Twenty something year old doing twenty something year old things

After a magical first Thai experience on the island of Koh Lipe, I found myself on a travelers 'comedown' by the time my bus pulled in to a grey and rainy Krabi.  I was feeling  'crabby' (yes, I went there). This is one danger for the solo traveler, the lonesome days: your usual support group are not around you and left with just your own thoughts for company, a slight echo chamber can occur. Despite the fact that you are arguably in the most freeing position of all--the world is at your feet and you are obliged to roam it without a job to tie you down, it can be daunting and sometimes designless. Krabi, however, cannot be blamed for my dark mood. It is a haven for any lover of the great outdoors with mountains to be climbed and beaches waiting to be ogled over. Railay peninsular was one such beach. Three men in a boat (technically two women and one man) were whisked away beyond the murky, marshy surrounding waters of Krabi town into the expanse of ocean, jagged limes...

Rain and a distracted brain finally provides the perfect opportunity to write my long overdue blog. I sit in the Pak Up hostel of Thailand's Krabi, once again on mainland after three island paradises: Penang, Langkawi (both part of Malaysia) and last but not least, Kohlipe - - my gateway drug to Thailand. I shall talk about Penang first, primarily because this was the destination I escaped to after Singapore had burnt significant holes in my pockets, but also for the sake of familial values. Georgetown in Penang was the former home of my great great grandmother Lavinia Brereton Martin and her husband Stephen the solicitor. I was feeling ambitious and energetic the evening I arrived into Georgetown and so decided to brave the one hour fifteen minute walk to Western Road cemetery in the heat without the aid of a taxi. After getting lost several times I arrived to a locked graveyard and the prospect of a long walk home, interspersed of course with some chicken satay. The following day...