Koh Phangan/ Koh Pha Ngan

Giant ants having a perve

Day 12 dawned and we headed to the pier for the ferry to get from Koh Tao to Koh Pha Ngan. We exchanged our tickets for a brightly colored sticker so we could join the gang of passengers. Escorted to a table with two spare seats in a restaurant where everyone was waiting for the ferry, we met an Irish couple. As Rick leaped over the banister on to the sand, I chatted with the Irish pair. Simon and Louise were heading to the full moon party too, and their travel plans were long term which put us on the same page... that and the fact that we weren't 18/ on a gap year/ looking to score; like almost everybody else!!

A sleepy ferry ride and a few hours later we reached Koh Pha Ngan and decided to head to the same beach as Simon and Louise. They had pre-booked accommodation, as full moon weeks are usually packed, and they told us later they were really worried we wouldn't find anything left. With our typical kiwi attitude, we thought "she'll be 'right" and didn't book anything. We rolled up to the hotel and Rick checked out the bungalows... Small with an outdoor bathroom, and way over our budget.

So I sat on the beach, guarding our packs while Rick set off in the heat of the day to scope out a cheaper room. A good half hour later, sweating profusely he informs me the guest house next door to the original hotel was by far the sweetest deal. A huge room with a TV/ mini fridge/ air con/ hot shower and bath/ flushing toilet that you can actually put toilet paper down! Oh and a pool. It was Ricks birthday week, the room being slightly over our budget, but we splashed out and took it. We compared rooms with Simon and Louise and we scored big time... Sorry guys!

After getting settled we had lunch with them and went to check out Hat Rin that evening. Hat Rin is where they host the infamous Full Moon Party. The roads around the island are ludicrous, a mix of poorly concreted roads, masses of scooters and overloaded taxi vans with tourists crammed in, oh... and the soundtrack is a continuous horn honking.

The next day was Rick's birthday! The big 26 in Thailand on a tropical island, not a bad way to start. I tried to spoil him as much as possible, with massages and making him cups of coffee etc. We also treated ourselves to a decent breakfast; bacon, eggs, baked beans, hash browns, sausage and all the rest. For dinner we went to an amazing restaurant on the beach, preceded by myself making a stupid comment about not wanting to spend too much money and totally forgetting it was Rick's birthday... oops!

The remainder of the week we just spent relaxing in the air con, swimming in the guest house pool, Rick editing photos and eating at various restaurants/ street stalls, having a few sly drinks on the beach and hanging out with fellow tourists. 

One of the best finds this week was REAL coffee. Like a full blown espresso coffee, both of us almost in tears we ordered coffee. Check out the crema in the photo. If there wasn't a large slab of concrete separating us and the Thai barista we would have smothered her in cuddles!

The night of June 16 was full moon party night and we rolled down to Hat Rin in a share taxi. Most of the punters were decked out head to toe in fluoro, not really my style I opted for just the fluoro body paint, Rick taking it to the extreme decided he would be a smurf. He proceeded to paint all his limbs and his face blue, wrapping Simon's unwanted white t-shirt around his head in smurf like fashion. We all had a great night, drinking out of buckets and double-taking at all the advertising at each bucket stand. Rick cranked out his glo-poi's which were a hit, literally for some of the people passing by! By 5am we were back at our guesthouse laying on the loungers watching the last of that night's full moon. Good times.

Xx Jaz