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By now we were getting used to long tiring journeys, but this one from Bangkok to Koh Phanganwas going to push us to our limits. It wasn't the coach or even the painfully slow ferry crossing over, it was the wait. You see we arrived early at the ferry port, just as dawn was approaching. The ferry was scheduled to leave at about 9am giving us a 3 hour wait sat outside on an uncomfy bench. However the worst part was a certain persistent cockril. Every few seconds it would roar into life singing cockadoodle do. After an hour of its repetitive calling we were ready to explode, after 3 we fel like slitting our wrists. Furtunately it didn't have to come to that as we boarded the ferry and set sail for Koh Phangan.
We stayed in a small beach bungalow resort called My Phangan on the southern side of the island. For the first few days we lounged about on the white beaches and swam in the clear sea. In the evenings we headed to a small local bar with a friendly owner with a jukebox similar to my dads that he let us control. Unfortunatey we kept bumping into a scary 40 odd year old Thai Woman that seemed to be following us everywhere and really couldn't take a hint.
After a couple of days i grew bored of being in the sun all dayso we decided to go to Haad Rin - the beach where the fool moon parties take place. IN the day it was a large and clean 1km long beach, however we heard and were soon to realise that on the night of a full moon it becomes transformed.
AS we headed back in a Songtaito our resort it became clear why there are so many motorbikes accidents on the island. The roads are steep, winding and trecherous, and with practically no road laws people can just floor it. We heard that in the few days inbetween Christmas and New Year around 240 people had been involved with motorbike accidents. We met one guy with a Koh Phangan Tatoo (scar you get from a motorbike accident) who siad how he collided with another bike and crashed into a local bar, taking out the supports that hold the roof up and hitting a guy who was sat there. It cost him 80,000 Baht in damage, around 1,200 quid.
The following day we braved the roads again heading back to Haad Rin Beach for the New Year Party. We later found out the beach had an amazing 40,000 people on it that night - one of the busiest its ever been. Alcohol was on sale by the bucket and huge speakers lined the beach, blaring out all types of music. There were plenty of fire jugglers and breathers around and also a very funny fire skipping rope. This involved soaking a huge rope in Meths and two guys lighting it then swinging it like a skipping rope for poeple to jump into it. Every few turns you get someone a bit too drubk who doesn't time it right and ends up being hit in the legs by a burnign rope. One poor guy even got caught around the neck with it as he was trying to run out.
It was also funny to see how if anyone ventured a bit too close to the sea the strong waves washed their flipflops clean off them. It happened to both me and Jack providing a difficult challenge. The whole beach was littered with sandals - probably about 4 or 5 per square metre on the sea front. If you didn't find yours quick enough they get washed outt o a certai point in the ea where 100's of guys are stood taking a leak in the sea. Many buckets later me and Jack met back at the resort in the morning and finally got to bed at around 7 to 8 am.
AS you can expect we spent the following day recovering and sleeping it off. It turns out Jack hadn't found his sandals so had walked back the 5 miles barefoot!The next day was our last in Koh Phangan as we headed off to Koh Tao - Asia's best diving islandto get our PADI's. Unfortunately to get there we had to cross one of the roughest eas ive ever seen.
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