Dec 23, 2012 - Full Moon on Christmas Day

Finally, one of my most anticipated party sessions was finally here… The Full Moon Party. And what a better way to celebrate it then on Christmas Day. So Will and I headed over to Koh Phangan a couple of days early so we could travel around the island and see the sights. Having taken the advice of a friend we met in Koh Tao, decided not to stay in Haad Rin (where the parties at) and headed for the west coast. Decision well made. The bungalow was beautifully set right by the beach where an amazing sun set could be seen. We debated the issue...

Dec 22, 2012 - Seeing some of Koh Phangan

We thought it would be a good idea to hire a moped today to get about a bit and show Samantha some of the island. So for the usual 200 baht (just over £4) we were underway (see photo). Angelica gallantly volunteered to stay behind on the beach (no hardship for her) as we couldn't fit 3 on the bike. S was nervous at first sitting on the back but soon got the hang of it and we zoomed along at 40 to 50 kph. We stopped at a Chinese Temple in the northern part of the island which was only built in 1992. Very peaceful and marvellous views of the...

Dec 21, 2012 - We are still here!

Snorkelling at Sail Rock: We went with Sail Rock Divers, a very professional diving school which is apparently only one of two on the island with a practice pool. The rock itself is about about a one hour boat trip away in the direction of Koh Tao and is a rock that sticks up from the surrounding sea. For divers it looked great but no so good for snorkelling today as it was quite choppy waters which kept on going down the tube. We saw huge shoals of fish swirling just beneath us possibly being pushed up towards us by the divers below. Later...

Dec 20, 2012 - Relaxing in paradise!

When the hardest decision you have to make all day is which swimming costume to wear, you know you are chilled out. We found about a week ago we no longer knew or cared what day of the week it was. That is a good feeling though I have to say rather alien to me after a lifetime of working. Today was one of those days. In the sea. Out of the sea. We have lined up a day of snorkelling off Sail Rock for tomorrow. This is supposed to be one of the best locations in the Gulf of Thailand to go scuba diving. Will report back tomorrow, unless of...

Nov 28, 2012 - My 'Trip' At the Full Moon Party!

When I think of my time in Koh Phangan – ‘I like to sleep all day and party all night’ springs to mind. The journey from Koh Tao was pretty terrible as it was raining so much everyone’s bags where on the outside of the ferry and it was pouring. The boat was tipping and crashing against the waves, people were being sick in their hats – it’s a good job I don’t get travel sick. After 2 hours we arrived, still absolutely pouring we got our soggy bags and made our way to a tut-tut who took us on a god dam awful journey up and down bumpy roads...

May 8, 2012 - Koh Phangan with ang

The boat or catamaran from Koh Samui was great and as the hotel had arranged our taxi and boat tickets we didn’t even have to think, we just woke up had our brekkie and fell into the cab. The pier was packed full of Da Youtt as there was the full moon party on Koh Phangan that weekend and there were up to 30,000 people expected. Anyway we had arranged our accommodation so the hoards of people trying to get you to stay at their place didn’t have to worry about us and the hotel sent a cab for us so that was a bonus..until we got in the back...

Jan 18, 2012 - Last night in Southern Thailand

Well today was quite an adventure. We woke up and decided to keep the motorbikes for another day. We ate breakfast and headed to the Northern part of the island for some white sand, clear water beaches. Beautiful! There was a sand bar to a close island which was neat. We rented some snorkeling gear and also laid out. We all got some mild sunburns on certain parts of our body. It was soo crazy hot there I kind of expected it after a while. We found some neat shells as well. After the beach we headed back to out resort to change, eat and...

Jan 17, 2012 - On the islands

We were supposed to go to the Half Moon party but it ended up being too much money but I don't feel so bad about it cause some of the other people at the resort came back from it and said it wasn't that great. Instead Roslyn, Ella and I sat at the bar and started playing cards. Joy (the very sweet and friendly bartender) came and took a seat with us because the bar was slow. He tried showing us a game and we kinda got the idea but with the language barrier it was a little hard to understand fully. So we got him to play 21 with us and he...

Jan 16, 2012 - Day 1 on the island

Today was our first day here on the island of Koh Phangan and its really nice here. We didn't really explore today. Just laid around and got some emails and updates done. I woke up feeling like something different was coming my way and sure enough I got an email from someone I had lost contact with over the last 4 months. It was an confusing surprise but I think things will head in the right direction and its changing my mood. Ella and I wend to the pool for a bit and played around while Roslyn and Talya got some research done for our next...

Jan 15, 2012 - journey to Koh Pagnang

So just arrived in Koh Pagnang and even though it is dark it is a beautiful place. The people here are so far friendly and welcoming. From Krabi we took a taxi to a van to a bus to a ferry and another taxi to the resort. A lot of traveling but I am enjoying myself. On Krabi I saw my first ever firefly and got to see it close up. Such an amazing site. The beaches there were also very beautiful and the locals were incredibly sweet but the vibe from the island wasn't quite right for me. One thing I really loved about Krabi was that around...

Dec 18, 2011 - Amazing Thailand

The previous night we'd arranged a tuk-tuk to pick us each up from our hotels (my Kiwi friend and I) so we could venture out to the outskirts of Angkor and see some of less tourist-visited temples, or so we thought. After crawling (or rolling) out of bed, I got some breakfast and made it to my guesthouse lobby just as my tuk-tuk driver pulled up. We picked up Mark and made our way towards Angkor. The first temple we visited which was quite aways outside of the main area had a parking lot filled with buses, something we had not expected....

Dec 18, 2011 - Day 2 in Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan Day 2 Today was the day that Ross and I decided to try our luck with renting a scooter to get around the island. Most travel books will state that renting a motorbike can be risky for several reasons. Apparently it is very common to have tourists injured while navigating the windy roads that there are special ambulances that drive them all day long looking to help out. It is also common to be ripped off from renting the bikes. It is only 200 Baht for a day, and you pay for your own gas. I was smart and took several pictures of...