All in all, the trip was good. There were some great people on board, and the diving was spectacular - we saw sharks, manta rays, cuttlefish, seahorses, unicornfish and all sorts of other wondrous things. But I felt for the staff: fourteen dives in four days, and then the possibility of having to do it all over again with only two hours' shore leave (in fact the leader of my dive group ended up going out on her third consecutive tour after we got back) is just too much.

Some of the best wildlife encounters happened, ironically enough, when we weren't diving. At one point, a group of dolphins started swimming ahead of the boat (sadly they were 'too lazy' that day to actually jump out of the water). But the most magical moment came when a sea turtle decided to come begging for scraps when we were moored up for lunch one day. Thinking it would be gone in a flash, most people just rushed for their cameras. But one or two grabbed their snorkels and masks - myself included. There followed a good half hour of incredible close-up interaction: the turtle was literally eating out of our hands (it had a taste for bananas and watermelon but not pineapple); swimming around, under and between us; and looking us right in the eyes. It was a bit cosmic actually. I kept thinking of the turtles in Finding Nemo!

I was knackered when we got back to the shore after four days at sea. But it was worth it: I've now done a grand total of forty dives! I checked into the same bungalow complex as Christian & Kate, an English couple who had been on the boat as well. And it would have been rude not to meet up with the others for a meal and a drink (in my case, obviously that drink was water).

We went to an Italian restaurant which was excellent. Whilst we were sat outside there, a huge beetle decided to land on a spare slice of pizza. I felt sorry for it, and helped it to free its feet from the cheesy goo. Then it upped and flew straight into a ventilator fan! You could hear the resounding clang of the blade as it met the carapace, and then the beetle smacked into the ground. I felt so bad! Like somehow I had put it on the road to suffering. Everyone else just laughed at my horrified face - callous bastards. Thankfully, the beetle was made of stern stuff, and after a bit it just carried on flying about. I chose not to follow its progress, lest I watch it hit another overhead fan.

After dinner, we all retired to a Thai bar which had a lot of atmosphere and great interior design. Then a little while later Rainnie, the Australian girl from the boat who had narrowly missed her onward bus to Surat Thani that afternoon and so was lucky enough (!) to share my accommodation, and I headed back to our bungalow, stopping only to pick up some choccy in a late-night supermarket. There we ran into Angie & Adam, another couple from the boat. Adam was looking the worse for wear; but then, they are staying in the bungalow of one of the crew who got shore leave, so I think there was some serious partying going on.

It was cool that Rainnie had the spare bed in my bungalow because that evening and the next day we got to get to know each other and had lots of good chats. I look forward to catching up with her in Oz. After spending the day pottering about with her (sorting out emails and whatnot) I saw her off onto her bus and ran into Vincent, the French guy from the boat. He was making his way to Bangkok that night by bus too.

I ended up going for a drink or six (again, water: aren't I a good boy?) with Neil, the English guy I had been sharing a cabin with on the boat but who for some reason I hadn't really spoken to all four days. It turns out he is Mister Australia Knowledge, having spent a year travelling right round that country. So I will definitely be tapping him for advice when I get out there!

The next morning, I took a minivan to Penang in Malaysia. Well, actually it was three minivans: one to Krabi, one to Hat Yai and one to Penang. I was still really tired but between naps I got to see the changing countryside of southern Thailand and northern Malaysia, including a magnificent blood-red sunset. And now I am in Georgetown, the main city on Penang island, and I am due to meet up with Jo & Nathan yet again here!