Koh Phangnan: Partying With The Moon cont.

Denise, Marc, Kevin and I hopped on our bikes and headed for Phaeng waterfall.  A 15 minute ride from Ban Tai, Phaeng waterfall overlooks the southern part of Koh Phangnan.

At the entrance to the waterfall

By the time we reached the waterfall it was 10am and the temperature was already 29C (85F), with humidity near 80%. The hike up to Phaeng waterfall was tough but great fun.  The trail ended at a rock outcropping overlooking the southern tip of the island.  What a view!  Here it is:

Marc, Denise and I at the top of the waterfall

While we sat and enjoyed the scenery, I asked the Thai man who was guiding a group of travelers where else we should go on the island.  He told us to head to the northern tip of the island to a smaller island offshore called Koh Ma.  According to the guide, Ko Ma boasted the best snorkelling on the island.  I thanked the guide and we began the descent to the entrance of the park.  By the time we reached the bottom I was dripping sweat and ready to jump on my bike and have the wind cool me off.

The ride to Ko Ma was brilliant (the Brits use this word instead of great or awesome).  The wind cooled us down and the road was windy and filled with hills, dips, turns and beautiful straightaways.  We parked our bikes and grabbed a bite to eat.  As we sat and waited ages for our food, (Thai food takes forever to prepare, usually because it is made from scratch every time), I took the time to snap a few photographs of our view from the restaurant.

Looking northwest from the restaurant

After lunch we made our way north to Ko Ma along the beach.  The sand was blisteringly hot and rough like sandpaper.  My feet were killing me and I was glad to get inside to the resort just south of the 50 meter strip of sand that connects Ko Ma to Ko Phangnan.  We rented snorkels, fins and masks from the resort and hit the water.  I was not prepared for how warm the water was.  It must have been at least 30C (86F).  We kicked out toward the northen tip of Ko Ma and took in the underwater sights.  While not nearly as exquisite or healthy as the coral in Hawaii, the coral around Ko Ma was rife with saltwater flora and fauna.  None of my fellow travelers had snorkeled so I spent some time giving them snorkeling tips.  Our snorkels were absolute crapola and leaked water through the mouthpieces.  Regardless, they had purge valves which enabled us to blow the excess water through a valve below the mouthpiece.  Kevin, Marc and I snorkeled to the northern edge of Ko Ma and got some great views Thailand's underwater flora and fauna.  In the water we discussed the possibility of snorkeling around the entirety of Ko Ma, however, our legs were tired and we were unsure of the circumference of the island.  Back on land my feet were again subjected to the coarse, superheated sand.  We turned in our snorkel gear and biked back to Triangle bungalows for some much needed rest.  We parked our bikes at the bungalows and walked the long unpaved road from the beach to Ban Tai.  In Ban Tai we met Becky, a fellow American from Florida who, much to our surprise was staying a couple bungalows away from Marc's.  We all decided to rendevous later for a nighttime bonfire over a few beers, followed by an outing in the FMP's beach location of Haad Rin.

 

We built a fire on the beach and watched the sunset.  What a spectacular end to a fun-filled day.  I learned that cocnut palm fronds burn hot and fast and make great kindling for getting larger pieces of wood started.  After a few adult beverages I hopped on a truck-taxi with Becky and her friends and headed out to the beach town of Haad Rin for a pre-FMP party.

Koh Phangnan: Partying with the Moon

WAKE UP!  WAKE UP! 

I was shocked into consciousness by the sound of travellers shuffling through their bags and packing up their sleep kits, blankets and bottles of booze.  I groggily peered through the window above my sleeping mat.  The sun was cresting the horizon which meant it was about 6:00AM.  True enough, my watch confirmed the time:  5:30AM.  Too early, way too early.  This was the earliest I had been up since Hawaii.  After waking Kevin we proceded to ignore the hordes of taxi truck drivers and sit and watch the sunrise as we planned our first day on the island.

