Good afternoon to the uk and good late evening from Bangkok. This will be an
emotional blog for all concerned im sure as this will be my final one before our return to UK soil. As I currently write this I am in the lobby of a Bangkok hotel and every security thy guard that goes by salutes me. I feel now this is how I should be treated and at all times and will have to suggest that i am treated like a triumphant general on my return with salutes.

I will be re-capping on our highly enjoyable stay in Koh Pha Ngan and returns through Koh Samui and Bangkok. You may find that I change the spelling of This island as I have seen it spelt in some many different ways such as Ko Phangan, Ko Pha Ngan, Koh Phangan and Koh Pha Ngan. Why someone can not just decide on the correct spelling I do not know but it certainly does not deflect away from the place being highly enjoyable.

Let's go back and start with our arrival in Koh Pha Ngan. In all honesty all I really knew about it was that they had the world famous 'full moon parties' which see around 30,000 party goers descending on the tiny island so I expected a run down party town. What we in fact found was an almost tropical paradise and plenty of areas to go that can take you away from the hedonistic times if you wished to avoid them.

We stayed in an area where the full moon parties are held at the most southern end of the island called Haad Rin (again I have also seen this spelt Haat Rin depend on what you read). If you can imagine an English coastal town but hot, tropical seas to the east and west of you and no rubbish littered everywhere then you would not be wide of the mark. Our first accommodation was called delight resort we would only stay there one night and it was purely a place to lay our now travelled heads.

We moved on the following day to a place we had seen recommended called 'Saratkantang' and we were not to be disappointed. The resort was located just a short walk from the Haad Rin's centre and I can not say a bad word against it. We had decided to spend a little more given that we were in our last few weeks but given that it was between £20-£30, we had an ocean view, tree house bungalow with a hammock on the balcony, tv, hot shower (doesn't sound much but I have had so many cold showers which I am sick of), 2 swimming pools and a buffet breakfast. Roll on the good times this most certainly would be.

One of the first few nights we decided to go to the Thai boxing located near the pier in Thongsala. On the flyer it states 'Thongsala stadium' so you instantly picture a stadium setting with bustling crowds and high tempo Thai boxing. The reality was our tuk tuk driver dropping us off outside a wall of rusty fencing a little lady selling tickets outside. On the other side was a boxing ring and about 30 plastic chairs in literally an overgrown garden. To late to turn back now was our immediate thoughts so we grabbed the closest mouldy chair and sat about tucking into the cheap alcoholic buckets. I literally felt like I was in someones garden and the evening got stranger when the fighters made their way to the ring. I say fighters but what I actually mean is two 10 year old boys in the red and blue corner. For the first few rounds you just feel wrong for watching it bit then you find yourself shouting "get into him blue".

For reference sake I believe the kid in the blue won on points or however they decide it. Thankfully the rest of the bouts were older lads, some could box and others were pretty handy with the whole using the feet to kick someone. The only real gaps in the 8 fight proceedings were for drinks and the break for the national anthem were everyone has to stand up. Unfortunately i stupidly tried to spice things up by getting Tina to pick a fighter and I would pick the other. As more drink was consumed the stakes became higher and she had bet that I would have to get a Tattoo of cayman Brac if her boy won. Although I had been thinking about it for sometime, the fact that we now had something riding on the fight made it more interesting. Unfortunately my lad looked like he had eaten to much green curry and had to many cheap beers as he had a little belly and he was found wanting in the 10th round. We will come back to the bet in a short while for which I held up my end of the bargain.

The following days were spent soaking up the sun and just basically enjoying our surroundings. We enjoyed a meal on the beach and when I say beach I actually mean the water was literally lapping at our feet as I shovelled down more shrimps in my pacman style way. Our resort was stationed on the side of the island for the sunset which was always an amazing sight but you could literally walk 200 metres to the eastside for the sunrise. The sunset is of course my place of choice due to the early morning awakening that comes with the sunrise. We soaked up the ever soaring heat and Tina's skin was beginning again to reject this and started going all sorts of colours. Food was great and sometimes if you just wanted to chill out with a beer you could go to a bar and watch a film or an episode of family guy which makes for a relaxed stay. I can certainly understand why so many people stay on the island longer than their initial plan.

This juncture of the blog takes me to the Thai boxing bet and having to deliver upon my promise. Thailand is also known for its style of tattoo called 'bamboo tattoos'. As it sounds they are literally poking you with a fine bamboo stick and as Tina has reminded me on numerous occasions it is something like 90% less painful than a normal tattoo but that sounds rubbish to me. We designed the logo to put on 'cayman brac' with the islands. To be honest with you it came out well and I was pleased the lad doing it barely spoke any English so he could just get on with his work. They even put on a DVD (bridesmaids) to help with the boredom. To be honest a comedy film when you are trying your best to stay still is not the best idea but he seemed to keep within the lines.

Our plan before leaving for our travels was to go to Koh Phangan for the renowned full moon party but time constraints and visiting so many other places meant this would not be possible as the full Moon was on the 8th February. That said there seems to be a party going on in every crack of the island and there was to be a half moon party in the jungle. Basically these parties involve amazing djs and parties that go on until the early mornings with revellers painted in bright body paint colours. We started the evening of the half of the moon party at a place called 'same same' where they supply body paint and you can just graffiti each other to your hearts content. This obviously meant I was covered 'ITFC' logos although I'm sure others were tempted to do the same.

On our arrival after tucking into a few alcoholic buckets we found ourselves standing outside a large pathway leading to the jungle. As you journey further you hear the beats of the music and then just tons of people dressed up and lit up with bright bodypaint. Tina and I sampled the laughing gas and dusted of our dancing feet and moved around to a few tunes. I have to say it was well worth going to and we are glad we got to at least attend the half
Moon party.

I am now writing this blog having done our first leg from Bangkok to Dubai and it is 7am Thursday morning Dubai time without me having any sleep so I am just going to round this off quickly. Koh Phangan was great we went diving a further 2 times one of which was a wall dive at a site called sail rock. We enjoyed our resort but eventually left ad stopped at Koh Samui and Bangkok again.

I am now boarding my flight back to the uk so can not go into anymore detail, instead I will bore the hell out of people in person.

All in all a fantastic trip and experience and I look forward to seeing friends and family alike although I look forward to having marmite on toast more.

Robbie C out one final time.