Thailand: Koh Phangan

Island life continued as we journeyed east to Koh Phangan. Known as the famous "party island", responsible for the monthly full moon party that hosts 20,000 party animals each month, we were unsure if we would enjoy this island. We did!

We left from Koh Samui, in sheets of rain that pelted our heads and saturated the contents of our bags. We took a songthew (a truck converted into a bus) and realized after a few minutes that we were going the wrong way. We kindly tapped on the back window and informed our driver, who promptly kicked us out in the middle of the street, with water up to our ankles. I gave him my best "drowning puppy dog eyes", but he simply hit the gas and sprayed us as he took off, adding insult to injury. You can probably imagine we were quite "angry hot" at that point.*

We arrived to Koh Pangan in the middle of the day by ferry, a hot ride in the bottom of the ship with thick, diesel air. We were both green with sea sickness and glad to leave the boat. The rain had turned into thick humidity and although it was hot, we decided to try and walk to our hotel to save money-- we weren't feeling particularly friendly toward taxi drivers at that point. Our legs were happy to be on land again and the walk started out nice, but twenty minutes soon became an hour. Our shoulders sagged with sweat and the weight of our packs by the time we found the muddy road that lead to our villa. Halfway up we met a cute little doggie, wagging his tail and sniffing around. Thinking he was harmless we continued walking. The dog turned out to be quite bi-polar. Suddenly he lunged at me, snapping his teeth at my leg. I let out a yelp and Steve rushed to my defense, wielding our traveling guitar like a club, ready to send the dog on a home run. The dog knew he was outmatched and scampered off. We were safe. Until.... It was Steve's turn to yelp. Thinking I was going to see the dog again I narrowly missed Steve as he practically leapt into my arms, shouting like Scooby Doo. The dog was no where to be seen. I was confused by his fear until I saw what he was eyeballing: a giant millepede. One of Steve's biggest fears. I'd like to say that I tried to save him as gallantly as he tried to save me, but with all my extra adrenaline I just hopped around doing the icky dance**. We both icky danced the rest of the way to the villa.

When we finally arrived to our accommodation, all of our hard work paid off. At the end of the muddy road were beautiful little bungalows, overlooking the turquoise bay and a wonderful pool. The rooms were really clean and dry- no damp covers or smelly sewer exhaust in the bathroom.

Our days in Koh Phangan were very relaxed because it rained for a few days, making it too difficult to scooter. We read books and hung out, and when the sun returned we adventured to all of the main beaches on the island. We discovered one of our favorite beaches, Haad Salad. The beach was actually a small bay on the northwest side of the island. It was like a giant bathtub-- warm and clear. The water was very calm so we rented a sea kayak. I had to chuckle at myself because the last time I attempted to sea kyak was in the Dominican with my aunt Leslie while my cousin Craig and Steve convinced us it would be fun. We didn't make it out of the rough surf before turning back, and we were not impressed with how scary it was. This time there were no waves, and we saw bright orange brain corals and a bunch of fish in the clear waters. It was so peaceful and a beautiful still way to breathe in creation and enjoy a romantic moment with my love. I think it was one of my favorite beach days so far.

At night there wasn't much going on because the full moon party wasn't happening for another few weeks. We ventured to a small family-run restaurant outfitted with plastic garden chairs and rickety old tables-- the best way to experience real Thai food. We decided to go for the buffet. The waiter motioned to the back where a large table sat, lined with food. It looked good, until we got up close and saw that everything was raw. Raw seafood, rice, noodles, and various crockpots full of sauces and mysterious looking things stared up at us as we stared down on the spread. We went back to our table and waited to see what other people were doing. A Thai family saw us wandering around and took pity on us. The matriarch took Steve under her wing and helped him load up his plate, while the waiter brought us a crazy looking pot with flames coming out of it, which turned out to be the BBQ. He filled the pan with broth and at the top of the pot there was a grill open to the coals below to BBQ on. The woman showed us how to cook the food and which sauces to use. She laughed at Steve everytime he got confused, which was often. It was an interesting adventure and Steve ate so much he could hardly sit for the scooter ride back. He says that night has been his fav food experience so far.

After we ate we decided to go for a walk so gravity could help our gluttony. Although seemly peaceful and beautiful, the island has a dark side. There is a heavy gang presence in Koh Phangan. They run "dating" bars for "farangs", which is what Thais call westerners. On our walk we saw some violence between a drunk/drugged man and another guy, and it was a scary experience. We were the only ones walking by witnessing it, and we felt helpless. We wanted to help the man being beaten, but there were warnings all over about breaking up fights between Thais, especially gang-related activity. In those situations we realized how much we take our justice system for granted; there were no police to phone for help.

Aside from the gloomy feeling we had after witnessing the fight, we really enjoyed Koh Phangan. Along with the beautiful beaches we saw a mainland Chinese Buddhist temple, a double headed coconut tree, a Buddhist monastery, and some beautiful waterfalls. We enjoyed the end of a long day eating homemade icecream and drinking cold Changs.


Next stop: Koh Tao!


Please note, Steve's iPhone broke so we are a little short on pics. We will add them once it's fixed.



* Angry-hot. Adv. - to be in a state of annoyed uncomfortableness, usually brought on by long travels in hot, confined spaces. Can also be used to describe ones mental state or mood.

" Sally was angry-hot after a man sweating profusely sat down beside her on the ferry."
" Sam asked her not to speak because he was feeling angry-hot."


** icky-dance. N. - a sporadic, uncoordinated dance-like movement brought on by things that are unpleasant.

" After tasting the tequila, Sally did the icky-dance."
" Sam likes to icky dance after feeling crushed velvet."


Captions:
1-4- waterfall
5. Buddhist monastery
6. Random elephant
7. Beach comber
8. Mushroom tree
9. Lobster cages
10. View beside Haad Salad