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!