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Koh Samui and Koh Phangan
The journey to Surrat Thani hasd been fairly straightforward. We were pleased to be on a decent sized coach. On our arrival into what we thought was Surrat Thani we were a little confused to see that most of the passengers were disembarking (with the exception of the 6 or so western tourists). Assuming they would of course tell us if we needed to get off...we simply sat back and waited. Andy then noticed his backpack had been unloaded! I guess that is our cue to get off. Not understanding why we hadn't moved, the luggage attendant seemed somewhat miffed why we hadn't got off sooner, and then began to shout "off! Off now!" Tsk! If they had told us sooner....
Anyways, after retrieving our luggage that has been tossed onto the pavement, we are herded along to another coach. Now we are really confused! We reluctantly hand our luggage to the guy packing the undercarriage (we say "hand" it over...rather he grabs it from us) and hastily jump on board. It would seem from the hushed chatter on board, every single passenger is as confused as us! We set off on our way...to the ferry terminal we presume?
After another 40 minute journey we arrive at the ferry terminal. Again, with the same degree of instructions...we soon establish that we should be getting off and heading to the boat. It is a wonder any of us actually made it on board given the lack of directions! Once on board we are pleased to see it is a pretty huge catamaran, with a comfy lounge area. This should be a pleasant journey after all! Andy sets off in search of food - returning with 2 very welcome pot noodles. (I never thought I would be pleased to see such grub....but it has been a long journey already!) After polishing these off and a packet of peanuts, we're satisfied and ready to take on our new Island!
The ferry pier at Koh Samui is relatively calm, in fact, we begin to wonder if we will be able to find a taxi! Our worries were short lived. Having walked the length of the pier we are immediately accosted by a throng of taxi drivers, quoting 400 or so baht for the journey to our hotel. We think not! We move onto the tuk tuks, 60 baht per person - Much more reasonable! Once our backpacks have been chucked onto the roof, we hop on board and the game of "how many people can we fit inside" begins again. This must be a Thai national sport. So we're absolutely at capacity, when we hear our driver shouting out "2 more 2 more!" Silly us, we hadn't counted on 2 people standing on the ledge at the back and hanging on! Struggling to pull away, at the clearly over-weight load we head off towards Mae Nam - our location for the next5 nights.
Having booked our accommodation online the previous night, we weren't really sure what to expect. By not staying in the popular area of Chaweng Beach we had got a great deal more for our money...but at the expense of what? Needless to say, we were a little dubious.
Well, the hotel was quite simply fantastic! The staff at the reception were unbelievably friendly, the "welcome drink" we were presented with was very welcome indeed! Very modern in decor, we were just surprised by how quiet it seemed...perhaps the room wouldn't be up to much...
We couldn't have been more wrong! Granted we are comparing this to relatively basic guesthouses and bungalows (albeit paradise like, but still quite basic) but it is just pure luxury, right down to the slippers and robes and fresh flowers strewn across the room. Okay, so there must be something really wrong with the location.
On venturing out the hotel, we are surprised to find it is only a 10 min walk to the beach.Along the way are numerous small cafes and restaurants...what's the catch? Who cares, this is just right for us!
Making the most of our inclusive buffet breakfasts and the beach on our doorstep, we get straight to doing what we do best. Eat...beach...read...eat....beach.... One afternoon, after a particularly hot morning and a lovely, basic lunch, we retreat back to the hotel to check out the pool that had been mentioned on check in. Again we are not disappointed! The rooftop pool is the perfect size and it's empty! Great for a sand-free afternoon.
