May 2007

How shall i describe Koh Phangan. Well, let me be absolutely honest and say that at this point, all i can describe with any accuracy would be the quaint little village of Hat Rin - home to the legendary Full Moon parties. And the not quite so legendary Shiva Moon parties, Half Moon parties, and Black Moon parties. As long as there's a moon, there's a party!

Not that I've been participating much. From the moment I arrived here I've been feeling a little under the weather. Slight touch of the 'flu, i'm afraid, so your faithful reporter has preciously little to report this time. Spent a lot of time in my hammock looking at this:

therapy...

But never fear - I have consulted a clinic and am currently sufficiently (and legally) chemically fortified to start my exploration of life on Koh Phangan properly.

Hat Rin is probably best experienced if you are 22 and Israeli, which is what most people seem to be around here. The locals have learned to deal with their particular style of communication (I'm grossly generalising here of course, as I've actually met some really nice Israelis) by taking there money very quickly and efficiently and packing them off on trips taking them anywhere but Hat Rin.

Life happens on the beach here. Sunrise beach, that is. Truth be told, it is actually a gorgeous beach, and relatively unspoiled despite the monthly onslaught of ten thousand ravers at the Full Moon parties. There is a big red neon sign at the south end of the beach, reminding you that you are on Koh Phangan. Overstating the obvious? Maybe, but considering the enlightened state of mind that most partygoers are in, at night, on the beach, it is probably not a bad idea ;-)

I'm diving on Sail Rock tomorrow morning, and will be going to the half moon party tomorrow night. This party is actually supposed to be better than the full moon parties, as it is set deep in the jungle with a fairly fierce dj line-up.
I'll also rent a quad (one of those 4 wheel bike/tractor jobbies) and head up to the waterfalls before I leave.

And naturally, I will be submitting a report in full of my discoveries and appraisals of these wonders of nature.

That's it for now, i'm afraid. Thanks for tuning in again!
cheers,
i

what shall i say about koh tao. smashing little island, completely dominated by the diving community. you are not for scuba? you are not up to much then.

in the two days that i was there, the weather pretty much looked like this:

and when i say rain, i mean rain

the sultry, musty smell of tropical rain mixes nicely with the atmosphere actually. it's all about the water. the beach is gorgeous, and must be amazing when the sun's out.

sai ri beach

did two dives on the first day, with ban divers, one of the worlds largest scuba operations. the massive dive boat took us to chumphon first, a deep reef that is the scene of most whaleshark sightings. saw lots of sharks, but unfortunately the whaleshark remains a particularly elusive character.

black tip reef shark (at 30m depth); silver batfish

and as usual the damn paparazzi showed up...

no pictures please; nathalie in a private zen moment

on the second day, the diving was slightly more eccentric. our guide was of the braindead variety, and failed to find the reef! we spent 15 minutes swimming at 15m depth, in the deep blue sea, and never saw a thing. in the end, we decided to surface. miles from the boat, and going the wrong way altogether. i suppose that's what they call an open water safari...

in the meantime, the full moon party was raging on koh phagnan. didn't go to the party, but got to see the full moon!

<<wolves howl, an owl hoots in the distance>>

today, after a close encounter with some parrots, i said goodbye to nathalie and donned my travelling boots and struck out for koh phangan.

yes, those are my feet, and yes, those are teva's i'm wearing. sue me.

i've just arrived at hat rin beach. party location extraordinaire. of course this is the quiet week after the full moon party, so the atmosphere is nice and chilled.

checked into a fan bungalow slash milldewed, mosquito infested prison cell. very cheap, of course. might have to find something slightly more comfortable tomorrow. don't want to take the traveller thing too far, of course.

looking forward to finishing reading my book and trekking up to the waterfalls inland. oh, okay, twist my arm, and maybe a few singha beers to wash it all down with ;-)

thanks for tuning in again! remember to check out my photo gallery for more pics (just click on the 'author' button. i think that should work)

cheers,
i