SO then we got to the cameron highlands. A great place, and a wonderful guest house. here we met up with james, and a new member of our goup, vicky. we spent three nights here, and could have stayd for ages. there was a major bike race that had a stage ending in the next town, so we went and watched that, though it took way longer then anyone would have thought. we did a nic guided mosey forst walk, and just chilled a bit. had some good food, met up with even more people we had met in the Inn Crowd, and had a nice olde time.

So we made the bus. about four hours into the interior of the country. then we had a boat transfer up the river to the village by the park. what an amazing boat ride, even though they mad me change seats away from my friends and put me in the front, where halfway through a monsoon rain storm came a sioaked me though, still a great way to enter the park. once we got there, we found a place to stay (most were filled up, so we didn’t have much choice), and checked in. While we were checking in, we met an englich couple, who had stayed at the inn crown in singapore with us, and we all decided to do the night safari that night. after a little while we went down to dinner, where there were some rather interestin dishes served, mine being the only one that was good. (also the only one the didn’t have fried in the name) then off tio the night safari. we got in the back of these 4×4’s, an off we went. we had our guide sitting on the roof, with a spotlight, adn then we started heading down the road. at first we all though that we were going to be on the road the whole time, but then we turned off, and the rest of the time we were in a palm oil plantation. it was kinda cool just wondering around at night in the back of a 4×4, but we didn’t really see much. some eyes in the trees, which were supossedly some cat, and a sleeping snake, and soem birds. but it was fun, and whatever. and then not much more to this day. The next day as our big day for the park. so after breakfast so after breakfast we headed in. our first stop, the canopy walkway. and this was cool. kinda like the the one in sw Australia, only held togeather with latters an ropes, and much longer. really cool. after this we hike upto a lookout, the view was OK. then we were headed to a swiming hole, but first the path we were about to take had leaches. and we saw a few on the ground, and they can move rather fast. well, we made it though nad nobady got one, though we had seem a man earlier who had (bloody socks!). and the swimming hole was just a bend in the river, though it was refreshing. then we made out way back to the entrence to the park, where we thought we might find a beer (the town across that we were staying in was dry) and we did, only it was 18 ringet for a small (alittle steep) dean had one, and then we headed back. and that was preaty much tamen negara, nice, and I could have easily stayed longer, but that was enough for now. the next day we headed to the cameron highlands

So I went to Kaula Lampur. Claire and I had a really nice coach up to the city. Big reclining seats with foot rests. when we arrived, it didn’t look like a bus station. we had no idea where we were so we picked a direction and walked. we came to the station itself shortly and there was a hostel accross from it that was supposed to be OK, so we tried there. They were full. So we went down into chinatown where more hostels were, and one we had been told of that had a roof top bar. we found it and they had room, so we had a place to throw our bags, that was enough for now. starving, we went insearch of food, and found an ok place, but the food wasn’t great, but we did start to feel that we were finally in asia. didn’t really do much that night, just wondered a little bit, and tried to get in touch with some other people we were going to meet. the next morning after breakfast, we ran into both james and dean, who we were meeting in KL, and headed off to the batu caves. These are some large caves, that have hindu temples built inside. we aslo managed to go on a tour of “dark cave” which was a half hour tour into the cave system, where you can only go with a guide. on the way back we decided to goto the KL tower, the highest poit you can go up in KL (you can only go up to the skybridge in the petronas), and they had some great views of the city. then in our very indirect route back to our hostel, we went by the petronas (they don’t look as tall as they are), before getting back to chinatown for dinner. then we started making our plans for tamen negara, and getting there. we found that we needed to leave at 8 in the morning. well, the ber was cheap on the roof, and “just one more” happened a few too many times. Then my alarm didn’t go off, an dean and I both woke up a 8 the next morning, I guess we had another day in KL. James had to stay in KL anyway, and was going to have a few days, s he didn’t really want to get up, and claire was just totlally nackered, so dean and I set off to wonder the city alittle, since we where there. that was preatty much it, claire didn’t get out of bed to half 8 and we all went t bead be fore midnight, so just a nothing day. the next day we did get up.