Island hopping

After 30 hours of traveling we arrived to Ko Phangnan along with thousands of others, in search of accommodation, for the full moon party. We headed straight to the most popular beach, Hat Rin, where there are rows of basic bungalows and colourfully painted beach bars. We soon found a room right in the middle of town. The night life is huge here, and for the two nights preceding the biggest beach party in the world 'warm-up' parties are held! During the day however we headed away from the packed beaches to explore the more remote, isolated parts of the island. Ko Phangnan has some fantastic scenery with beautiful beaches in a very laid back atmosphere.

Along with the full moon, came Paulo's birthday. We woke up to a bright blue sky and the sun shining down. We headed off on the bikes, up the coast road stopping off at beautiful beaches to swim and cool down. We were so amazed by the beauty of the island that's more famous for its parties than long, pretty, isolated beaches. The day was perfect, possibly the best day since we've been away. We hopped from beach to beach all day long returning in the evening for the full moon party. This party was huge, with more than 10 major sound systems on the beach all within stumbling distance of each other. Fire dancing and fireworks lit up the night and body painters were everywhere. It was nuts, we were skipping in a rope that was set on fire! So much fun. We met up with Mo and Jolene, friends we met in Laos and had the best night imaginable, dancing till dawn.

A couple of days later when we had finally recovered from the full moon we headed for Ko Tao, famous for it’s diving. Bad roads made this place the most difficult for us to explore. The east and north coast are still fairly undeveloped, with steep, rough roads not suitable for bikes. And of course it was the east cost of the island we wanted to go in search of sharks. After a bit of a hike we made it though and headed straight for the water, snorkeling gear in hand. The visibility was amazing and the water was so calm and clean. It wasn't long before we spotted four black tip reef sharks. They swam so close to us. It was an incredible feeling.

Paulo had gotten a present of two dives for his birthday so we booked in for the following day. The sea was rough and the waves crashed against the boat as we attempted to get our gear ready. It wasn't an easy task because we were all feeling a little queasy as the boat was knocked from side to side. There was a strong surface current so we made our descent immediately. Once under water everything changed. There was an instant calm and our dive began. Unfortunately the whale shark that had been spotted in the area didn’t make an appearance but we did see some amazing fish including stink rays.

We've been traveling for 3 months now, so I thought it was time for a little treat of some home comforts (clean sheets on a bed and a clean bathroom) and booked us into a 5 star hotel on Ko Samui, as a present for Paulo's birthday. For the next few days we lived like kings. On arrival we were served up welcome drinks, coconut jelly and cold towels. Porters took our bags to our room and people referred to us as ‘sir’ and ‘madam’. We had air-con in our room for the first time since we came away and the sheets on the bed were fresh. The room had cable TV and a big balcony with a garden view. We had our own private beach and a pool with a bar.

Unfortunately we stuck out like sore thumbs with our well worn backpacker clothes amongst the happy honeymooners and older couples all dressed smartly and flashing the cash. This was most obvious at breakfast time where the spread of food was enough to feed an army. We made sure to eat enough to last us the day and took some bread rolls and cakes in our bags to have for dinner. We sure were a little misplaced in this hotel but enjoyed every second of it, especially our complimentary massage in the hotel's spa. We maxed out our stay and left the hotel at the latest possible check out time, back to the simple life. On saying goodbye to our hotel we said goodbye to Ko Samui and the gulf of Thailand to see what the Andaman coast has in store.

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