We arrived in Koh Phangan with mixed feelings, some apprehension (as we know this island as the 'party place') and some sense of adventure, knowing that we will have to work a little harder to find the vibe we are looking for. Getting off the ferries, here, you are accosted with touts for guesthouses and hotels, and it makes for a great way to strike a deal. We chose the only male tout, topless, with a half burnt cigarette hanging haphazardly from his chatty lips - we thought it a good choice.
We spent 4 days in Haad Yao, which is a relatively touristy area on the west coast of K.P, but the guesthouse we stayed in was nestled on a private beach, which would have been amazing if it didnt rain for four straight days! Feeling a wave of cabin fever, we decided to head to the northern tip of the island (at no fault of our Hunter Thomspon-esque owner, who made for a great first impression of the island) and made a trek to Choloklum, the small fishing pier village at the North of the island. Originally wanting to stay for a night or two, we crashed for 4 days in a bungalow that was on the water, surrounded by a secluded beach, and filled our bellies with great food. The area had a huge array of coffee choices (mmm), a great bookshop and wonderful local food.
Remember the german couple, Eric and Tina, that we snorkelled with on paradise island? we received a message from them on our 3rd day in Choloklum, saying that they had driven by us in a tuk-tuk! Imagine, we meet again! The next day we met in the town and prepared ourselves for a hike over the mountain to secluded Bottle Beach (usually reached by boat). The trail was marked by bottles attached to trees with no roads, people, quads, scooters or tourists in sight - and as a group we decided (although we blamed Eric the entire hike for our burning thighs) that it was time for an adventure!
2.5 hours later, we reached Bottle Beach - much to the surprise of everyone that we had hiked! The consensus among the locals was that they had
a) only done the hike once in their lives and
b) we really deserved our beer
Bottle Beach was beautiful, and completely secluded. As this was one of the areas that we had wanted to stay, we were glad to have made a day trip and experienced the beach (but were happy not to stay .... a bit too secluded and the prices of food/drink reflected this)
The next day we needed to decide if we were to stay longer or move on. We enjoyed our hike, after dinner and after drinks to a little bit too late of a time the night before, so we decided that we would stay another night and let the guesthouse know in the morning.
By some twist of fate, the forces did not allow us to stay where we were (prebooked/full? we still dont know what happened, we think she kicked us out because we didnt eat at her restaurant) and all of the other places in the village were full or too close to the locals Temple Festival that was happening all week.
With nowhere to go, we decided to follow our friends and stay at Mae Haad beach ..... and what luck this was! Mae Haad is a cove in the NW, and the bungalows we stayed in were under construction - which meant less formalities (the staff were amazing!) and no one cared that we made our own food and drank our own drinks! On our first night, we treated ourselves to a bonfire - and cooked mixed veggies, potatoes and baked beans on an open fire. The owners BBQ'd squid and made us a big plate to share, and what a treat this was! The night was completed with Eric's minimal tech DJ set and the soothing sound of waves 25 feet away as the backdrop.
The next night, we headed back up to Choloklum to experience the Temple Festival (a week long party surrounding the village's temple). The scene can only be compared to what we know as a fair, or stampede. Thai's are perpetual snackers and rarely go 2-3 hours without eating small portions of roadside food. The same was at the festival, and the grounds were lined with carts full of fried things of all imagination, sweets, fruit shakes, thai tea shakes and of course the fair-ubiquitous beer garden.Outside the food arena there was about 2 km of walking markets/outdoor markets that sold every piece of plastic tool you could ever want with a few second hand clothing markets and rip off American DVD's in between.
The first visit to the grounds was on a beautiful day, and the grounds were packed! Starting around 9 pm, there was a concert-style stage set up and bands began to perform....the second night (which was suppose to be the 'big party night') was amidst the 14 days stretch of non stop rain we have had, which unfortunately effected the crowds.....but it made for great plastic bargain shopping and a good excuse to eat hot food under the tarps!
We learned a lesson this night - as the first night we spent at the festival we had decided to end the night early, knowing that we wanted to 'save' some of the experience for the 'big' night. Our friends Eric and Tina stayed out, and we ended up missing out on the performance festivities because of this. Next time, we stay and experience twice if need be!
A few days later our friends left (we were both very sad, as it was nice to spend time with people we had really connected with!) and we were on our own again. Deciding that we didn't want to leave where we were, but wanting to visit the other areas of the island, Amaris and Trevor commenced their first ever SCOOTER EXPERIENCE. As it had been raining heavy for quite some days, many areas were muddy/pot-holie/tourist death traps masked as roads, and it made for an interesting ride at some parts. While Amaris had to hammer the helmet on over her dreads (poor, poor next purple scooter helmet wearer) Trevor had a Marlon-Brando-on-a-Harley look because of his new long hair, and opting for the non purple helmet offered him the luxury of a chin strap (luuuucky). Trevor experienced ALL the fun - as he was both completely searched by a Bangkok Police Road Block (oh god, scary, because of the Full Moon Party the night before) and was an apparent magnet for dogs who thought he looked like a good guy to run in front of.
All in the all the day went by accident free, and it turned out to be a beautiful way to see the island without having to work up a sweat!
After many days of rain, reading and more backgammon than you can say 'best out of three' to, we decided it was time to head over to the Andaman side of things to begin the with-mom portion of the trip...... a long day of traveling that include our first 'duped in thailand' adventure (that Trevor was smart enough not to fall for) we have arrived in Phuket and will remain for a few more days before heading South. Apparently the rain is inescapable, and has left the locals bewildered as it neither the season or a normal for this many straight hours and days... but we are toughing it out like the rest.
