Two Rucksacks One Boy

For Christmas I decided to treat myself so I'd booked on to a 4 day catamaran cruise - it was departing from Koh Phi Phi in the afternoon on Christmas Day so after a nice lie in I said goodbye to the group I'd been travelling with for a week or so and went to the meeting point - There I met the group of 8 people who would be joining me and our skipper for the trip. We took a small speed boat from the shore out to the catamaran in groups of twos and threes with our luggage. We sailed for about an hour and moored up in Maya Bay - which I'd visited already - It was great to see the beach deserted as the hundreds of tourists boats departed as the sun went down. Sunset from the Catamaran in Maya Bay Maya Bay The view from my window when I woke up! In the morning we had a cooked breakfast and did some  snorkeling around Maya Bay. We then set sail towards the Phuket peninsular and continued to stop off at various places for a swim and a snorkel.  ...

We arrived on Koh Phi Phi expecting to have trouble finding a room as it was only 2 days before Christmas - it ended up being no trouble at all! So we checked in and had a relaxing few days. The view point at on Koh Phi Phi Don We did a boat trip on one the days around the islands surrounding Koh Phi Phi Don - we did lot's of snorkelling. Sunning myself at the front of the boat. Coming in to Maya Bay - made famous by the movie "The Beach" Unfortunately Maya Bay is quite the tourist trap nowadays - nonetheless it was great to see! On Christmas Eve we relaxed at a Bar and watched Elf on a big screen over a couple of drinks. The next day I was due to Board a Yacht Cruise I had booked for over the Christmas period.

Kyle and I got to the airport and booked a ticket to Krabi airport there and then - after an uneventful flight we arrived into Krabi as the sun was going down - from there we caught a bus which took about 40 minutes to drop us at the Krabi pier. We had to wade out to a long tail boat as it was low tide. After a twenty minute boat ride we were dropped at Railay island where it took about 30 minutes to walk to the otherside of the island and to book into a resort. Kyle had been to Railay four or five times before so it wasn't long before we were sitting in a bar with his friends. We stayed on Railay for 4 nights and over that time lots of Kyle's friends arrived and it ended up being a big group. Railay is a Mecca for climbing - though I was too busy enjoying the sunshine to have a go! Kyle had to leave to fly back home so I decided to join up with a few of his friends and head to Koh Phi Phi Don where I had to be to make my Christmas Day drip. It was an hour or...

I flew into Bangkok in the early evening and headed over to Pinkao - A district in Bangkok - to stay with my friends Chrissy and Brooke at their apartment. They had been studying in Bangkok for a semester and they had just come to the end of their trip - so it was a great time to visit. We headed out for a night out on Khao San Road which is the backpackers district of Bangkok. I've included two photos, the rest weren't suitable for the blog! Beer towers... Group Photo! The next day I went to the Indian Embassy to sort out my Indian Visa. It. Was. A. Nightmare. Eventually, after 3 hours of queuing I was called up to the desk and my passport was taken .... for two weeks. We relaxed at the apartment for the rest of the day - it had been a big night - and then in the evening it was time to say goodbye to Brooke who was going on a trip to Europe before she went home. It was an emotional goodbye and it was great to be a part of it! After we'd waved Brooke ...

Sihanoukville is a small beach side town on the coast of Cambodia. I arrived with my group of  friends after a long night bus and we quickly headed to our hostel which one of the girls had booked the night before.... Then we went to the beach.... for a week and a half. We spent our time during the day at Browns Bar, with good cheap food, and lovely a beach, it was hard to go wrong. At night we would head down to Serendipity beach where we'd hang out at one of the many beach bars. One night we spend on an island about an hours boat ride out of Sihanoukville, it was just 15 of us, some hammocks..... and an absinthe distillery... Some photos - after a couple of bottles of absinthe Me and Lisa chillin'! A guitar was never far away on the island Safety first! We also did what's known as a booze cruise - basically going around nearby islands for the day swimming and drinking beer - a lovely way to spend the day - though I wasn't feeling ...

I arrived in to Siam Reap in the early evening and caught a Tuk Tuk to the centre of town - I ended up staying in a Dorm at Garden Village Guesthouse. I was in Siam Reap to meet my friends Chrissy and Brooke    who were in Siam Reap as Chrissy was going to run a half marathon round Ankor Wat! I went out for dinner with a group of friends staying in my dorm and then had an early night as the marathon was starting at 6! I got up at 4:30am and made my way to Ankor Wat where luckily I ran into Brooke and her friends Kyle and Jack though I promptly lost them again! I found Chrissy who got some help with her shoes from my Tuk Tuk driver. My Tuk Tuk driver pretty much appeared from nowhere every couple of minutes. He jumped out from behind obstacles such as trees and cars just to ask me what I was up to.... eventually I managed to get away! Chrissy started the marathon and I went to explore the main temple while she was running. Chrissy finished her run ...