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Published: November 30th 2007
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The night bus to Ko Samui was a long one and saw us getting onto a boat to Ko Samui, which took about 45 minutes. The sun was shining as we settled into our beach bungalows (Lucky mother) on the Chaweng beach. The beaches here have white sands, palm trees and clear blue water. It is everyones stereotypical paradise except that in paradise you don't get asked if you want jewellery every 10 seconds. We spent two days lazing on the beach and then having a few beers by the sea on the night. We also set off a flying lantern for good luck but our first one burst into flames before even taking off. Im guessing thats not good luck.
We left earlier than planned to Ko Phangan because Ko Samui was relatively expensive and a bit upmarket for our needs. It was only a 45 minute ferry to Ko Phangan, which is famous for its full moon parties. We stayed in some really nice bungalows on a hill side (Cozy resort). The first day there we spent walking around by the beach where the full moon party is held. I tried out a guitar in a shop snd
im not sure what made me more depressed, missing my guitar back home or the fact i am now somehow worse than i used to be at playing guitar. We watched the England match on the night which was about a 3am kickoff. As you probably know it was not worth staying up for.
The next day Dan, Ben and Donkey signed up to play in the beach 5-a-side tournament under the name Pompooy FC (Fat FC). They drafted in a few players and did really well considering how hungover they were. They got through to the finals the next day but lost in the first knockout round. We went to a pool party on the night. We got there about 9pm and heard an almighty crash when we walked in. The source of the noise was a drunk irish guy who had fallen through the tin roof and into a group of tables and chairs. How he just got up I have no idea, luck of the irish maybe. Here we had our first taste of Ko Phangan's buckets which are plastic buckets filled with alcohol then mixed with a dash of red bull and/or coke. The next
day I started to feel really ill and it wasnt just drink related. I had a cold and felt light headed and devoid of energy.
I managed to get out the next day and we went on a boat tour called munchies tour which was a waste of time really. There were about 50 people crammed on a small boat where we sat for over an hour before being crammed into a pickup truck for 15 minutes. We then walked up a treacherous rocky route to get to a trickle of water barely classed as a waterfall. We did get to see a really nice beach where two beaches are joined together by a streetch of sand. We then got back on the boat and went to a place where we could go snorkelling. By this time it was nearly dark and quite cold. The water was murky and all anyone saw was rocks. At least we got free alcohol and the way back. Tonight was the night of the full moon party and I was still completely ill. I tried a few drinks and some red bull to get me going but it didnt work. In the end
I only went down for 10 minutes or so just to see what it is like. It is definitely not a place for a sober person! The beach is packed with 10,000 people and you have to push and dodge your way around. I was absolutely gutted I missed out on the experience of doing the full moon party properley. Dan, Donkey and Ben were dressed in shellsuits, headbands and neon paint and they had a really good time.
After another full day and night of feeling ill we set off back to Ko Samui for one more day. This time we stayed on a beach called Hat Lamai. The beach was a quieter and more beautiful than Chaweng. Palm trees hang right over the sand. On the night we said goodbye to Donkey's sister Sarah who left for Bangkok to get her flight home. It was sad to see her go as she was a easy going happy person to travel with.
At 6am in the morning we set off for Khao Sok national park. Bleary eyed, we got a minibus, then a coach, then a ferry, then a coach, then another coach, then a taxi. Sorted.
We stayed in a place called Smiley bungalows. It is a family run place and is one of the nicest places Ive stayed in. The staff were all really funny and helpful. Our bungalows were raised and overlooked the national park, we also had a hammock. As new guests, we were treated to a free tip to see a hill side cave which is covered in monkeys. We got to feed the monkeys bread and take loads of photos.
On our first full day in the prak we went on a trip to do some trekking and swimming. We went to a huge lake which was made 20 years ago by the construction of a dam. The lake is about 300m deep in some places and there are still the remains of schools and temples underneath its waters. We sat on a boat which cruised us along past the amazing views. We stopped at a collection of floating huts where we had a swim and some lunch. We then went on our little trek to see a cave. While walking through the jungle we saw a chameleon and a flying lizard. Our guide Bond (legend), called the cave sexy
Sexy Cave
Yes I look like a trucker cave. We found out why when inside there a lots of penis shaped rocks which Bond insisted on showing us while giggling like a school girl. We only found out then that this was the small cave in the park. The big cave had been shut recently due to the deaths of 7 tourists and a guide a few months ago because of a flash flood. The small cave was safe as it was high above the water level and it was not rainy season. On the way back we got to take a bamboo raft which was pretty cool but boring after 10 minutes or so. We also did a bit of kayaking around the lake.
The next day we headed for Phuket, but before we left Bond took us tubing down the local river. It was not as good as Vang Viang due to the simple fact there was no bars and only one rope swing. But the river was a bit faster and it was still very enjoyable. It took us 3 hours to get into Phuket town where we stayed in a place called On-On hotel, where part of The Beach was filmed. There is not really much to do in Phuket town so we quickly moved on to Karon Beach where we are now.
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