Koh Phangan - Pit stop in Koh Samui - then onto Phuket

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Onwards to our second stop in the Gulf of Thailand to Koh Phangan although reluctant to leave the Eden like Koh Tao. We ate breakfast at the main harbor before boarding the cheapest island hopper "songserm" for the two hour journey South to Koh Phagnan. Once we arrived Nik sorted our accommodation whilst I secured our luggage from the boat. After slight deliberation we opted for a family owned and very budget accommodation away from the westernized full moon party area of which Koh Phangan is renowned for. We managed to save money with a free taxi ride although this was on a moped with our large rucksacks resting awkwardly on our backs!. After a short journey we arrived at "Happy Beach" which lived up to its name. Our accommodation was a very basic, small wooden bungalow with a sea view and a 30m walk to srithinu beach. It only cost 5 pound/250 Baht per night and was exactly what we wanted with its quiet and chilled beachside location contrasting the stereotypes of this party island. We also had a hammock on our balcony which I immediately exploited yet almost fell out of! The only problem was that our window didn't lock but we locked and secured our bags to avoid any theft. We then took advantage of the cheap yet delicious Thai cuisine at the small restaurant before heading onto the beach. The beach was beautiful... if you could see it! In the heat of the day the pure white sand emitted a bright albedo light into your eyes, so we relaxed and went out later! On our return we a saw a curving bay with small bungalows situated behind the white sands. Shallow waters also stretched into the distance. We found some life saving shade to alleviate any more sun burn soreness particularly on Nik’s bum before relaxing in the boiling sea water which was slightly breezier and subsequently wavier than the enclosed bay of Koh Tao. Ok now our trip feels more like a holiday.! We then relaxed on the beach and watched some white camouflaged crabs pop out from their sandy burrows to duel and bask in the cooling sand. We ate at our accommodation in the evening with B52 like insects zooming around lights. One also landed in Nik’s dinner! We also took a walk into the small high street area that offered a few amenities but not to much to do warranting an early night.

16th April
We had a beach day spending much of the time hidden in the shade from the simmering Thai temperatures. We tried snorkeling in our bay but their wasn’t much to see. We went for lunch on the nearby high street before heading back to the beach for a game of bat and ball! Perfect timing for the most amazing sunset. We had bought a waterproof bag, so we took our cameras out into the sea and sat on a sandbank to watch the sky change from a blue to a dying yellow to a strong red as the sun fell below the horizon. A perfect way to end Koh Phangan.

On too Koh Samui. We had heard that the island is somewhat westernized which is not to our taste, but we thought we would take a visit to check it out for ourselves. We took an early morning ferry for a short trip across the gentle waters of the gulf of Thailand. Once we arrived we took a Tuk-Tuk to Lamai beach, the second most popular one on the East coast of the island. The taxi ride was far cheaper than the other journey's on Tao and Phangan because Sumui is far more developed. Subsequently in our opinion this is the islands downfall, losing its "Thainess" in favour of Western needs. We did stay at a nice hotel with a swimming pool for very little money and it was a short walk to the beach. The beach wasn’t as pretty as the other island of the Gulf of Thailand. It was far more populated too with macho men strutting in Speedo’s and bleached blonde women browning on sun beds. There were also numbers of jet ski’s cruising up and down the bay which added to the Benidorm style of Koh Samui! Fundamentally it was more of a holiday resort for European's alike to taste South East Asia rather than the travelers getaway that we craved. Still the beach was nice, with the sandy shoreline stretching for miles up to rocky outcrops on it's corners. We had another beach day and spent much of the time relaxing and watching a fake breasted women use her buoyancy aids in the sea. We also enjoyed a swim and Nik helped to improve my swimming skills!. Whilst in the water we were attacked by a tiny white fish zooming towards with unknown intentions. However tiny, we quickly splashed to the beach for safety! Later on in the day we took a dip in the pool before hitting the very westernized streets taking advantage of the ample shops in the small town. If you would like to visit SE Asia but still have the comforts of home, then Koh Samui is for you. Although we spent a nice day here, we were happy to move on quickly, therefore onto Phuket tomorrow.

