Ahhh, this is the life...

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Suzanne here...

Caught the boat from Ko Tao to Ko Phangan with no problems. Arriving at the pier was a bit of a nightmare. Dozens of people screaming 'you, black shirt, where you go?' 'hey blue bag, I take you in taxi' and the like. I know they are only trying to make a living and I don't mean to sound snotty, but it was a bit overwhelming. We marched past, booked on onward travel at the office, and headed into the town where we grabbed a taxi to Haad Yao. Shared it with another English couple, who were very nice, but were not staying at Haad Yao.

Ko Phangan is renowned for it's full and half moon beach parties. Really, really not our thing, it's just not our type of music. Haad Yao on the other hand is well away from the scene, and a lot quieter. We made our way to Shiralea backpackers resort. It turned out not to be very backpackerish at all. Lovely bungalows set in a coconut grove, with a nice swimming pool. So we were surprised at how low the price was, 400THB per night. Mainly as it was off season we think. Anyway, we can't praise it enough. Set back from the beach but all the nicer for it, and only two minutes walk away. A couple of nights we ate at a restaurant just up the road. Well, I say restaurant, really it was just somebody's home. It didn't even have a name. Cheap and tasty though. We did give in and have a burger at the resort bar one day. Just wanted a taste of home. It's funny how something simple like vinegar for your chips can make you so happy!

At night the sound of the frogs and insects was so loud I thought it was a siren the first night. Other than that is was mostly peaceful. A bit of noise from the bar but not too bad.

We stayed four nights, but could gladly have stayed longer. We just spent the time reading, sitting on the beach, swimming in the pool. Nothing too taxing. It really recharged our batteries. It's been the most relaxing part of the trip so far. We were sad to leave, but ready for the 24 hour trip to Ayutthaya.

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