Moons, Buckets & Pool Party's

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KOH PHA NGAN

What a palaver to get here, but we are so glad we booked a joint ticket, we got on the ferry early and got a good seat, this ferry was a larger ferry. We had to cross Thailand so from the ferry terminal we were picked up by the company and as we were the last ones out, everyone else was put into a minibus and we got our own car! As we were going down the newly made compacted sand roads the back of the minibus opened in front of us and a load of bags fell out! Our driver picked up one and stuck it in the front seat of our car, whilst a passenger grabbed the other and put it back in the minibus.

In no time we were dropped at the P.P. family office, where we could buy food and drink, before being separated into our separate buses for the various destinations we were all travelling to. We were put into a dodgy old style bus, where all of our bags were loaded in with us. But it had great Air Con.

We chose to sit on the back seat, like all the cool kids!, which was quite handy as the seat next to Liam was broken and the seat next to Charlotte had someone with long legs, so it could not be used either, so loads of space for us to stretch out. Until they started picking up locals en route and of course they all wanted to sit in those seats! One girl ended up sitting a Liam’s feet on the boiling hot floor above the engine!

We were dropped at the office in some town after a couple of hours again with the option of buying food and drink there, but not really told when we would be picked up. They did however put the film Jackass 2 on, which passed the time. After an hour or two we were picked up again in the bus that had taken people to the ferry for Koh Samui, where our luggage was loaded into the bottom of the bus! It was an okay bus but the air con was rubbish! Finally arriving just in time for the last ferry we grabbed our bag’s and ran.

It was a large ferry so we dumped our bag’s at the back and grabbed a seat up front. A couple of hours later we jumped off of the ferry and headed into town to find a hotel, however Thong Sala is pretty desolate at that time of night, we expected to get in about 6.30 but because of the wait in the office it was closer to 9pm. All of the travel agents were closing up, so after trying a couple we jumped in a taxi and headed down to Hat Rin. The taxi truck ended up filling up en route to the town with lots of revellers who got dropped at various points. It was a very hilly road to the resort and we had to stop and roll back a bit to drop into a lower gear to get up some of the hills. Great fun.

The taxi man dropped us in the Sunset beach area at ‘The Drop in Club’ The prices were not great and they tried to tell us that the cheaper rooms were full, but we got a nice room at a bit more than we hoped. We just needed it for the night, before we went out hunting for a new room tomorrow. It served its purpose and had a kettle, so we grabbed a couple of 20 baht pot noodles and settled in front of the satellite TV in the nice Air Con before discovering that Liam’s lock to his bag had been left open and on further inspection we found that someone had been in there and stolen his silver chain and bracelet and had a good old rummage around in the bag itself. Bastards. They have enough time to put someone in the bottom of the bus who can go through all of your bags on the long bus journeys. We guess he must have sat there for hours working through the combination.

Up and out of the hotel early and down the hill with our luggage we checked out a couple of places and got a little wet. It was the Thai New Year ‘Songthrat’ which is a festival. It is a three or four day festival in Bangkok and involves flour too, but here it is only a one day affair. I think each island does it on a different day too. The Thai’s believe that splashing people with water at New Year cleans them and it is great fun for the locals and visitors alike. The locals had set up splash points outside most businesses with hose pipes and water pistols. Also they had tanks of water on the back of trucks with four to six people attacking from the back and cab. Tourists were going out two’s up on mopeds with water pistols and water supply tanks shaped like Hello Kitty and Winnie the Pooh. Let’s hope they managed to stay on the bikes.

After checking a couple of hotels, Charlotte decided it was time Liam plotted up and she went on the hunt, unfortunately he was a bit of a sitting target, but Charlotte got here fair share of a soaking! After getting to the bottom of the road and finding a reasonable deal, she had to just check out the final rundown site at the end of the road. As she was getting to the beach and had still not spotted the reception, in fact it looked rather rundown and closed, she spotted a couple coming over the horizon and the man started shooting far to early, she had a laugh with them and he asked if she was looking for anything and could they help? Well I am looking for a hotel in my price range, but nothing suitable s far. I think you will like where we are staying at Coral Bungalows, it is 300 baht a night for a fan room and it is a party hostel. Great so I head up the steps and over the hill on to the next beach, 50 yards up is said hotel.

