Koh Phagnan Island - Thailand
Or it would be if I had a spiritual bone in my body. I did have a spiritual bone once, but it was removed along with my tonsils for research purposes.
As mentioned before we were hesitant about coming to Koh Phangan (pronounced Phantjhgkdddrhaaaan) A few days after we were due to arrive was the big summer Full Moon party and thousands of people would descend on the island with the sole intention of getting completely hammered by any means available. Being the mild-mannered, middle aged couple that we are we decided to give that a miss and head to the opposite end of the island. So after catching the morning ferry and landing at Thonsala jetty, Cara negotiated us a ride in the back of a pick-up truck and off we headed to Haad Mai Haad in the north western corner. Apart from it's distance from the party town of Haad Rin, we chose this place after discovering the beach was connected to a small island by a sandbar, and the waters around the island had been designated a marine reserve, beacause of it's abundant coral and marine life. Sold, to the man with the copper coloured face whiskers!
Our taxi stopped among some tall palm trees and the driver told us it was the end ofthe road, literally. We could see a few small huts in front of us and beyond them a sandy beach. We wandered through the trees and into a bounty advert. Long, golden sandy beach with clear water blah,blah, blah. Along the length of the beach were 4 sets of small bungalows set back amongst the trees. We made our way, rucksacks on backs, to each one in turn, checking availability and prices. I knew this was going to be a good place to stay. My ambient sweating levels were back to Vietnam standards, although this may have had something to do with the pack on my back. When we set off fromEngland it weighed 17 kgs and by now was up to 22.5kgs at last airport check-in. Between you and me, I think Cara hides her shopping in there while I sleep to punish me for snoring.
At the far end of the beach we found a bungalow that can best be compared to a stone age hotel, but we had a good feeling about it. Jolly glad we did too, because the week we spent there was one of the best experiences of our travels. Okay, so we had to flush the toilet with a bucket, but that's a hell of a lot better than having a bucket for a toilet. The room itself contained a bed and, well actually it just contained a bed. And when I say bed, what I really mean is it had a 2 inch thick mattress on a slab of timber, but it was comfy enough. The main selling point though was the decking in front of the cabin on which we had our very own hammock. Oh, luxury of luxuries. Many an hour was spent swinging in that hammock, watching the sun go down and sipping cold beers. In fact, I think the only time I was cranky all week was when Cara beat me to the hammock.
We spent a perfect week there. The people who ran the bungalows of Mai Haad View Resort were so friendly and laid back and they made us feel completely welcome. The food they served in their restaurant may have looked and tasted like something a cat might vomit up after a long night's arse-licking, but we could forgive them this one sin. Cara had almost a quarter of a mile of golden beach to herself for most of the time and I had some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. I would spend 2 or 3 hours in the water at a time, duck-diving and exploring under huge coral pinnacles and vast fields of brightly coloured sea anemones. I swam with stingrays, saw a couple of octopus mating and watched some octopus fighting (I can't verify it was the same couple) and many other amazing sights.
As I have the capacity to spend about 2 hours on the beach before becoming bored rigid, I appreciated the fact that I could just hop on our little hired moped and explore the island while Cara put in some serious tanning time. I would ride up many of the little dirt tracks that trace their way all over the island, and I only got lost about 37 times. One time I was chased through the underbrush by a large monitor lizard, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity and he apologised and we shared a joke about it afterward.
One of the family who ran the bungalows had a little beach bar at night, and to my eternal joy and Cara's utter disgust, we spent Saturday night drinking beer, watching the opening days action from the Premier League, and listening to the waves crashing on the sand a few yards away. Smashing! We even managed to save a few pounds. Our room cost 200 baht a night (less than 3 quid) even the moped was only 2 quid a day. We did however splash out one evening and headed to an unexpected find in the middle of a tiny fishing village - the trendy Shisha restaurant and bar. It was a stunning place, all white cushions and fresh seafood. We both got poshed up (well, I put on my cleanest shirt and turned my underpants inside out AND back to font, a special honour) and had an amazing dinner, and Cara even managed to have a glass of decent red wine that didn't contain a dead cobra. I was taxi for the night so had to wait until we returned to our little beach bar before I
could have a few beers.
We came for 3 days and stayed 8, and even then we didn't want to leave. A truly superb experience.
