May 4 - May 13

Ko Samui --> Ko Pha Ngan

Although Ko Pha Ngan is situated only an hour long trip away from Ko Samui, the island doesn't get as much attention from the tourists. The horrible road system proved to be successful in stopping the developers, and the island remained what it is today - jungle covered interior with modest settlements, mainly along the shores.

With lack of typical tourist-oriented infrastructure, the island is useless for package tourists. The low-key, simple atmosphere attracted another sort of clientele - those who wanted a piece of Thailand but wanted it without the crowds. There was a wild vibe to Ko Pha Ngan, a haven for those with hippie hearts.

Once a month, the island gets crowded for few nights. On the southeast tip of the island, in a little village called Hat Rin, the monthly Full Moon Party takes place and the island sees thousand of party-hungry people pour in. My guidebook describes it as Apocalypse Now without the war and why not? With as much as 30,000 people occupying the beach and every Hat Rin's drinking joint, with sound systems playing music until dawn, with all the alcohol and drugs I'm sure it looks as if the apocalypse is about to happened. We came to Pha Ngan in the middle of the month - too late or too early to participate but we didn't care. It isn't exactly our idea of a good time. Besides police seemed to have lost control over the party years ago so it wasn't exactly safe place to be either.

I mentioned the bad state of the roads. The one leading to Hat Rin is the best example. Let's just say, that if tracks were laid there, it would make a great roller coaster ride, with cart going up and down all the time. The beginning of the road is so steep, we managed to go past it only once with both of us sitting on the bike. The rest of the times I had to pull over, drop Beata off, ride to the top by myself and then wait till she catches up - any other times the bike would just stop in the middle of the road. We never explored the island's west coast because there was no road at all, just a dirt track non-negotiable for our moped. With roads so bad, motorbike related injuries were common, and it wasn't too hard to find fellow travelers wearing bandages.
The second day after our arrival I had to go to the hospital to change my dressing. On our way there the bike burnt Beata's leg so now swimming was off limits for both of us. The hospital was public and clearly struggling with lack of funding. The nurses couldn't care less and after my first visit I decided I would change the dressing myself at our place. I still had to take there Beata everyday, so they would change her dressing.

At first Ko Pha Ngan seemed unpleasant. The raining didn't help. But when the sun came back, driving through the jungle was quite enjoying and the lack of crowds was refreshing. At the end of our stay a group of 20 something young Canadians checked into our hotel virtually taking over the whole establishment. Up till then we had been the only guests - now the lounge was taken over, music was playing and drunken screams were heard too often. It was time to move on.

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