Rancho Relaxo

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Our next leg of the journey took us from Koh Samui to the neighbouring island of Koh Pha Ngan, famous(or infamous) for the monthly full moon party. (We had missed the full moon by 10 days).

We however were looking for somewhere to unwind, so wanted to avoided Hat Rin, the main resort. Hat Khuat(Bottle beach) was our destination on the island. Located on the North of Pha Ngan, it is only accessible by longtail boat from the village of Chalok Lam.

The seven of us(Lorr, Me, Paddy, Sharon, Alex, Claire & David) took the Ferry from Samui to Pha Ngan, arriving in Hat Rin, and then hopped in the back of a jeep for the bumpy ride to Chalok Lam.

Hat Khuat everything we were looking for, a 1km long white sandy beach dotted with only a few beach huts, and a backdrop of lush green mountain. Absolute paradise.

We stayed here for five nights, passing the days chilling on the beach, and the nights playing Jenga, Chess and Draughts.

There were four restaurants/bars on the beach. The staff were hillarious, they were constantly stoned(or appeared to be). You could be waiting an hour for your food, and would be lucky if you actually got what you ordered. As annoying as it may sound, it wasn't at all. The atmosphere was so laid back, no worries was the motto of life here.

The staff were very friendly and mixed with the guests(All backpackers). We had a sing along with the staff in one of the bars one night in Thai Pigeon english(the backing music was Thai Country & Western (Go on Thai R Dallas)). Several cracked ribs from laughing!!

We took one day trip to a beach, Hat Thong Nai Pan Yai, to see a famous Waterfall that the King of Thailand visited. But that turned into a bit of a "Carry On" film, between not been able to find it(no sign posts), nearly getting lost in the jungle, and having to cross a river/stream with suspect contents.

We left here on Thursday for Koh Tao.

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