Or it would be if I had a spiritual bone in my body. I did have a spiritual bone once, but it was removed along with my tonsils for research purposes.
As mentioned before we were hesitant about coming to Koh Phangan (pronounced Phantjhgkdddrhaaaan) A few days after we were due to arrive was the big summer Full Moon party and thousands of people would descend on the island with the sole intention of getting completely hammered by any means available. Being the mild-mannered, middle aged couple that we are we decided to give that a miss and head to the opposite end of the island. So after catching the morning ferry and landing at Thonsala jetty, Cara negotiated us a ride in the back of a pick-up truck and off we headed to Haad Mai Haad in the north western corner. Apart from it's distance from the party town of Haad Rin, we chose this place after discovering the beach was connected to a small island by a sandbar, and the waters around the island had been designated a marine reserve, beacause of it's abundant coral and marine life. Sold, to the man with the copper coloured face whiskers!
Our taxi stopped among some tall palm trees and the driver told us it was the end ofthe road, literally. We could see a few small huts in front of us and beyond them a sandy beach. We wandered through the trees and into a bounty advert. Long, golden sandy beach with clear water blah,blah, blah. Along the length of the beach were 4 sets of small bungalows set back amongst the trees. We made our way, rucksacks on backs, to each one in turn, checking availability and prices. I knew this was going to be a good place to stay. My ambient sweating levels were back to Vietnam standards, although this may have had something to do with the pack on my back. When we set off fromEngland it weighed 17 kgs and by now was up to 22.5kgs at last airport check-in. Between you and me, I think Cara hides her shopping in there while I sleep to punish me for snoring.
At the far end of the beach we found a bungalow that can best be compared to a stone age hotel, but we had a good feeling about it. Jolly glad we did too, because the week we spent there was one of the best experiences of our travels. Okay, so we had to flush the toilet with a bucket, but that's a hell of a lot better than having a bucket for a toilet. The room itself contained a bed and, well actually it just contained a bed. And when I say bed, what I really mean is it had a 2 inch thick mattress on a slab of timber, but it was comfy enough. The main selling point though was the decking in front of the cabin on which we had our very own hammock. Oh, luxury of luxuries. Many an hour was spent swinging in that hammock, watching the sun go down and sipping cold beers. In fact, I think the only time I was cranky all week was when Cara beat me to the hammock.
We spent a perfect week there. The people who ran the bungalows of Mai Haad View Resort were so friendly and laid back and they made us feel completely welcome. The food they served in their restaurant may have looked and tasted like something a cat might vomit up after a long night's arse-licking, but we could forgive them this one sin. Cara had almost a quarter of a mile of golden beach to herself for most of the time and I had some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. I would spend 2 or 3 hours in the water at a time, duck-diving and exploring under huge coral pinnacles and vast fields of brightly coloured sea anemones. I swam with stingrays, saw a couple of octopus mating and watched some octopus fighting (I can't verify it was the same couple) and many other amazing sights.
As I have the capacity to spend about 2 hours on the beach before becoming bored rigid, I appreciated the fact that I could just hop on our little hired moped and explore the island while Cara put in some serious tanning time. I would ride up many of the little dirt tracks that trace their way all over the island, and I only got lost about 37 times. One time I was chased through the underbrush by a large monitor lizard, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity and he apologised and we shared a joke about it afterward.
One of the family who ran the bungalows had a little beach bar at night, and to my eternal joy and Cara's utter disgust, we spent Saturday night drinking beer, watching the opening days action from the Premier League, and listening to the waves crashing on the sand a few yards away. Smashing! We even managed to save a few pounds. Our room cost 200 baht a night (less than 3 quid) even the moped was only 2 quid a day. We did however splash out one evening and headed to an unexpected find in the middle of a tiny fishing village - the trendy Shisha restaurant and bar. It was a stunning place, all white cushions and fresh seafood. We both got poshed up (well, I put on my cleanest shirt and turned my underpants inside out AND back to font, a special honour) and had an amazing dinner, and Cara even managed to have a glass of decent red wine that didn't contain a dead cobra. I was taxi for the night so had to wait until we returned to our little beach bar before I
could have a few beers.
We came for 3 days and stayed 8, and even then we didn't want to leave. A truly superb experience.
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