So I've finally arrived at the home of the "Full Moon Party", a renowned beach party that I have heard many travellers talk about over the years. I'm here to celebrate my good friend Keira's 21st birthday, and this place is definitely designed for celebrating.
Our journey began in Bangkok where we paid a tuk tuk driver to take us to the train station. I'd never been in a tuk tuk before (even though it's my third time in Thailand), so I thought I'd take a chance and just do it! It was fun, fuelled by carbon monoxide and headiness from the high speeds and fast braking. Purely exhilarating. And to top it off we arrived at our destination unharmed and only $3 poorer. Definitely worth it.
Once we boarded our train, we sat on the sticky vinyl seats and looked out the open windows. It was at about this time that we also noticed that we were a minority on the train....not a nice feeling, but our smiles were always met by other smiles, so my uneaisness soon settled. Keira and I had weren't sitting together but a kind man offered to swap with Keira so that we could be sitting with each other (I also thought it might have also been to stop Keira and I talking so loudly at each other over the eisle, but oh well).
It was a sleeper train, so after a bit of patience our beds were made and we tuckered down. Our alarms were set for 3am, due to the expectation that our stop would be at 3:45am. At 2am, I woke up alert and kept an ear out for our station, "Surat Thani". Once 3:45am had come and gone I started to become anxious. Thankfully Keira's uncle had given her a map of Thailand, so we were able to locate a rough region of where we may be. Then a kind Thai woman asked me where we were going (well I think that's what she was asking), and she smiled and pointed to herself when I said Surat Thani, which meant I didn't let her leave my sight until we were off the train.
The trip from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan felt nearly as long as the 14 hour train ride. First we had to wait 3 hours for the bus that would take us to the ferry. The bus took an hour or so to get us to the ferry. Then the ferry took almost 4 hours to get to Koh Phangan! Poor Keira's body couldn't handle the journey and her temper increased as her energy fell.
After an interesting song tao trip to our hostel, interesting meaning we were surrounded by drunken Westerners, we arrived at Jaya Guesthouse. The pillows are cushy and the showers are cold, but free wifi is terrific!
As Keira rested up, I took in the area as well as a jacket potato and sour cream (yum!), and don't forget a side of singhas.
I'm looking forward to enjoying what the island has to offer, but not so much the drunken squalor of people that will be inhabiting it.
I promise to stay safe, and those of you who know me well know that I will do that in the funnest way possible :)
Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year to all! xoxox