Brilliant ’Coral Bungalows - Home of the pool party’ Great I think we will fit right in there then! Charlotte goes up to the bar and enquire about a room, they send her to reception and then soak her with ice cold water on the way past, all good fun. At reception Charlotte discovers that the Air Con rooms are only 500 baht per night, so has a quick look, two fans, air con and private bathroom with hot shower, a huge pool, restaurant and bar area. Ideal she tell them she just needs to pick up her boyfriend and the bags and she will be back. Well first of all she said that she will hold the room for her for one hour, then she asked where Liam was and offered the service of the in house taxi, free to pick up the bags.

As we were pulling off Jason a crazy American jumped in with his big bottle of Chang for a lift to the local ATM. It turns out he was from Miami and had been staying at Coral Bungalows for a fair while now, he was here last year for New Year and was telling her what fun it was, although he was quiet drunk. We got soaked on the way to pick Liam up and found he was quiet wet too. We loaded the bag’s in as best we could for the wet journey back.

Yeah, Liam whole heartedly approved, the girl did good! We missed last nights pool party, but had arrived in time for that nights Black Moon Party, there was a warm up for it in the bar, before taxi’s left about midnight. So we dumped our bag’s and spent the day at the pool where we met a lovely group from both Brighton and San Francisco. There was Natasha a ‘Laddette’ from Brighton who was travelling with her friend James and two other girls also from Brighton, Tim from the UK who was travelling with his cousin and friend from San Francisco. They came out with some classic one liners, but make sure you ask us about them on his return as they are too rude to print here!

They also filled us in about the other guests and staff, there was Shane, that Natasha wanted to marry, and Att who were great Mockney’s (they had fake cockney accents, although they were Burmese). Jason who Charlotte meet earlier who could be a little annoying when drunk, but sober his is a writer reporting on the financial market. He has been staying there ages as Natasha’s friend stayed in his room for a couple of months last November. Also John again supposedly a little annoying when drunk and was left there by his friend (due to drink). He became affectionately known as Flower as that is what he kept calling everyone.

Later around Sunset it kicked off a bit as a Canadian bloke came back with his Malaysian ‘girlfriend’, yes we did all sit around gossiping that she must be ‘working’ but he was very drunk, first of all he wobbled along as he walked, then after sitting at a table for a bit he started jumping in the pool, then was sick in the pool, after the girlfriend got him out and he recovered he started trying to get her in the pool too. She was screaming and crying and it all became a bit of a scene and Natasha, a tiny slip of a girl decided enough was enough and went over and asked the girl to come and sit with us for a bit so he can calm down. We after some obscene language from him she did.

The big Canadian guy did sit down and sober up a bit before he came over and told her he was leaving and she should come with him. Well she started crying and shaking again and it became obvious that she did not want to go with him. He started being rude again to Natasha and a couple of the boys around, unprovoked. In the end Shane explained that he worked there, after being asked what the f*@% it had to do with him, and perhaps it was time to leave as he was making another scene. Well the Canadian responded that his breath stank , so Shane did some Thai boxing moves in him and knocked his glasses to the floor, it looked very good, but I think it was little more than what amounted to a couple of slap’s.

Anyway at this seemed to send him of with his tail between his leg’s, girlfriend in tow, until we saw him complaining at the bar to Att and again getting quiet rude. Next thing you know Att was chasing him out of the bar with a wooden baseball bat. Glad to see that they all stand up for each other.

Anyway we got showered, had a lovely supper at the restaurant as we were finishing the Malaysian girl came down on her own all showered and changed and ordered a pizza, then disappeared. On her return 20 mins later Charlotte called her over so she was not sitting on her own. The boyfriend had gone to sleep and it turns out that she could not swim and that is why she was so petrified, as the boyfriend was trying to pull her into the pool. She supposedly sold cars in Singapore where they had met and they were on a two week holiday. Luckily they were checking out of Coral Bungalows the next day and going to Koh Samui. She left before the others returned from there showers and the Black Moon drinking commenced.

One bucket and a couple of free Vodka Red bulls (the Thai ones are 20 times stronger!) later we were painting ourselves and everyone else in the room in Luminous paint. Charlotte drew a mean wiggly dot line on many legs put before her an Liam tried (as per the photo) eating it!

