We were now 4 and a half months into our adventure, and in dire need of some chill-out and beach time. Koh Phangan, off the southeast coast of Thailand, was our selected destination. We set off for 5 days of sun, sea, sand and beach parties - and two days later - we arrived! Oh yes... 2 days. It took two days of overnight buses, all day trains, taxis, tuktuks, and overnight ferry boats with row after row of beds in uncomfortably familiar quarters - before we finally got to the island of Koh Phangan. Travelling in Thailand is shit - funny as hell - but shit. Hot, smelly, dirty and chaotic. But arriving in Thailand... is paradise. It wasn't long after arriving in Koh Phangan before we turned our 5 day stay into 10 days... we were in no hurry to leave that's for sure.
And so, our time on Koh Phangan (pn. ko pan'yan) basically consisted of sun batheing, reading books, swimming, endlessly reapplying sunlotion, more sun batheing, and eating as much delicious local cusine that we could get our hands on. I became incredibly addicted to a fried rice with pork dish... "it's just so good," I told Karlos. "It's the MSG, love" he explained.
We met some cool people in Koh Phangan, and had some good times partying on the beach, and in the jungle for the monthly half moon party/rave - splashed with flourescent paint and fuelled by the substance purchased in bright plastic buckets. Samsong. A Thai whisky, not for the faint hearted. Rumour has it, it contains subtances beyond just the advertised alcohol and coke - it certainly keeps you dancing on tables all night long, that's for sure. And many people are fuelled enough to partake in the fire dancing games - firebreathing, fireskipping, and jumping through fire hoops for another shot of the strong stuff. Everyone in Koh Phangan is there for a good time that's for sure - it's Thailand's party island. We chose to stay in a quiet part of the island, so we could chill-out by day, and would then catch tuktuks to the beach party area by night - whizzing through moutain roads, the wind in our hair, the knuckles of our hands glowing in the moonlight - an adrenaline ride in itself.
After almost a week lazing in the sunshine on the beach, we hired scooters and spent a couple of days exploring the island - K driving, and me hanging on for dear life on the back. Health and safety, and road rules, don't so much exist in Thailand. Add to that the fact that dozens of american male tourists, who have never so much as got a leg over a motorike before, whizz around with their shirts off and heads bare and think they are invincible. The roads are not the safest - but with wits about you, they are a lot of fun. We climbed mountains roads that made my abs workout like never before in an attempt to stay seated, then we crusied on the downhill slopes without a care in the world. We stopped at various beaches on the northwest coast to swim and we hired a boat to take us to Bottle Beach - a northeastern beach that is only accessible by boat, meaning it is incredibly secluded - and we spent a blissful morning there having breakfast.
We went to watch a Muay Thai boxing match one evening - amazed at the age of some of the kids fighting and the strength they posessed, and cringing at the size of some of the others - wincing with each and every kick. I become distracted by the monsoon downpour outside the awning, and the number of starving dogs wandering around our feet desperate for a bone.
One evening, early on in our time there, we spent a blissful time drinking rum, listening to the Kings of Leon on K's laptop, and reading our books that we couldn't put down, as best we could given that the sun had long set outside. We spent some time sweeping the sand out of the bed in our bungalow, ignoring the "eh-eh-eh" of gheckos, and had some cuddles in paradise, before we then went in search of the party going on down the road. The music we heard, when we found it - turned out to be nothing more than a row of 3 small beachside bars - each playing a loud kareoke machine, each competing to be the loudest. 3-4 locals hung out in each bar, that was all - it was a sorry state. We selected a bar to have a drink in, and soon spent the next hour or so dancing along to the Thai music with our western style dancing - much to the locals' amusement, and our own. We stumbled back to our bungalow, drunk and happy and fell asleep laughing.
And this was pretty much our time in Koh Phangan - a blurry 10 days of sun, cool waters, fresh fruit, sweet drinks, loud music, and dancing under the light of the moon. A fusion of upbeat and chilled-out vibes. A hotspot on this planet that I would recommend for anyone.
Just don't eat the mushrooms...
Peace and love, planet earth!
~ Comet xo
No comments:
Post a Comment