Back in Paradise!

After many hours on the road, I made the trek from the northeast corner of Malaysia to the west coast of Thailand. I am now in Krabi. I was here back in 2001. It's good to be back.
From the Cameron Highlands, I took an overnight bus to Kota Bharu. A taxi ride and fast boat later, I arrived at Pulau Perhentian Kecil, or small Perhentian Island. There was not much at that place. It was covered with a jungle, a couple steep mountains, and some beautiful beaches. The sky was partly overcast for the three days I was there, and the surf was pretty big, so I didn't do any dives. I did watch the "lifeguards" rescue two girls (separate incidences) from the strong rip currents during my time there. It was fun bodysurfing in the waves, fighting the rips. It was definitely a pretty place to be.
It took me about 12 hours to get to Krabi from the Perhentians. Travelling is definitely easier now that I am out of Indonesia. I just tune out with my headphones and earplugs (earplugs to shut out the high pitched drone of the motor and the Thai/Malay music). Thailand is a lot more developed than I remembered four years ago. The roads and cars are new. In fact, I would guess that Toyota has built a new plant here recently as most of the cars are one or two year old Toyota pickup trucks and SUVs. In the south, where the Thai army continues its battle with Muslim rebels, we had to cross several checkpoints. An army dude just wanted to checkout the male occupants of the vehicle. That included me, but they quickly lost interest when I could speak English.
I think the second largest minority group in Thailand are the Swedish tourists. Holy cow, there are loads of young Swedes here. I think the most casualties of tourists in the tsunami were Swedes. It's baffling how the Swedes more than any other nationality come to Thailand.
Anyways, I am beat, so it's time for bed now.