[Sting-O]

Once Rory, Rich, Cam, Helen and Monica had checked in to a room, Arun and I brought everyone back to our place to join us for our first dip in our pool. We laughed at the "Ahhhh!" sound each person made when first getting in and as we each ordered a large whiskey from the pool bar we were joined by Lani and her friends. The lot of us hung out until sunset and Arun and I could not resist booking a couple more nights in the aptly named Tropical Gardens.

After quick showers we all headed out towards Reggae Bar, a place that sells cheap buckets early, allowing some of our crowd to make their bucket debuts. The main attraction here is a proper looking muay-thai boxing ring where drunk customers can sign up for a bout of three rounds against each other inbetween exhibitions put on by the regular fighters there. We just about resisted the urge that would become more tempting throughout the night. "It's only 90 seconds!" i repeated to Rory throughout the night, but seeing formerly confident, now battered and brusied men stumble over to the bar to claim their free drink was hardly inspiring. Once we'd reached the beach party, catching up with Naomi and Sarah, we danced and drank our way through to the early hours.

It wasn't long before we were all up though; we endevoured to reach the already scorching but now somewhat tainted beach by 10 a.m. By midday, it'd risen to the mid 30's and none of us could stand the blaze of the sun without sitting in the shallows for more than 30 minutes. Eventually, having fulfilled the role of mad-dogs and Englishmen, we all went back to our pool again and whilst Rich and Cam napped on sun-loungers, Rory, Arun and I played a few rounds of cards; shit-head was the name of the game, and would remain so for the next few days as competition heated up between us and we, the lads, spent more time together. After such a relaxing day we decided not to brave the tourist-fuelled hustle and bustle of Ko Phi-Phi's main trappings and chose instead to eat beach side, looking out at the docked boats as we ate barbequed fish and played more cards. Spirits were high enough after this for us all to venture beack to the beach where the rave had hotted up, Arun and I rejoicing in the drum'n'bass/dubstep set played at the far end.

The group is good at motivating each other. So much so that after another short but deep sleep, we headed out early in order to catch the boat tour around the island which turned out to be the perfect hangover cure. We were joined by a jovial Irishman called Johnjo who stuck around for the rest of the day. Our first stop was at Monkey Island. We pulled up about 200 metres from shore and, after pushing our hungover selves through a gruelling swin over sharp coral, we emerged to find a small group of monkeys tentatively playing with Coke cans and ice-cream cones from the tourists. Then, out of nowhere, the big, red-eyed leader of the pack came bounding out of the jungle, inspiring the whole group to start rushing and yelling and everyone on the beach. Evolution seemingly got flipped upside down and we all scampered back out to sea, snorkelling hurriedly back to the boat. The moment of fear was replaced by laughter as Lucky, one of the tour guides, failed to believe Arun when he said he was English.

We sailed smoothly around Phi-Phi for another hour until we reach Bamboo island where we found a small hut offering simple but satisfying home-cooked food. We ate gratefully, but were less thankful on the swim back to the boat. The mood on board was picking up as everyone got involved, jumping 8-metres down off the top deck and starting a bombing competition, even Monica eventually braved the jump. The tour guides threw bread in to the water near her, making hundreds of fish appear from the depths to snack and creating a whirl of colour in the water. Finally, we were led around to the north where the sun set between two huge cliffs. We watched lazily, joined by a dozen other boats, as the sky shone blue, purple and orange and all remnants of the night before drifted off in to the haze.

Johnjo suggested that everyone from the tour go out to dinner that night, so our gang met up with the rest and taught everyone shit-head, which we played after a dinner of more barbequed fish and then moved over to the funky, neon Banana Bar. Conversation was flowing faster than the drinks, both at an impressive rate and neither done without a smile. It was decided that the forfeit for losing shit-head was to wear one of Monica's bikini tops until the next loser, a fate that Arun, I, Rory and Cam all had to endure. Each of us soaked up peoples' strange looks and questions with as much dignity as was available.

Phi-Phi, we decided, had peaked, and the next morning we again got up early to catch a boat - this time aiming for Krabi, en route to the highly rated Khao Sok National Park. Rory, Rich, Arun, Monica, Cam and I drifted away from the island with adventure in mind. The journey went smoothly, via boat, then bus, then exclusive mini-bus right to the front door of Jungle Huts, some impressive yet cheap rooms situated right in the middle of Khao Sok's 160 million year old rainforest. We were immediately offered the chance to go elephant trekking, and snatched at the opportunity; our new guide, Em, a young-looking dude with a penchant for boyish humour, sped us through the winding mountains across the park and into a little clearing in the forest where the elephants stayed. Arun and I jumped on, taking turns at sitting on the head of our lively elephant. The trudge through the lush green forest was beautiful, the sun now at an angle darting through the leaves and shimmering off the waterfall we reached. Arun and I talked about how strange it is for humans to take control of animals, and having chatted to Lani a few days before about the way the elephants are treated out here, i had a little pang of guilt about sitting on top of the beast but this, i have to admit, was totally eclipsed by the moment.

We got back and booked ourselves on to a two-day trek and stop-over in the forest, such was the awesomeness of the place. Our island exploits caught up with us that night though and we all headed to bed early.

