Sorry about the delay in blogs. I think the island life is getting to me…meaning I’m extremely relaxed not to mention the limited internet connection here on the island. So, I’m going to write this in two parts because there’s more then one story in the past two weeks.
I came to Koh Pha Ngan on the 7th of January after doing yet another one of these “too good to be true” package bus/ferry deals. The reason being is that I had already scheduled it before Lana and I left Bangkok for Cambodia and even though I vowed to never do that again….there I was waiting in traffic in Bangkok, arriving at a totally different ferry then I thought I would and at 3:30am. This meant waiting until 7:00am to get the ferry over to Koh Pha Ngan which was 4 ½ hours on very choppy waters. Luckily I don’t get seasick but it was a long, long night and day!
I finally arrived and planned to make my way to the east side of the island in a area called Haad Thian and where a spa/resort called The Sanctuary is and where I was hoping to stay but they were booked up because of this huge gay wedding of a couple from Las Vegas and Tokyo-not sure where they live now-but it was one festive event….more on that later. So I ended up staying at a place called “Lovelip” very close to The Sanctuary so I could also take advantage of the yoga and meditation classes at the Sanctuary. I didn’t really connect with the bungalow at Lovelip so I started exploring some other options. I wandered over to the next beach called Wai Nam and there it was! Paradise found and I was determined to stay there and apparently so was everyone else so it took patience and three more nights at a bed bug infested bungalow (I realized this after nearly scratching myself raw and thinking that the mosquitoes were brutal here!) before I could get a room. In spite of the above mentioned it was worth it. I had an amazing bungalow with a view of the ocean, cliffs and coconuts trees and slept soundly to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. I left the bed bugs behind but did have an infestation of ants but hey….this is the islands. No hot water showers or flushing toilets but it more then paid off to stay 6 more nights in paradise. Wai Nam beach also had a platform overlooking the ocean to use for yoga and meditaton. I took advantage of this as well as doing a few classes through the Sanctuary.
Back to the wedding! The event took place the day after I arrived and right on the Haad Thian beach. The bridegrooms were dressed up in colorful kimonos and the guests were clad in wild makeup and outfits. Come to find out one of the grooms is an entertainer in Vegas and many of the guests were talented as well so they put on quite a show after the ceremony plus a fireworks display that was pretty spectacular. It was a fun night and I met some really nice people including Davie from South Africa who became my hiking and hanging out buddy for some of the time I was there. I made friends with a couple from Germany and Victor actually helped me to carry by bag over rocks and cliffs when I first arrived by boat (since it was rough they said they couldn’t take up right into Haad Thian), a sweetheart of a man, Michael, from the Uk but living in Thailand and Amsterdam, and Anna from the UK who I grew to really enjoy our walks and talks together.
Davie and I hiked over to an even more remote beach which was about a 45 minute hike and was beautiful. Another day we hiked into Haad Rin(where I took the boat from) which was close to 2 hours up and down through the jungle and as I was swinging on vines to help myself down the steep embankments, I re-named myself “Jungle Jane”. It was incredible with great views and on the way back we got caught in the rain and were totally drenched but it was worth it!
There is a bit of a party scene there on the island but it’s one that you can partake in or not. The dance parties on Tuesday and Fridays nights barely get started before midnight and go until noon the next day. Needless to say, I did not go and luckily was far enough away that I wasn’t kept awake by the music. After all, Koh Pha Ngan is famous for their “Full Moon Parties” that attract thousands of people.
So sadly I tore myself away from this lovely paradise after ten days only to experience a different side of the island……….”same, same but different” as the Thai’s like to say. I will tell you all about that in part 2 of “Paradise Island”
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