abode acrobat . net

In Krabi, the main town serving as a transport hub to nearby west coast islands, a guest house was advertised as providing free wireless internet access. On arrival, before asking for details about the room, I checked that they did indeed provide this service. “Yes, but you’ll need the password. It’s ten digits long.” The American owner waited for me to grab a pen to write it down. “The password is 1234567890,” he grinned knowing that I could probably have remembered it. And then helpfully: “I just go like this,” running his hand across the top row of his keyboard - although of course not actually touching the keys for fear of upsetting the booking system.

So, I spent the morning on the internet - long enough, anyway, for the American to compliment me on my battery life. I believe the word “phenomenal” was used. (Apologies to those I failed to email - it was an unfortunate oversight.) Anyway, the Israeli girls had emailed to say they were on another nearby island (actually, peninsular, but which can only really be reached by boat), called Railay.I was warned that the journey was perilous in the small ‘longtail’ boats that serve the beach there, involving severe danger of wetness as you wade from the beach aiming for the boat which will be moored a little way out. Accordingly, I kept the room on the mainland so I could leave electrical items there, while heading to Railay for a couple of nights. Naturally, I wanted this decision to be vindicated, and secretly hoped to emerge in Railay with the small amount of luggage I had brought being completely sodden. The seas were rough, and the boat came crashing down over each wave, but ultimately the drenching I had been promised failed to materialise.