AFTER travelling the Gulf of Thailand and island hopping for two weeks, the beautiful Nang Yuan Island stands out as an eye-catching destination.
We flew to the island of Koh Samui in Thailand for days filled with swimming in the pristine blue waters and trekking through jungles on the back of an elephant.
Even though thousands of tourists visit the island each year, the local culture is still prevalent, with street markets offering edible grasshoppers, bartering, men with monkeys on their shoulders, beggars and the delicious traditional Thai food.
After seeing the sights and experiencing beach parties on Koh Samui, it was time to take the boat ride to Koh Phangan, an island famous for its full-moon parties.
The island is specifically set up for tourists and didn't come alive until about 11pm, when buckets of alcohol can be ordered with about 11 shots of liquor inside.
While we didn't have the best time on Koh Phangan, due to a crappy room, the only one left at the backpackers we stayed at and loud music coming from the bar downstairs. We ended up getting up at the crack of dawn to take a very rocky two hour boat ride to Nang Yuan Island.
The snorkeling was unbelievable. It was the bluest water I had ever seen and the fish and coral were breathtaking.
There were so many fish in such shallow warm water and the coral was so colourful and untouched.
It was then that I realised this island was my favourite place on earth and amazingly it was only a few hours boat ride from the mainland.