Koh Phangan - Black Moon, mopeds and some much needed chill time

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We left Bangkok on our overnight bus from just off the Koh San Road (Despite reading and hearing reviews after we booked that the drivers go through you're luggage and take any valuables left in the case) and began our supposedley 12 hour journey south to the pier of Surat Thani before boarding a ferry to the island of Koh Phangan - which is known for its Famous 'moon' parties.

Now, we had only decided to go too koh phangan at the last minute as Vic's good friend Jo and her boyfriend were planning to be there for a few days and there was a black moon party being held on the Friday - plus as we had decided to take a few extra flights later on in our trip we had some spare time.

Anyway as we set off on the bus a couple of films were shown really loudly, before the bus randomly stopped twice in the space of ten minutes on the motorway - we thought this was a bit odd but were tired so ignored it. At around 1am we pulled up at a small shack and were told we had 30 minutes to eat (the last thing we wanted to do at this time in the morning) before setting off again. We were originally told the bus would go direct to the pier so were slightly suprised when we pulled over at 5.30am and were told we had to get off and wait until 7am for a different to take us the remainder of the way. True to the reports, when the bags were unloaded, it was soon discovered that everyones had been rummaged through - luckily nothing was taken from ours but still very annoying to know that someone has been through your belongings - the padlocks are useless on bags as the people somehow open them through the zips anyway? At least we didn't have anything valuable in them otherwise it definately would have been taken.

When we were picked up in our new coach, we drove for around an hour before stopping yet again to pick up other people (including Jo and Tyson who had had the same problems and been stuck at a random place for hours!) before finally arriving at the pier at 10.00 (over 3 hrs late).

The ferry ride accross was fairly smooth - and we docked at koh phangan just after 1.30pm and negotiated a price for a tuk-tuk to take us on the 35 minutes journey up the west coast of the island to our accomodation at Shirleas on Haad Yao beach. We quickly ordered a feast of food as it had been over 24 hours since we last ate and then checked into our room. It was a really cute stand alone bungalow with hammocks on the front porch and the whole island had such a nice chilled out relaxed vibe - exactly what you imagine when you think of Thailand. Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't make use of the lovely pool, but we chilled out for a few hours and caught up on some much needed sleep after our long journey.

After resting the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy so we decided to hire out a moped (£4 a day) and ride around the small island to where Jo and Tyson were staying, about 25 minutes away. Helmets donned, with Scott at the wheel (after a solo practice) and Vic hanging on the back we slowly made our way through several towns and villages along the quiet roads to Thong Salaa, the town where our friends were staying. We hadnt told them we were coming so they were surprised to see us and our bike! After a quick catch up and plans made for that evening we headed back before it got dark (Scott drove great) and started to get ready for the evening. The rain had set in again, heavier than it was earlier that day, and then there was a small storm, followed by a complete power cut, not just in our bungalow but in the whole resort and surounding areas! We thought it might only be out for 10 minutes or so but after 30 minutes we realised it may be out for a while, so with no light to get ready or see where we were going we cancelled our plans and played some darts in the bar (candle light) before the power came back on 2 hours later!

We were hungry by then and although it was still raining we decided to walk along the beach and find somewhere for dinner. Along the beach were several restaurants and bars which had a nice beach side vibe to them but were really quiet because of the weather so we walked all the way to the end before seeing a sign for a restaurant up a few stairs on the edge of a cliff by the beach so climbed up and had dinner there which was lovely. Afterwards we walked back along the beach to our bungalow and got drenched in the rain but had a nice evening and settled down for an early night in preparation of the black moon party the next night.

The next morning it was raining again! So we chilled out in hammocks and watched a film before going to the shops and finding some neon body paint for that evening. We were debating between getting a taxi to the party or riding the bike and picking it up again in the morning after much deliberation we decided to ride to our friends hotel and get ready there with them as it was a lot closer to where the party was that night. We got there around 5ish and had a few drinks at the pool bar (some lethal cocktails) before making a start on the body paint. We had met a couple of other girls from Newcastle who joined us and spent about 90 minutes perfecting the paint work (you know how precise Scott has to be) before Vic's took it to the extreme and painted herself virtually head to toe with a little help from Jay-Jay the bar tender - part lady boy, part camp entertainer - really funny guy who came dressed in a short sarong and blue wig.
We then had a few drinks in the bar meetin various other party goers before our taxi was ordered. Now the transport method is basically an open sided van which fits 8 people in the back so we were really suprised when we managed to fit in over 25 people, fun nevertheless.

We arrived at Ban Taai beach where the black moon parties are held and first decided to have a wonder around the beach bar/club before grabbing a drink and heading to the neon lit dance floor. Unfortunately we decided against taking our camera, but the paint glowwed so bright under the ultra violet it looked like thousands of lights moving to the music. At just after 2am we decided to chill on the beach for a while, where we found Jo and Tyson and both the girls suddenly decided they were hungry. After a while we left the beach in the hunt for a tuk tuk and some food.

After finding a tuk tuk and trying to explain we wanted food and then to be dropped off, we thought he had got the message when we were dropped at a 24 hour thai restaurant with the promise that he would come back to pick us up after he had dropped off all the other passengers. Jo and Tyson had decided to go straight back, so us two ended up sitting with a thai couple and had the most amazing food whilst talking with the family who owned the place, By this time it was clear our tuk tuk was not coming back and although the thai guy had offered to take us plus his girlfriend back to the hotel, there was no way Vic's was getting on a moped with 4 people especially with a driver who was clearly still drunk, so we decided to walk the 15 minutes back to our friends place. Once there it was starting to get light and we wanted to get back to our bungalow to sleep, so we hopped on the bike and carefully drove home in semi darkness, with Vic singing on the back when we drove through parts that were not lit, but also to drown out the noise of all the frogs. We made it home and went to bed for a good few hours after washing off the paint, which we had forgotten we had on - no wonder we got funny looks when we stopped at the 7-11 shop for water!

When we woke up the next day it was raining again but this suited us as we were so tired we just slept lots, ate lots and relaxed on the hammocks at the hotel all day, before riding to our friends so Scott could pick up the clothes he left there the night before, and also to say bye to them, as we were going our seperate ways the next day. We then went back to our place and had some dinner before going to bed before 10pm! The next morning it was sunny, typical on the day we were leaving the island. We sunbathed by the pool for a while in the morning before it started to rain again and we went to the bungalow to pack up and check out. After some lunch and a while chilling we took the bike back and then got a lift from the manager to the bus station. For this journey we had booked onto the government bus (after the horrendous journey down here) back to Bangkok, which included a ferry accross to the mainland (which the bus went on with our luggage on it) and then we got on the bus all the way to Bangkok, which was a million times better than the bus down here and included a proper meal, water, coffee in the morning and seats that fully reclined - much better!

Despite the weather on the island we had a great few days - it was good to spend time with our friends, the black moon party was brilliant and the bike was a great way to get around - we can't wait to go back for New Year, where we will be staying on the other side of the island so will get to see another part of it - just a few weeks to go!

x

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Comments

[charlie]

Love the look!
Ah guys - so jealous again. You look so happy and relaxed!! CXX

[Amanda Moore]

Hair
Love Scott´s hair bands, suit him!! Much love, have fun xxxxxxxxxxxxxx