We spent 4 days in Haad Yao, which is a relatively touristy area on the west coast of K.P, but the guesthouse we stayed in was nestled on a private beach, which would have been amazing if it didnt rain for four straight days! Feeling a wave of cabin fever, we decided to head to the northern tip of the island (at no fault of our Hunter Thomspon-esque owner, who made for a great first impression of the island) and made a trek to Choloklum, the small fishing pier village at the North of the island. Originally wanting to stay for a night or two, we crashed for 4 days in a bungalow that was on the water, surrounded by a secluded beach, and filled our bellies with great food. The area had a huge array of coffee choices (mmm), a great bookshop and wonderful local food.
Remember the german couple, Eric and Tina, that we snorkelled with on paradise island? we received a message from them on our 3rd day in Choloklum, saying that they had driven by us in a tuk-tuk! Imagine, we meet again! The next day we met in the town and prepared ourselves for a hike over the mountain to secluded Bottle Beach (usually reached by boat). The trail was marked by bottles attached to trees with no roads, people, quads, scooters or tourists in sight - and as a group we decided (although we blamed Eric the entire hike for our burning thighs) that it was time for an adventure!
2.5 hours later, we reached Bottle Beach - much to the surprise of everyone that we had hiked! The consensus among the locals was that they had
a) only done the hike once in their lives and
b) we really deserved our beer
Bottle Beach was beautiful, and completely secluded. As this was one of the areas that we had wanted to stay, we were glad to have made a day trip and experienced the beach (but were happy not to stay .... a bit too secluded and the prices of food/drink reflected this)
The next day we needed to decide if we were to stay longer or move on. We enjoyed our hike, after dinner and after drinks to a little bit too late of a time the night before, so we decided that we would stay another night and let the guesthouse know in the morning.
By some twist of fate, the forces did not allow us to stay where we were (prebooked/full? we still dont know what happened, we think she kicked us out because we didnt eat at her restaurant) and all of the other places in the village were full or too close to the locals Temple Festival that was happening all week.
With nowhere to go, we decided to follow our friends and stay at Mae Haad beach ..... and what luck this was! Mae Haad is a cove in the NW, and the bungalows we stayed in were under construction - which meant less formalities (the staff were amazing!) and no one cared that we made our own food and drank our own drinks! On our first night, we treated ourselves to a bonfire - and cooked mixed veggies, potatoes and baked beans on an open fire. The owners BBQ'd squid and made us a big plate to share, and what a treat this was! The night was completed with Eric's minimal tech DJ set and the soothing sound of waves 25 feet away as the backdrop.
The next night, we headed back up to Choloklum to experience the Temple Festival (a week long party surrounding the village's temple). The scene can only be compared to what we know as a fair, or stampede. Thai's are perpetual snackers and rarely go 2-3 hours without eating small portions of roadside food. The same was at the festival, and the grounds were lined with carts full of fried things of all imagination, sweets, fruit shakes, thai tea shakes and of course the fair-ubiquitous beer garden.Outside the food arena there was about 2 km of walking markets/outdoor markets that sold every piece of plastic tool you could ever want with a few second hand clothing markets and rip off American DVD's in between.
The first visit to the grounds was on a beautiful day, and the grounds were packed! Starting around 9 pm, there was a concert-style stage set up and bands began to perform....the second night (which was suppose to be the 'big party night') was amidst the 14 days stretch of non stop rain we have had, which unfortunately effected the crowds.....but it made for great plastic bargain shopping and a good excuse to eat hot food under the tarps!
We learned a lesson this night - as the first night we spent at the festival we had decided to end the night early, knowing that we wanted to 'save' some of the experience for the 'big' night. Our friends Eric and Tina stayed out, and we ended up missing out on the performance festivities because of this. Next time, we stay and experience twice if need be!
A few days later our friends left (we were both very sad, as it was nice to spend time with people we had really connected with!) and we were on our own again. Deciding that we didn't want to leave where we were, but wanting to visit the other areas of the island, Amaris and Trevor commenced their first ever SCOOTER EXPERIENCE. As it had been raining heavy for quite some days, many areas were muddy/pot-holie/tourist death traps masked as roads, and it made for an interesting ride at some parts. While Amaris had to hammer the helmet on over her dreads (poor, poor next purple scooter helmet wearer) Trevor had a Marlon-Brando-on-a-Harley look because of his new long hair, and opting for the non purple helmet offered him the luxury of a chin strap (luuuucky). Trevor experienced ALL the fun - as he was both completely searched by a Bangkok Police Road Block (oh god, scary, because of the Full Moon Party the night before) and was an apparent magnet for dogs who thought he looked like a good guy to run in front of.
All in the all the day went by accident free, and it turned out to be a beautiful way to see the island without having to work up a sweat!
After many days of rain, reading and more backgammon than you can say 'best out of three' to, we decided it was time to head over to the Andaman side of things to begin the with-mom portion of the trip...... a long day of traveling that include our first 'duped in thailand' adventure (that Trevor was smart enough not to fall for) we have arrived in Phuket and will remain for a few more days before heading South. Apparently the rain is inescapable, and has left the locals bewildered as it neither the season or a normal for this many straight hours and days... but we are toughing it out like the rest.
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