Blogs from Ko Pha-Ngan, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia

We know we love this island for its beautiful beaches, especially the quiet sunset cove reef we are lucky enough to actually live on during our time here. And we love this island for its spiritual and laid back 60’s vibe. At least, that is the story on the west side of the island where we reside, where yoga studios and vegan restaurants are plentiful, and kirtan chanting and djembe drumming every night at sunset is the norm. By contrast, the southeast side of the island features party energy, focused around the phases of the moon: from the major event full moon parties, to all facsimiles thereof: quarter moon parties, half moon parties, waterfall parties, etc. It is estimated that twenty to thirty thousand people attend the famous full moon party each month, coming from all ... read more

This morning we woke up with a desperate need to drink fresh young coconut milk, and a new mission was born. I once watched locals in Indonesia shimmering up coconut trees, and my 16 year old monkey brain kept telling me “I can do that”. So Bev and I jump on our scooters, scrutinize the landscape, check every tree, and finally we spot the young green coconuts. There they are: all piled, one on top of the other, at a road side food stall. I could not believe our good fortune! I did not have to travel the jungle, worrying about snakes and all sorts of creepy crawlers, and climb a 40 foot tree in pursuit of young coconuts as temperatures quickly soared up to a balmy 27 degrees ? Now the next difficult task presents ... read more

We timed our visit to Koh Phangan to make the famous Haad Rin beach full moon party. We stayed at Blue Lotus bungalows along a remote beach, 10 minutes north of Haad Rin. The party was ram packed with around 20 thousand people, amongst were many sipping on their lethal buckets of mixed spirits. We were tactical and brought our own booze; it’s the best way to keep it cheap and avoid dodgy shots. I still managed to throw up in the sea though. Keeping it classy. Everyone is bound to have fun at this rave. However my advice would be to go to the half moon or jungle party instead. The full moon party is very overcrowded with speakers solely blasting out EDM, whereas the other parties have a better variety of music and much ... read more

Wednesday 21 February 2018 Our last full day in Aonang. Weather hot and sunny. An easy day today. We left the room at 10.45 am and headed up the coast. We watched the world go by at the port area for a while. We have been very patiently waiting and watching for someone to fall in the water as they get in or out of a boat, but sadly it hasn't happened. So, after being disappointed again, we walked along the beach and headed to one of the posh bars for a drink. A small Chang and a pineapple juice. Then back along the front to Anchor Blue for a drink and some lunch. Thai food today. All very nice. Then returned to the room for 2.15 pm. Pat packed and I gave moral support. After ... read more

To day we were up at 6.15 as the boys were going scuba diving. The wind had dropped and there were no white horses so that was a relief. I sat on my porch writing this blog and waiting for Mollie to wake up. It's not so easy writing a blog on an iPhone especially putting on the photos - they are so small. Mollie and I had a restfully day - she did some homework then we just messed around with makeup, doing Mollies hair and singing mainly We were sitting by the beach when dark clouds came rolling over and the thunder rumbled and I wondered where the boys were. The storm broke - wind, rain, thunder and the sea was rough again . We sat on the porch watching and it was fabulous. ... read more