In no time at all we were loaded into the taxi and whisked off goodness knows where to this Black Moon party on the beach. When we got out of the taxi we headed down a long and windy path, paid our entrance fee, 500 baht inc a free drink! We went into the maelstrom of heavy trance and techno. We watched the fires how for a bit and Charlotte grabbed the free drinks, they were quiet heavy handed with the Vodka and added some red bull for Charlotte, but only Sprite for Liam as he had had enough red bull by then!

We had a bit of a dance, as best you can on sand!, then the fire show turned into quiet a dangerous game of drunk people jumping over a lit skipping rope. At this point we decided we had had enough and headed for the taxi’s. We jumped into the next available and watched as it loaded up. We had about ten on the planks in the back, along with a few hanging on to the tail gate at the back. We even had one crazy boy laying on the top, but security would not let him out of the area like that, so he hung off of the tailgate with everyone else until we had got onto the main road, then jumped back on top for the journey, MAD as a hatter that one! We were glad to be the last ones dropped off, although it was touch and go if we would make it up some of the hills and the boys on the tailgate had to jump off for one of the hills and run up to jump back on again! We are happy to report that the boy on top made it all the way home with no injury’s.

A bit of a lay in and a lazy day ensued, much like the rest of our days here consisting of eating combination of breakfast, lunch and dinner at the on site restaurant, lazing both in and by the pool and chillin’ with the friends we made there.

A couple of quiet nights before there was another pool party, they seem to have them every three or four days! And what a party it was. We started at Sunset happy hour with a couple of big Chang’s in the pool before showering off and having dinner, which was followed buy a couple of buckets and copious amounts of pool water as a girls on boys shoulder fight broke out! Unfortunately during this bout when Liam had a girl with very soft thighs on his shoulders, his watch fell off. The pin in one of the links kept coming out and happen again tonight. He put it on the side of the pool and by the time he had deposited the girl and went back to put it in his pocket or fix it, it had gone. Not much luck on this island! Not long after we called it a night, but Charlotte tripped up the steps on the way home and grazed both knees, this was because someone had stolen one of her Birkenstock’s and she was going home in only the one! It was so funny!

In the morning, well maybe at the crack of the afternoon we asked everyone if a flip flop and watch had been handed in, but no such luck, until we asked Att at dinner time and he took Charlotte behind the pool shed, where there were two big black bags of lost property and TADA there was the missing flip flop, but no watch.

A few quiet days chillin’ then a walk one afternoon to Hat Rin town, for a touch of shopping where we managed to purchase a hammock for 200 baht (£4!)and a new sarong and a pair of earrings from a shop that gave us back double the change! We had a bit of lunch, which was the ever fabulous Chicken Pad Thai, then went down to Sunrise beach for a little look around. This beach is where the full moon party takes place. It was a bit grotty and touristy! We had a quick look around, then went home.

One of the waiters took a bit of a shine to us, but could not remember our name, so for some reason nicked named us ‘Mummy & Daddy’, which they all found hilarious and soon all of the staff were calling us that, but more worryingly when called out to ‘Daddy, was it a Lemon shake you wanted?’ Liam replied to it!

We spent quite a bit of time with Jamie and Nancy, who we met at the first pool party, they used to work at St Mellon golf club in Cornwall. Nancy has been travelling for 3 months now, though India and her friend Jamie had come to meet her for a three week holiday in Thailand. They were great fun and Nancy did another book swap with Charlotte (about the millionth this holiday!), so all was good.

We had another pool party and eased our way into this one, but it is fun drinking buckets in the pool! One of the Army lads at the end of the block came dressed in a red all in one suit, that even covered his face! But although he could jump in the pool and drink and smoke through it, he could not get the face wet in the pool, or he could not breath! Bit of a draw back at a pool party!

The next night was the night of the half moon party and although Jamie and Nancy had only just recovered from the pool party, they were up for another night of partying and had decided that they would have a couple of drinks at the bar, then head down to the beach, before going up to the jungle for the party. We decided that as we had been to one already, that we would leave the young ones to it.

We had breakfast with Jamie in the morning and from the photo’s it looks like they had loads of fun. Later that day we introduced Jamie to the fantastic jacket potato with butter, cheese and roasted Garlic. Mmm Charlotte went through two of those the other day (and smelt of garlic for a week!). Nancy went for a night out with the boy’s and Jamie joined us in our room for a night of Austin Powers.

As the 500 baht offer ran out on the Friday, all of us left with Jamie and Nancy heading for Bangkok followed by Kanchanerburi and we jumped on another ferry to Koh Tao.

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