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Published: July 31st 2006
We make our way over land from Penang, via the border town of Bukit Kaya and the bustling Hat Yai to Surat Thani. Here we have a few hours and grab some food at a night market before getting the night boat to Koh Phangan... We have a surprisingly good sleep, arriving at 05:30 - after a little negotiation we find our way to Lucky Resort, a collection of basic, but very clean beach huts owned by a smiley pot bellied fella who makes us feel really at home... The location is perfect, a few huts out on the hill side over looking a nice bay and reef... Not bad for 1.20 a night!!.
With our new base we rent a scooter and make day trips out around the island... Koh Phangan is a real beach lovers paradise, gold and sapphire bays separated by dense jungle. Nice and relaxed. Days are spent lazily exploring beaches, swimming and reading a lot.
It is then on to Koh Tao, much smaller and renowned for being a dive Mecca. Again we find a little beach hut and rent a scooter. We spend a couple of days diving and a few days on
the beach. The dive sites are nice, but the island is definitely over dived. There are so many operators and the dive boats are packed, which makes diving a very frenzied experience. The opposite of what we experienced in Fiji.
As nice as Koh Phangan and Koh Toa were, they did not meet the expectation I had for the islands... I had always pictured these islands to be real traveler destinations, sparse and unspoilt by the tourist trail, where you could meet wizened old travelers and share experiences over a beer in a tumbled down beach bar... Maybe this was how the islands were 20 years ago, but now Phangan and more so Toa are bustling backparker stops with plentiful ATMs, Italian restaurants and more travelers than locals.... No big hotels and fast food outlets, but I'm afraid they will be on the way soon.... Definitely not the real deal I had hoped for. Maybe I'm traveling 20 years too late, or maybe just going to the wrong places. I'm hoping the rest of the trip will be more off the tourist trail, Myanmar definitley will be...
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Jess
non-member comment
A query for you!
Hi there! I am about to head to Ko Phangan and was looking out for hints for accommodation........hopefully you still check this......could you tell me where about Lucky Resort was, which beach, where on the island etc. Many thanks, j