A couple of days into our stay, it is both Valentines Day and Chinese New Year! Feeling it necessary to mark the occasion, we arrange to have...a Sunday Roast Dinner at a nearby restaurant. Yes, a somewhat bizarre meal to have in Thailand, but such a novelty! It really is a delicious dinner, the Yorkshire puds are just perfect. Yum! As we go for a post-dinner walk, we stumble across a large Chinese temple, surrounded by hordes of people! It is all lit up and surrounded by Chinese lanterns, it looks stunning. No sooner had we arrived, and squeezed ourselves to the front of all the commotion, the drums began to beat.Thrilled that we have arrived at just the right moment to see a Dragon dance, we stick around to see what Mae Nam has to offer to celebrate this year of the Tiger! As the dragon snakes into view, it really is a sight to behold. The entire body is lit up by hundreds of LED lights, one giant glow moving to the rhythm of the drums. Everyone watches in awe as 2 large poles are erected and the dancers begin to attach harnesses...Within minutes the dancers are scrambling up the pole, hooking themselves on and hanging freely from the frame!The dragon then makes its way up the pole, jumping from person to person! What a magnificent sight! (If not a little unnerving. The pole is somewhat wobbly, the young male dancers are wearing very make-shift harnesses....andit seems the box of fireworks in front of us is about to be lit???)
"Back!!! Move BACK" shout the organisers, not-so-gently pushing the crowds away from the dragon and soon-to-be-exploding fireworks....
After about 5 rounds of shouting and pushing...the match has been lit and WOOOOOSH! They're off. A little too close for comfort.Andy and I resort to ducking behind some fellow bystanders ...Healthand Safety rules clearly don't exist! It's the dancers i feel sorry for, as they are showered with the flaming ashes, they have no way of escaping.Fortunately some have taken precautions, with towels tied around their heads...Overall though, they look pretty pleased to be involved in all the merriment!We can safely say they have seen the new year in with a bang!
For one of our days on Samui, we took a trip over to the popular tourist area of Chaweng Beach.The beach here is really lovely, a wide expanse of fine, golden sand, although the water is pretty choppy, with the waves easily knocking you over! (we even saw what seemed to be someones' swimming shorts float by - beware of the naked person on the beach!) A downside of this being a really touristy beach are the numerous people who attempt to sell you nick-nacks/jewellery/sarongs etc. Even waking you from your dozy, sunbathing snooze! After some lovely, cheap cocktails we headed back to our quiet area of Mae Nam.We had expected to find KohSamui very expensive, as it is such a popular honeymoon destination (traditional, luxury honeymoons - not our style of back/flashpacking) but overall, it was comparable to the previous places we have been.Lucky for us, the boat to Phangan leaves from the pier in Mae Nam, so we don't have a long transfer. When trying to choose which boat to take the Phangan, the tour operator had recommended the one from Mae Nam, as it was cheaper. As this boat was smaller than the other option, I checked to find out how choppy the crossing would be - "not at all!" she had exclaimed, "not choppy this time of year!". Wonderful!
Liar Liar your pants are on fire, is all I can say. If this wasn't choppy - what on earth IS???A couple of times, the passengers are instructed to shift along the benches we are seated on...to re-balance the boat. The waves are coming right up over the front, soaking us all! (not to mention all our luggage which is tied to the front of the boat, under a piece of plastic that is definitely too small!) And the lovely experience lasts for one hour! Andy and I remain focused on the horizon....which proves difficult as the boat is moving so violently, the side of it obscures our view every time we are lifted up by a wave! Reaching Koh Phangan is SUCH a relief!
Our first impressions of Haad Rin, the area we arrive into, is that it is a ghost town! It is eerily quiet, with just a handful of people wandering around. Not what we had expected from the area famed for its Full Moon Parties! Initially struggling to find a taxi (who doesn't try to rip us off) we eventually arrange a reasonable fare and are on our way. Its like being on a rollercoaster! (To note - when i say taxi, I mean the local variety - a converted pickup truck.) The roads around here are so hilly, some look practically vertical - but this doesn't slow the drivers down. Not to mention the scooters that manoeuvre precariously in between the cars! It takes a good 20 mins to reach Baan Tai beach where we are staying.Rainbow Bungalows are beautiful! Traditional Thai style wooden bungalows, on stilts - each with a front terrace area (with obligatory hammock), surrounding a quiet area of beach - lovely! The bungalows are run by Noy and Martin (with the help of Noys parents and Roly and Rex - the lovely guarddogs!).
