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Published: September 7th 2009
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Beach break
After our trip through South America we felt like we needed another holiday to get over it. We wanted warm weather, good food and hammocks to laze away the days in.
As it happened Thai Air was running a special to Bangkok and so we booked to leave about a month after our return.
We arrived in Bangkok late at night and had no trouble getting a public taxi to the Nakorn Pink Hotel and they had plenty of rooms available although the cost had gone up to 490 Bt/night for a double fan room. We dropped our bags and headed off to Soi Rambuttri for a couple of quick beers and also to organise Mr Thai to get rail tickets to the south for the following night.
We weren't able to get a fan sleeper so opted for 2nd class A/C sleeper - only slightly more expensive and was better than we expected, may use this class for future trips. Arrived in Surat Thani only slightly behind time but still had time for breakfast before transferring to the port for the Rajah ferry across to Koh Phangan.
The port area is being redeveloped so
not much in the way of food or supplies available but only 10 mins to walk back to the entrance gates to pick up some food and drink for the trip over.
Met up with a couple of nice groups on the boat but both lots were on their first trips and had been sold all inclusive trips in BKK and therefore were going to areas/hotels that weren't the best for them and had paid over the odds as well. This happens all too often and of course when you arrive at the hotel they will not refund any money so you are stuck there or you have to flag your money away. Usually they are not "bad" hotels but just not what you were looking for or they are situated far away from where you want to be. Outside of the high season there is not normally any reason why you need to book in advance although if you are arriving late at night then a one night booking might be advisable. In all cases you should never book or pay for more than one or two nights in advance in case you want to move on.
The Canadian lads had been booked into a hotel by their local travel agent right in the sex district of Bangkok and they had recommended to them that they head for Patayya, which is not really the best place for a young persons holiday. Fortunately they heard about the islands in the south and headed there. The English girls had fared better but got stung at the Airport on arrival, paying 1700 Bt for a taxi to Khao San Rd - normal fare including airport tax and tolls would be 350-400 Bt.
We grabbed a couple of taxi-bikes on arrival at Ko Phangan to take us to Haad Yao beach (100 Bt) and found that the upgrade of Haad Yao Bungalows was complete and they were again open for business. We took a room for a couple of nights and although the room was perfect (Fan 400 Bt/night) and the food was great the new layout meant no room for hammocks on the deck or in the trees. So we reluctantly set off to find a new spot and eventually found some huts up on a hill at the northern end of the beach.
Place was called Dream
22° halo around sun
As seen from Haad Yao Beach (piece of shell on lens to block out sun) Hill Bungalows and although the huts were very basic the views were spectacular and there was a hammock on the deck (soon to become two). Huts were only 300 Bt/night and after checking in we found out that there was also a pool in the compound - albeit broken but the "serviceman was coming soon". Food was not great in the restaurant with few choices, poor ambiance and the drinks fridge was virtually empty but "will be filled soon".
True to their words, over the next couple of days the pool was fixed, the fridge refilled and even the satellite dish was replaced so the restaurant could once again get cable TV. There were only 3 huts rented when we arrived so we were joking the owner must have come into some money!!!! More on this later.
The days passed quickly with good food (at Haad Yao Bungalows restaurant further back down the beach), comfy hammocks, good books, daily massages and cool sea breezes. We also managed to fit in a quick trip to Haad Rin for lunch at Chicken Corner and a look around at all the changes in the town. The old bungalows we used to
stay at there have all gone and been replaced by a large resort complex (Coral Bungalows) but the prices are still roughly the same. We also took a trip on the catamaran out to Ko Tao for a days snorkeling to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary which was enjoyable but fairly expensive.
All too soon it was time to return to BKK and the ferry trip was slow due to the weather but we still managed to get our train although the timing was tight. 2nd class fan sleeper back but was woken at 0430 so beds could be made before arrival at 0530! Busy day shopping and then had dinner and drinks with Ralph (who is nearly in permanent residence in Thailand these days).
Our last day was again a rush of last minute shopping and then a late afternoon flight back to NZ where a surprise awaited us. The Sat after our arrival home Jill received her credit card statement and surprise, surprise it contained 2 x 50,000 Bt debits (just under 5,000 NZ dollars) from Dream Hill!!!! What was even more shocking was the fact that we had never used any of our credit cards
anywhere in Thailand let alone Dream Hill. What we had done was to pack up our valuables and handed them in at Reception to be kept in the safe there. The fact that the other two cards had not been used and there was no money missing was a problem until we realised that the nylon money belt that we had locked everything in was thin enough that if a credit card was lying against the nylon then it is possible to get the raised details of the card with a piece of plain paper and carbon paper!!
We got onto the bank straight away and filled out a fraud claim and the debit was reversed a couple of days later so no harm done to us. A pity for Dream Hill as we holiday in that region every year and had decided that it would be a good place to return to in future years. Fortunately there is plenty of choices around.
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Anne
non-member comment
They have your details
They rang me telling me they had a a discussion with me regrading a holiday they had offered me, they had my address, my bank sort code number and my card number. They had my address and my date of birth. When I started to question them they put the phone down.