The port was bright and bustling as we boarded the catamaran …
… for a short hop to Ko Phangan, just over an hour away.
Ko Phangan is famous for its Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach which attracts around 30,000 party-goers in a normal month … but the next one is a fortnight away!
You would think with 12 major raves a year that would be enough, but no, there are now Half Moon Parties as well but we thought we’d give that a miss too!
The island is about twice the size of Ko Tao, and quite hilly and the state of the roads didn’t encourage us to hire a moped. We are staying on the quiet side of the island, at the end of Thong Nai Pan Yai beach at Longtail Resort. There are around 30 little bungalows set in gardens behind the beach together with a restaurant, small pool and spa. The food is excellent and anything can be made veggie for Chris so he’s spoilt for choice.
The tourist demographic has been different everywhere we’ve stayed from Scandi’s in their 60’s in Hua Hin to young divers in Ko Tao and now in Ko Phangan we have a mix of Europeans who visited as backpackers and have returned with young families. Luckily the rugrats are generally well behaved, which is good as there are quite a few of them toddling up and down the beach with spades and buckets of water and babies sitting on mats on the sand.
We have both been nursing colds since we arrived so sitting in the shade with a book has been the extent of our activity apart from checking out the pharmacy for cold cures and walking up and down the beach each day. The weather has remained a little mixed with a good dose of hazy sunshine and the odd shower but still plenty warm enough at just under 30 and in spite of all this our tans are developing nicely!
Our deckchairs have given a perfect view of life on the beach …
Fortunately after a couple of days we were feeling better and did consider taking a longtail taxi to Bottle Beach for a look but exploring seemed to be too much like hard work! In the end we decided to stick with chilling, walking and swimming, although an afternoon massage was a welcome treat! As for the evenings, a cocktail and dinner overlooking the beach, a walk then maybe a game of Uno … definitely low-key pleasures here!
Tomorrow another hop, this time to Ko Samui.
Off Travelling Together 