The deluge hits just as I start running on the beach, but I reach the visitor's center before I get too soaked. These storms are as easy to predict as they are inevitable. Most do not last long and I can see this one won't. So far, the rain hasn't hampered me a bit.

I spend the next two days proving this last point, heading out on planned outings. First, I join a group of six people to visit a thermal area east of Krabi. We soak in fantastic hot springs and colorful mineral pools in lush forest settings, and are fortunate in having these pleasant pools to ourselves.

On the way back, we stop off at Wat Tham Seua, or Tiger Cave Temple, which is one of the most interesting temples I've seen in Thailand. Many of the monks meditate in jungle caves and have setup strange little altars and other meditation devices, including skeletons and pictures of cadavers. Near the caves are enormous sacred bodhi trees, tremendously impressive. I also saw tortoises in the forest here but couldn't tell if they were indigenous or brought in by the monks. Of course plenty of monkeys lurk nearby, ready to snatch food from unwary tourists.

A temple sits at the very top of the mountain, reached only by a climb of over 1200 extremely steep steps. The extraordinary view at the top is well worth the effort, looking out over the plains to the east and the karst mountains to the west.

I've made plans to go sea kayaking the next day and Coen, a fun-loving Dutchman I met at the springs, decides to go as well. At Krabi, we meet two nice Swiss girls, Petra and Nicole, who also decide to join us. OK, so after some drinks we know everyone for the kayak outing save one. We meet Simon, an Englishman on a long term trip, and are off to Hong Island by longboat in a drizzling rain.

Once there we get into our sea kayaks and look to our Thai guide for advice. I'm doubled up with Coen and he's never kayaked before. I've only done single-man kayaking. Nope, the guide is off and paddling with Simon, without a glance back at our other two boats. We're still figuring things out when we round a corner of the island and wham! We're hit with extremely choppy water, crashing us up and down with the waves.

Just like learning how to swim by getting thrown into deep water, we learn how to paddle to save our lives. We know there's an entrance to a lagoon somewhere, and that gives us hope to keep moving.

The lagoon is fascinating, with peaceful shallow water surrounded by steep cliffs. They used to hunt for swallow's nests here (and may still). We swim a bit but there are lots of those tiny stinging things (jellyfish?) in the water. It's fun just poking about the mangroves and basking atop the calm, quiet water.

We're not looking forward to the return paddle, but it turns out the waters on the other side of the island are not rough. We scoot through several small sea tunnels and have a great time with the return kayaking. After a bit of lunch, I snorkel around the bays where we landed, nothing like Ran Tee, but quite good and the stingy guys aren't too bad here. One of the Thai guys holds the end of a pineapple in the water and fish rush in for a feeding frenzy.

We jump in the longtail boat to head for another island, but stop along the way to view some brightly colored coral. The guide invites us to snorkel here and I jump in. The coral is amazingly colored, mostly in pink and red, but also some yellow and green. Tons of fish swim near here as well, coming up from the deep waters.

However, the current is extremely strong here. I have to swim very hard just to stay in place. I'm just thinking of drifting back with the current towards the boat when I hear a motor start up. I pop my head up and watch the bastards move the boat about 25 meters up current! They were probably getting pushed back, but hey, what about me? I'm already tired and have no flippers. My snorkel pipe leaks badly and I've managed to cut my wrist on a rock.

Not sure if I can fight my way through the current, I yell to the boat that I'm tired. This falls on deaf ears though. The Thai boatmen are so laid-back that I'm sure they would watch me drown with sleepy eyes. OK, well it's up to me then, tired or not. First I fight down the rising panic and try to stay calm. I concentrate on just making forward progress against the current. I get past those initial nasty moments and make it back to the ship. My thanks to the Princess of the cave for helping me out of that one.

Next stop is the peculiarly shaped "Paradise Island." From the sea it looks like a solid cliff wall with two narrow openings. At one time, the water probably met in the middle of the island, forming a semi-circular lagoon. Now the middle is filled in, so it has two small bays at the end of a strip of land with caves inside high cliffs at the sides. A few people actually live in these caves, playing cards, watching television and leaving tons of garbage to spoil the paradise. The views from the top of this island are amazing, as are the sights of the many islands here as seen from the return boat ride.

We're such a happy group that we all decide to meet at the town night market for dinner. We find a particularly good seafood stall and have an amazing meal, all for a bit more than $8 for the five of us. Simon is keen to try something from every stall. I buy some weird Thai wine, made from some local fruit. We have delicious crepe-like pancakes for dessert -- banana or pineapple, drizzled with chocolate or condensed milk. A great night market feast that perfectly matched our celebratory mood!

I move to the now-less-smoky Chan-Cha-Lay guesthouse and its exceptional 150b rooms. I book a ride at May and Mark's, which is the place in Krabi for good yogurt and bread. I find there is nothing in town I want to spend my extra baht on.

So, I spend a relaxing afternoon at the "Shell Cemetery." A sign here says that this is one of only three places on earth where this particular type of shell fossils can be found. Since one of these three places is listed as "the state of Chicago, USA" and I've never heard of such a thing there, and also since it seems to me like I've seen fossil beaches like this at other places, I don't believe any of the signs I see here. It does make for an odd landscape. I could see Bergman using it for a film shot..