Welcome to the backpacking diaries, where I’ll be updating you weekly on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week six of the travel diaries!
If you missed the first five weeks of backpacking diaries, you can catch up here.
Top tip: for mobile data around Asia, we used the Airalo eSim which was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we landed in Sri Lanka!
Day 36: Monday 22nd April 2024
Location: Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
My perception of Ao Nang from arriving last night was semi-correct. We left our hotel and headed down towards the beachfront which was a ten minute walk away.
The closer we got to the beach, the nicer the area became, so maybe I was a little quick to judge. There were a few Starbucks along the main street, coffee shops, hairdressers, and lots of tacky eateries and bars.
We spent most of the day going between coffee shops to work on our laptops and hiding from the sun because it’s hot in Krabi. We walked along the beach in the evening, watched sunset and grabbed dinner at a Thai family restaurant.
It’s definitely been a little bit of a culture shock coming to Krabi after spending so long in Sri Lanka, as Thailand is much more catered towards tourists. But we’ll see what the rest of the country has to offer before I make any more quick judgements.
Day 37: Tuesday 23rd April 2024
Location: Railay Beach & Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
We had a very chilled day today. It was actually one of the few days that we’ve just relaxed on the beach, believe it or not. For the number of beaches we’ve visited, we haven’t actually taken that much time to chill out on them.
We took a long boat from Ao Nang to Railay Beach, around ten minutes away. It’s a popular spot but there’s not too much going on there, so we chose to take a day trip.
To get to the prettiest part of the island and the prettiest beach, we had to trek through water up to our waist with our bags in the air as the tide had come in. While walking, we noticed a lot of jellyfish on the sand and in the water, with signs warning you to watch out for them.
While in the water, the back of my leg started to get very itchy, as well as my waist. When I got out of the water, it looked like I had a rash on the back of my leg and it was on fire. I couldn’t stop scratching.
But we lay on the beach for a while under the trees and I read my kindle for a few hours. We waited for the tide to go out a little bit before making the trek back to our boat and back to Ao Nang. My leg was still on fire at this point and turns out, I was stung by a jellyfish. Thankfully only a small sting and there’s nothing they can do for you other than give you antihistamines in case it gets infected, and anti-itch cream.
Day 38: Wednesday 24th April 2024
Location: Ao Nang, Krabi & Koh Lanta, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
Today was the day to leave Ao Nang and make our way to Koh Lanta. We actually took a group minivan with other backpackers, that picked us up from our hotel in Ao Nang and dropped us at our hotel in Koh Lanta, and took around two hours total.
I enjoyed listening (eavesdropping) on the other backpackers talking about their travels through Nepal, South America and India, since Nepal is high on our list of places to go.
Koh Lanta was giving very different vibes from Ao Nang, but it was much more up our street. It was incredibly quiet and chilled and the resort we were staying at was right on the beach front with the friendliest cats!
We ate dinner at a shack ran by a husband and wife, and it was probably the best meal I’ve had so far in Thailand.
I have a feeling we’re going to like the laid-back vibe of Koh Lanta a lot.
Day 39: Thursday 25th April 2024
Location: Koh Lanta, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
We had a blissful day in Koh Lanta today. We worked in the beachfront bar/cafe of our resort (with the resort’s cats for company) then stopped for lunch which meant grabbing a ham and cheese toastie from the 7-eleven down the street, before jumping back on our laptops for the afternoon, watching the sunset and then heading for dinner.
That’s pretty much what our time in Koh Lanta looks like and it’s perfect. We’re even regretting only staying here for three nights as we could have definitely stayed longer to get work done and chill out.
Not to mention, our bungalow is only costing us £20 per night and the restaurants around us are so cheap for dinner. There’s hardly anyone around when you compare it to Ao Nang, but we like it that way.
Day 40: Friday 26th April 2024
Location: Koh Lanta, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
We left the resort this morning and checked out a breakfast spot a few minutes drive away. A change of location to work on our laptops and the first brunch I’ve had in a few days, which was very nice.
We saw a few more backpackers in this area, so didn’t feel as secluded and stayed here until around 3pm before heading back to our resort to cool off in the pool.
We couldn’t have picked a better location to stay in Koh Lanta as the beachfront view was amazing, the pool was perfect to cool off in and they had the friendliest cats which I was very happy to entertain. Plus, we were also able to have our laundry done, book our onward connection from here and there was a 7-eleven next door.
Day 41: Saturday 27th April 2024
Location: Koh Lanta & Phi Phi, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
Reluctantly, it was our time to leave Koh Lanta and head to a new island of Thailand. We were also taking our first Thai ferry to get there, and heading to Koh Phi Phi.
I had already heard of the Phi Phi islands and knew it to be a hit with tourists, especially those on a gap year or spending two weeks in Thailand during their university years.
In my head, I was expecting a party island, and that’s kind of what we got.
It’s day 41 of our backpacking trip and we’ve drank alcohol on two of these days, so you can probably guess that we’re not really here for the party scene. In saying that, we haven’t really experienced any party scenes during our travels either.
It seems to be a much bigger digital nomad/wellness scene these days, with less people drinking and partying every night, which is very interesting and not what I was expecting.
Koh Phi Phi was busy and we were staying in a hotel right amongst the hustle and bustle. There’s no traffic on the island – no scooters, no cars, nothing. We were able to walk everywhere, around all the winding alleyways and through the shops, bars and markets.
But once you had walked around, there wasn’t much left to do and it seemed Phi Phi was an excursion-based island with most people out in the water during the day, and returning in the evening.
We spent a lot of the day walking around and chilling out, and then watched the Liverpool game in an Irish bar before going for dinner and calling it a night.
Day 42: Sunday 28th April 2024
Location: Phi Phi, Thailand
Dear travel diary,
We had booked one of the aforementioned excursions for today, meeting at our ticket desk for 7am. We arrived at 6.45am and it seemed no one knew who we were or who was taking us out for the day.
Around 7.15am, a driver arrived and bought his breakfast before taking us to his boat. We didn’t really know what was going on and it all seemed a little disorganised (and he also seemed hungover).
We were heading to Maya Bay first for it opening at 7.30am. It’s where they filmed The Beach movie with Leonardo Di Caprio (I haven’t seen it but it’s been added to my list) and is meant to be one of the prettiest beaches in Thailand.
It’s closed to the public, only open during certain hours and you’re also not allowed to swim in the water which has since made way for small sharks to swim up close to the shore – many of which we saw during our time on the beach.
After this, it was off on the boat again to find an area to snorkel. This was only my second ever time snorkelling, and I wouldn’t say I’m that confident with it yet. It was fun swimming with the fish, but then I almost got hit by a long boat (how am I meant to hear it with my head stuck in the water) and then Steff got stung by two jellyfish – one wrapped around his arm and another hit him in the face.
Safe to say we won’t be getting back in the ocean any time soon in Thailand.
After this, we pulled up to Monkey Beach and stayed inside the boat while watching them run around and then headed back to solid ground at Phi Phi. We got some anti-itch cream for himself and then grabbed lunch at a small stall near our hotel.
We chilled out for the rest of the day (away from the water) and enjoyed our last night in Phi Phi, watching some muay thai boxing and tourists get up to fight each other for a free bucket of alcohol.
When in Phi Phi, eh?
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