First on the agenda was finding accommodation.  We hadn't booked lodging and had, up until this point, assumed we would pass out on the beach in hammocks.  As we looked around the now empty pier, we noticed a familiar lone traveler.  We had met Denise the previous night as we ate dinner and waited for the night ferry to depart.  Denise was in similar situation - she had not booked a room or bungalow.  The three of us sat on the peir and chatted for a time before I made the executive decision to get some food.  I was hungry...surprise surprise.  We walked to a cafe and commenced to grub.  The decision was made to rent motor scooters and use them to check out the island.  As we were paying for the bill a Westerner pulled up to the restaurant in a schwanky new moped.  I asked where he rented his ride and he directed us to a shop 50 meters up the road (Yes, I'm using meters now.  We receive funny looks when we use miles as no other country besides England uses our system).  We rented the bikes for 5US per day and zoomed away on our new Honda bikes.  Side note:  my bike was black and orange, GO GIANTS!  At 125cc riding the bikes was a blast.  I could dodge and weave through traffic like a cobra on crack AND the bikes accelerated so quickly.

We filled up our tanks with petrol, measured in litres instead of gallons, and made our way from Ton Sai, the town we landed in, to Ban Tai, a town with many beach-side bungalows for rent.  The three of us parked our motorbikes at Triangle Bungalows, a group of 10 bungalows right on the beach.  I took these pictures while Denise spoke with reception and organized her accommodation.

Looking north-east from Triangle Bungalows

Looking South from Triangle Bungalows

As headed inland to reception, I noticed the same lone traveller, Marc from Vancouver, Canada,  who recommended the motor scooter rental place in Ton Sai.  Marc was staying at Triangle Bungalows and had booked a room with two beds for five nights.  Like many travelers he made his way to the island specifically for the FMP (Full Moon Party).  Marc offered to let me stay in the extra bed and I jumped on the opportunity.  So far the day was shaping up quite nicely.  Team America found accommodation for the night, rented awesome mopeds and had established a good sense of the island's layout.  Our next move was to check out the island on our bikes!

Apologies for not updating the blog more frequently but finding time to update the blog is infrequent.

So, what's happened since my last post?  Kevin and I headed to a small island north-east of Phuket called Koh Phangnan.  Our reason for visiting the island was singular.  Every full moon the island hosts a massive beach party that can draw up to 10,000 people during the peak season.

  Getting to Koh Phangnan was rough.  We took a 6 hour bus to Krabi followed by an overnight ferry to the island.  We arrived in Krabi around 6:30pm.  Kevin was dead tired and I was recovering from a bad meal I ate in Bangkok's domestic airport.  The bus drivers first told us to get off the bus, then seconds later told us to stay.  We looked outside to see our bags being off-loaded!  We rushed off the bus and the driver told us we were to wait for a minibus to pick us up and drive us to the pier.With all the mixed messages we were receiving the both of us were extremely confused.  However, we had our bags and we had our tickets, so we nodded our heads and waved the bus driver off. 

As the bus pulled away, a tuk tuk driver approached us and asked where we were going.  We responded by telling him our destination was the pier and the night boat.  I pulled out our ticket and transportation voucher and he scanned the documents intently.  After looking over the documents for a minute, all the while mumbling things in Thai, he told us because the local office of the tourist company we booked through was closed for the day we would need to wait until morning to take the ferry.  Kevin and I were immediately dubious of his claims.  The tuk tuk driver went on to claim that we should rip up our ticket and find accommodation for the night.  Being the clever, seasoned travelers we are, we looked over the ticket and the voucher to glean more information.  The ticket had a cell phone number penciled in on the top right.  I immediately dialed the number and spoke with a representative from the company we booked our trip through and was informed someone would pick us up in a few minutes.  We smiled and ignored the insistent Tuk Tuk driver.  Within a few minutes a pickup truck pulled up and a man asked if we were the two stranded travelers.  Kevin confirmed he worked for the our travel company and we jumped in the bed of the truck and were driven to the pier.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, and I ate the saltiest beef and chicken tacos I have ever had.  I think the cook thought salt could replacing seasoning when making Mexican food.  Totally wrong.  The meal was semi-expensive and could have been better.  It was only 8:30 and departed at 11:30 so Kevin and I goofed off for a couple hours.  We piled on the boat at 11:30 and found our sleeping assignments.  There were 72 people crammed in to a space designed only for 40.  We were elbow to elbow and space was a premium.  We met a three American's who were bunking around us.  I can't remember their names but I do remember two of them were medical students from Minnesota and the other was a blogger from Florida who'd been living in Thailand for 3 years.  We were all heading to the Full Moon Party so we plied the Floridian for information about the party.  As the ferry got up to speed Kevin and I agreed it was time to sleep.  We'd been traveling for the majority of the day and we were both exhausted.  I popped a Xanax and passed out.