As there is no full moon party for the next week or so, the area is very quiet...which doesn't bother us at all! I think we are definitely getting old....we're really looking forward to having the time to sit and read!After a day or so, we decide that we want to steal Rex- the alsation puppy (trainee) guard dog - he is just so adorable. Occasionally wandering over to us on the beach and attempting to chew our water bottles (teething troubles) SO lovely! Although, not very good as a guard dog at the moment - he seems a little too scared, favouring running indoors when he hears noises on the beach. Roly is also lovely, he has a good 3 and a half years on Rex and is a HUUUUGE dog weighing about 80kg (not sure of the breed). Clearly he is in charge, and doesn't take too kindly to Rex's attempts to start some play fighting. Again...not the best guard dog, he seems to prefer sleeping above all else! Nevertheless, I wouldn't mess with him and would definitely pee my pants if I saw him running towards me! So I guess he is a pretty effective deterrent.
After a few days of just staying in the local area, we get a bit cabin feverish and decide to go and explore....on a scooter. Not a decision we took lightly, I was more reluctant than Andy. Eventually deciding that it "cant be that hard!" and "EVERYONE else seems to hire them" we set about picking on eup. Well, health and safety are clearly unimportant. After filling in the remarkably short form, handing over a passport and about £3 - we are given a key, 2 helmets and pointed towards a pretty, red scooter.Now what? We just stare at it. How on earth do you start it? Where are the breaks? What are the controls?So...Andy hops on. Eventually we establish the "insert key" and "press ignition" sequence...and Andy moves forward a couple of feet. Ok - we seem to have it sorted. Aboard i hop and we jet (or rather, move at a nice, sensible, slow speed) away. So, getting the thing going is fairly straightforward but steering is a little more tricky, especially with the addition of all the big bumps/crevices/ in the roads. So for quite a while, we do really well. Heading west along the island to Thongsala - another major ferry terminal. Unfortunately it is whilst attempting a U turn in the road, that our little red minx of a scooter has a scary power surge and thrusts forwards violently. Unsurprising we end up on the floor, with the bike squashing us. I am minus a chunk from the tip of my big toe and andy has a nice dent in his shin now! It just goes to show how dangerous these bikes can be! Despite this minor setback, and after a brief visit to the pharmacy, we continue on our tour and headnorth to Chaloklum. The scenery is so lush!! Everything is covered in a dense layer of green shrubbery! The heat continues to be stifling, even whilst on the move so we don't stop for very long - just a continuous loop around the western side of the island. A fun experience, although still a little shaken by our small mishap, we decide to hire the scooter for just 1 day, as opposed to our original plan of 2. It has been nice to see other parts of the island!
One afternoon we decide to head across to Haad Rin. Hopping into a passing tuk tuk for the journey, we grip on tightly for the roller-coaster-like ride.Again, as with our arrival onto Phangan, Haad Rin is still really quiet.As there hasn't been a full moon party recently, and the next one is a week away, the place hasn't filled up yet. We have been assured the place is an entirely different kettle of fish around party time. The beach is nice where the party takes place, with a common theme amongst the stalls lining the edge of the beach - every possible type of cocktail in a bucket!All the shops are very 'samey', selling the usual selection of beaded jewellery/printed tees and souvenirs and all the bars offer the same selection of movies being shown each night, by now we have seen our fair share of these shops so they don't hold our interest for long! After walking around for an hour or so, we feel like we have seen enough. 2 fresh fruit smoothies later, we are back on the rollercoaster ride. We miss our deserted, serene beach and bungalow! Phangan has been a very quiet, chill out experience for us, which we're sure is pretty different to what most people head to Phangan for - but it has been just perfect for us. Rainbow Bungalows has been such a brilliant place to stay- delicious home cooked food (the BEST homemade muesli!), beautiful sunset views whilst eating your dinner and great accommodation.Noy and Martin arrange our boat tickets for our onward journey to Koh Tao..we are really sad to leave! We would definitely recommend the bungalows to anyone visiting (that is, as long as they are happy smiley people - Noy's requirements!)
Time to hit Koh Tao...Land of the divers
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