Night bus

Taking the night bus to Koh Phangan was an experience, it was the cheapest way to get to the islands and counted as accommodation for the night, win win. There were, of course, a few niggles. As the bus steward handed out blankets I had high hopes for the air conditioning. They soon vanished in pools of sweat. Also as you drifted into a muggy sleep the bus would make a stop, flipping the floodlight like lights on full. At 4am this experience came to an end and we were ushered onto concrete benches and left in the darkness in the middle of seemingly nowhere. As dawn broke and the workers arrived we found out this was the pier where our ferry would leave from. At around 9am our ferry was loaded up and we were on our way.

Koh Phangan

There was a bustling community around the little pier with many cafes and restaurants. After wandering a bit, grabbing lunch and a floating GoPro handle we took a Songthaew, open backed taxi, to Haad Khom on the north of the island where we would be staying. The ride across the island was great fun, going for miles over roads and dirt tracks to reach our destination. The driver stopped near a piece of graffiti art and some make shift steps, taking our money and pointing down the steps to the jungle below. Half cut out of the hillside and half brick and concrete, the steps had to be navigated carefully. Instead of jungle at the bottom, there was a glorious white sand beach with a few beach huts and many coconut trees. Making our way to the restaurant to check in we were soon lead back to one of the beach huts.

The hut

Painted white with a palm frond roof, the beach hut looked exactly like it should nestling in the palm trees. With a little foot pool to wash off sand before climbing steps up to the cabin and a hammock on the balcony, it was great. Inside was a bed with much needed mosquito net and a separate shower room. In the shower room was a lovely slit window looking out over the beach, having no curtain meant you always had a great view, luckily it was a quiet beach! The hut was open to the elements with the sand below visible through the floor boards and a family of large ants which made the toilet home during the night. During the day the generator was switched off and there was no electricity, but with the beach a stones throw away you didn’t notice.

The town

Half an hour walk away was the town of Chaloklum. It contained fishermen, a few restaurants and our nearest convenience store. The walk was not an easy one, with no shade and lots of steep hills, it soon sapped your energy. Here we found a great place called The Carrot Cafe, we went here at first due to the air conditioning but found the food was lovely and tried our first Ant Hill Cake, not local fair but lovely non the less.

Waterfall

After one quite dangerous and exhausting walk we ended up at Paradise Falls. Although the name did suggest a bit more than this slightly steep river could deliver, it was a welcome rest bite from the sun. Also welcome was the “free” bottle of water with the entry price, which some people felt necessary to throw into the falls to mark their presence.

Scooter

With the lack of traffic on the island we decided it was a good opportunity to rent a scooter and explore a little further. After a hell raising experience on the back of a locals bike to get to the rental place we had our wheels. Topped up with petrol purchased on the side of the road from whiskey bottles, we headed to the south side of the island. After checking out Haad Rin beach, famed for the full moon parties, we headed through lots of small towns and villages. An amazing freeing experience hopping on and off at different views and places.

The beach

Our time on the island was mainly spent enjoying Haad Khom beach. It was quiet, very well kept and with the second best snorkling on the island. We never did ask where the best snorkling was. After the hustle and bustle of Bangkok it was great to fall asleep to the sound of the sea at night.