Gulf of Thailand.... Complete... Time to check out the West coast on the Andaman Sea where we plan to visit Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Krabi. We started out at 6:20 for what was to be an incredibly complicated and frustrating journey from Koh Samui to Phuket! The journey took +12 hours (3 more than we were told) in which we had to change transport 8 times including a couple of scams! The journey included Minibus - Bus - Boat - Bus - TukTuk - Pick up - Pick Up - Bus. So here goes... We were picked up from our hotel and taken by a minibus to the harbor where we expected to get the ferry across to the mainland. Instead we were shipped onto a bus to go to another harbor (most likely a cheaper boat!) Then took the transporter ferry across to the mainland. The scenery was stunning on the boat with picturesque tropical islands dotted around the Samui and Thai coastline. Anyway we then got back on the bus to travel to Surat Thani "the gateway of the Thai islands" were we were supposed to change buses for Phuket. Instead we were dropped off in unknown location in Surat Thani where we and a number of other tourists were put in a tuk-tuk to go to a travel agents. This was for no reason and merely to waste time because once Nik had bought some food and the travel agent restaurant, we were sent to another travel agent in a pick up for a scam. Here we would have to pay an extra 200 Baht to go to an area of Phuket that we didn’t want to go! Or wait 30 mins. So as we declined their "kind" offer and opted for the 30 minute wait. We were then immediately taken by Pick up to the bus station where we had to wait an hour for the public bus to set off to Phuket and without a bus ticket or anything!. We finally got on and spent much of the first hour driving around the outskirts of Surat Thani picking people up. Fortunately we didn’t have to pay for a ticket which made the journey more comfortable and we could enjoy the incredible limestone rock formations towering alongside the winding road to Phuket. The huge klasts as you would expect along the coastline were shaped in the ocean millions of years ago but are now inland. The chalky white steep cliff faces were uninhabited by the dense vegetation surrounding them giving a virgin like impression of these once ancient islands. It was truly beautiful. Nik's superior vision also spotted a monkey hidden in a tree near the road as we drove passed! After numerous pick up and drop stops we finally made it into Phuket.! Phuket town was far less westernized and few tourist roamed the streets. As it just got dark we decided to make the short walk from the bus station to the guest house area. We chose On On guesthouse which was the film set for where Leonardo Di Caprio stayed in a room in the Bangkok Backstreets in the film "the Beach"... Surprise surprise we are staying in exactly the same room.. Number 38! Although it is still a crappy room it is portrayed far worse in the film! If you have seen the film you will understand that the rooms where connected at the top by a mesh. This is not the case and it is actually the corridor which leads too the mesh! Seeming like there’s little to do in Phuket town we got some late night grub then had an early night ready to move out tomorrow!

We survived a night in Leonardo Di Cap's bed without anybody offering us a secret map to an island! Instead we awoke with bad news... On our terrible journey from Samui - Phuket, Nik had 100 quid stolen from her bag. We narrowed it down to the bus driver but unfortunately we can't do anything about it. A terrible start to the day!. So we miserably set off for the beaches, avoiding the repetitive chanting of "you wan Tuk-Tuk" for an overpriced charge. Instead we took a local bus to Kata Beach, two bays down from the Phuket renowned Westerners "paradise" of Patpong. With a slow start to the day we arrived along Kata beach at the day’s boiling point. Nik struggled with her incredibly heavy bag under the intense heat and so she found some shade whilst I searched out a place to stay. As it's low season we found a bargain called Newman House, a small hotel owned by an incredibly nice Thai lady just a short walk from Kata beach. The room was of good value as we only payed 400 Baht including air con, TV and fridge - luxuries compared to where we have stayed. We cooled down in our breezy room and then headed to the beach. The beach was very nice, however Koh Tao was the nicest weve seen so far!. With a slight curve the sandy shoreline wrapped around a wavey sea. Fortunately the waves weren’t as high as the 2004 Tsunami, yet there was evidence of its destruction with beachfront hotels and restaurants looking almost brand new and evacuation point signs every 100m. The beach was quite populated yet there was ample space to jump and surf the waves as they broke. As it started to rain we headed back to the cool temperatures of our room, only to find out that Niks big camera lens protector had shattered.. adding to the misery of the stolen money... We headed out that evening on a bit of a downer and soon went back home after dinner... A very unfortunate day. The only positive was that our hotel owner was so unhappy by what had happened to Nik and so continuously called up the tour agency to make sure it wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

Wishing for a better day than the previous we decided to walk to nearby Karon beach. As Phuket is predominantly a resort area, our backpacker wallets had the potential to be ruined by overpricing. We found it too difficult to pick a restaurant in our budget so we decided to grab some grub in 7-11. The corner shop sized Thai version of Tesco, where we resorted to Jam sandwiches, muffin's and jelly - of course I had quantity over quality in mind opting for a full loaf! We continued our 20 minute walk to Karon beach past gift shops, restaurants and clothes/tailor shops. Karon beach is as equally beautiful as its neighbour, Kata. The beach is somewhat wider and there were fewer people basking in the sun, possibly because it was a slightly overcast day. We set up camp near a rocky headland to seek a bit of shade. Nik enjoyed her book whilst I clambered on the rocks for a good spot to sit. As I chilled out overlooking the long sandy beach so too did tens of crabs enjoying the surf splash onto them whilst they harvested the minute organisms the waves brought and shot out water from there mouths like minature fountains. There were also strange snake/eel like creatures that also enjoyed a good splash as they unorthodoxly flapped around to stay in place. Feeling active I also went for beach run, not realizing the length of the deceptively long beach and running for miles.! Although exhausted after a lengthy jog Nik and I both went into the sea, only to find the strong backward currents of the waves and larger incoming ones too much to relaxing in.! Instead we had some late lunch before heading back to the calmer waters of Kata beach at late afternoon for a gentle swim. In the evening we headed towards Karon again for some grub where we enjoyed some connect4 whilst waiting for it to come out! We then chilled back at our hotel taking advantage of the privalage of having a TV!

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