The next morning we all met and ate ourselves a huge breakfast, preparing for the mission ahead. Em again piled us in to his pick-up truck, minus Monica who had to fly home the next day leaving just the lads, and we darted round to the pier of the lake on which we'd spend the next two days. Khao Sok covers an immense area with a deep freshwater lake at its centre, tributaries of which split off for miles. On the lake are a few sparsely scattered floating fishing villages of no more than 20 huts each. Em introduced us to our driver, also called Em, as we took a 2 hour long-tail boat ride out to our remote accomodation, once again in blistering heat which was only ever bearable because of the rush of wind from the boat ride. We eventually pulled up next to some simple- but sturdy-looking bamboo huts with only a kitchen attached and two more long-tails moored to its side. We immediately jumped into the lake, Rory besting us all with a spectacular front-flip straight in to the perfectly cool, blue water.

From here time slowed a little. We decided that this was one of our more authentic Thai experiences in that, when travelling around, one watches the Thais sat listlessly passing time and wondering exactly how it's done, but now it was our time we had to pass and we all enjoyed the change of pace. We ate, we played cards, we fished, we sped around on Em & Em's boat on some little excursions. On the banks, we saw various wild animals scarper back into the dense woodland upon hearing the roaring sound of our boat's properller. Byson, boar, deer and lizards all took a look at us before making tracks. Later that night, after some fantastic food, we were treated to a little night safari on the boat, the highlight of which we catching a glimpse of a huge stag by the light of Em's torch.

We sat up in the floating kitchen playing cards and drinking whiskey and feeling very Apocalypse Now. The air cooled to a comfortable temparature as Rory and I sat up later than anyone for miles casting the bait-less fishing rod in to the water, half-hoping for a bite, half chatting.

The next morning Em led us by foot into the forest and we trekked for a couple of hours, again trying to catch some fish but not succeeding. The density of the trees became apparent, as well as the length of the lake, as we walked for a couple of hours in crisp morning heat before jumping back on our long-tail and heading back towards the pier. The best two days out here, but completely unrelatable to much of the rest of the trip, our time spent in Khao Sok will never be forgotten, as much for the fun we made ourselves as for the stunning surroundings.

After reaching the pier, Em gave us a lift to the bus-stop. We all needed to get to Bangkok to catch a flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the next day, and we'd opted for a public bus and then sleeper-train to get us there. As we arrived at the bus-stop along the side of a dusty street, the bus pulled up and had us at the station within 2 hours. We picked up some supplies of crisps, whiskey, tobacco and crisps whilst waiting for a train and whilst wandering the town i was confronted by a small Thai student whose name i forget, asking me to read him a paragraph in English from a newspaper; he wanted to record my voice and use it for practise for his teaching degree. I agreed, explaining that my accent might not serve him particularly well, but he gratefully offered me a red-bull and a banana-leaf cigarette in exchange for my voice. The paragraph detailed a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia after a small fight on their mutual border, which i told the lads must bode well for our trip the next day.

The sleeper train was a fantastic experience. We occupied half of the buffet cart until 10 p.m., playing more games of cards, this time chase-the-ace, laughing and joking over the booming sound of the carriage on the rails outside the open windows. I slept so well in my bunk that for the first time i managed to properly lucid dream: i realised i had control of myself in my dream and started hovering a few feet off the ground in front of a silent crowd, before i twitched awake.

We arrived on Khao San road having taken a tuk-tuk from the station. I managed to re-purchase my stolen Gorillaz t-shirt and we wasted time watching Arsenal beat Barcelona on a repeated game. Everyone indulged in mango shakes and breakfasts, before withdrawing our US Dollars for Cambodia and heading to the airport. Our flight lasted barely an hour, with the seatbelt sign switched off for a matter of minutes and hardly time for any of us to sleep. Touching down inPhnom Penh, we all sensed that we'd reached a very different place; the air was thick, the buildings lower and the streets more hectic. Arun and I reflected that it reminded us of Delhi, and impression that has become stronger over the last two days. The cars and motorbikes ignore all lane rules and pull impossible manouveres with grace and ease. Crossing the road was for each of us an experience in itself.

We headed towards Rory's Pub, a guesthouse along the river which hosts most of Phnom Penh's tourist stop-offs. We headed out towards some of Phnom Penh's less infamous bars, eventually landing on a trendy club called Heart of Darkness which sees Cambodians, Brits and other of all description party late in to the night. With beers at $1 we managed not to spend too much money but had a really good night out.

Despite our hangovers, we had to drag ourselves out of Rory's due to a lack of rooms. After another huge breakfast, we were all inspired to make the most of our day. I suggested that we couldn't leave without visiting the killing fields site. Everyone agreed except Rory, who correctly opted out having done the experience once before, whilst Arun, Cam, Rich and I discovered for ourselves why it might be the kind of thing to only do once. We hired a tuk-tuk which drove us steadily away from the city centre of Phnom Penh, where guesthouses and pubs meet tiny rickety shops with tin stalls out front, broken only by the occassional huge, glass-fronted Toyota dealership or "Official Apple Retailer." On reaching the edge of town, the roads became dustier and the shops less clean, and we were led towards the site of the killing fields.

Immediately, what is striking is how small the area is. Thousands of people lost their lives here, yet the entire site can be taken in one photo. A tall, unspectacular moument stands in the middle of the site, with 17 layers of skulls stacked 30 metres into the air. We then whicked across town to the prison , which detailed further the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Known as S-21, it was easy to see how Pol-Pot had ordered the conversion of a modern school building in to an oppressive prison with no space and barbed wire covering the windows the prevent prisoners jumping. I headed down the coridor and accidentally found myself at a locked gate. The familiar pang of fear shot through me as i felt like i was somewhere i shouldn't be, and as that happened i turned a corner to see hundreds of pictures of prisoners, from child to elderly, staring right at me. The fear disappated as i looked at their faces, some scared, some blank, some even smiling. Not knowing their fate.