Krabi

Originally, we planned to go from Ko Phangan to northern Malaysia but soon realised the journey would take nearly 20 hours, so, more to break up the journey than anything else, we decided to go to Krabi, which has turned out to be one of our favourite places in Thailand!

From our accommodation in Aonang, we took a longboat over the choppy sea to the scenic Railay Beach, which often appears in lists of top five beaches in Thailand.

I couldn't believe my luck when we arrived at the beach: a football competition was taking place. Eager to show my interest in case a team was short of a player, I warmed up by the subs bench. It has to be said that the standard of football on show was absolutely abysmal, which made the fact I wasn't called upon all the more frustrating. I could have made a name for myself!

Just along from the pitch was a game of 'football volleyball' that was drawing more of a crowd than the football match nearby. If this was an Olympic sport, Thailand would win the gold medal. This video shows why:

The highlight of our stay in Krabi is our tour of the Phi Phi islands (where the film 'The Beach' was shot). Here, we tried snorkelling, which was so much fun (once Pam relaxed into it)! The sea was totally clear and full of brightly coloured fish.

One of the many caves of the Phi Phi islands

Before we donned our snorkelling masks, the tour guide started handing us slices of bread. As the other passengers got off the boat and started to swim among the fish, I thought I would test how hungry they were and began to mould a 'bread bullet'. Once it had been made to a suitable standard, I took aim at the water where an unsuspecting, middle-aged woman was snorkelling. As soon as the tiny chunk of bread kissed the water - an inch from her half-submerged goggles - around 20 or 30 fish started flipping around like piranhas after a steak, no doubt giving the poor woman the most memorable snorkelling experience of her life. My fun came to an abrupt end when she shot a startled look in my direction.

We have now arrived in Georgetown in Malaysia, but more on that next time.

James

The stunning Railay Beach

Desperate for a game!

Tasty corn