Post-Songkran update.

Our time in Changmai is over and I already miss my friends from the Little Bird Hostel and the city.  I'm writing from the Phuket Backpacker Hostel and counting down the minutes until our minibus to Ko Phangnan arrives.

A little about Songkran.  Songkran is the Thai New Year and is celebrated from the 13-15th.  Celebrations involve massive water fights and clay.  From the 13th to the 15th, the entire city gathers to participate in a massive waterfight.  The layout of the city is particularly conducive as the old city is a perfect square surrounded by a mostly decaying wall and defensive moat.  The perimeter of the city is packed with street vendors selling water guns and booths from major corporations such as Coca Cola and Nok Air (a local Thai airline).  I don't have any photos of the water fight as I didn't want to risk my camera being taken but somewhere on Facebook is a video of me dancing with the Thai Coca Cola girls on a massive stage.  The excitement and jubilation of the event could be felt throughout the day and smiles were as abundant as water buckets and Super Soaker squirt guns.  I am so glad I was able to experience Songkran and I will hunt down the video of me on that stage.  It was awesome.  The only thing I can compare it to is a water rave.

Our next stop is Ko Phangnan, a small island on Thailand's eastern seabord.  The island is famous for its Full Moon Party, a massive celebration that draws 20,000 to 30,000 people.

A word on Phuket or as I like to call it Poo-ket due to the awful smell and lack of anything to do.  All ye thinking of travelling to Thailand!  Poo-ket like Bangkok should be used as a transportation hub, DO NOT stay here for any longer than you must.  I'm glad we've only been here for a few hours.

Ok!  The bus arrives soon and I need to hydrate and upload some pictures.

Die lewe is gued (life is good)

Quick update.  Life is good!  I'm alive and well and staying in Changmai.  Kevin and I are having a great time here and enjoying our new hostel Little Bird and all our new friends.  Lengthy update coming tomorrow - with pics!

Take a second and say it a couple times: Life IS good


Sawadee kap

Greetings from the Land of the Smile!

Sawadee ka!  Greetings and smiles from Thailand!  My flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok last night was a quick 2 hours and 25 minutes.  Bangkok's airport is amazing!  Crap, I should have taken pics!  The architecture and layout was impressive, lots of glass, polished metal and neon lights.  It's worth noting that driving here is INSANE.  I couldn't make sense of traffic rules and my driver was weaving in and out of cars and people while going 25.  I swear he grazed a BMW as he tried to sneak through a busy roundabout.  Total ride time was 25 minutes and I believe I traveled around 39KM.  The hotel Kevin booked lost our reservations but they directed us to their sister joint called U-Place (I'm writing from their front desk lobby PC).  Great little hotel tucked away from the highway.  Pool, laundromat and gym onsite.

We just finished up lunch with Kevin.  We went to a local spot and, although the service took  forever (probably because they don't tip in Thailand), the food was amazing.  We had shredded chicken and shark fin soup, peppered/garlic squid, and chili basil chicken.  Definitely worth the wait.  Total meal price for the two of us... a little under 9USD.

We are off to find the MBK mall so we can stock up on essentials: sunscreen, coffee, SIM cards and more memory cards for my camera.

Last post from American soil

Well, today is the big day.  I woke up ate breakfast, grabbed my bags and go to SFO 2:45 minutes before departure.  As I was checking in the airline staff informed me in order to board the plan I needed to purchase a return ticket.  Their price 600+. Screw that, I said. So I hopped on my Droid and bought a one way from Bangkok to Hanoi, vietnam. Online price $141. Yeah, Droid does cheaptickets too. I made it through security, and now im waiting at the gate to board the plane.  Hong Kong here I come! ETA 15 hours.