Davin enjoying a mango on the boat deck before we set sail. The mango's there were the tastiest fruits I've ever eaten.
When we arrived on the island we were greeted by tons of hotel cabby's trying to get us to come with them. Davin had read about a beautiful secluded beach on the north side of the island and wanted to stay there for at least a night. The beach is called "Bottle beach" and is considered the most beautiful on the island. It is the beach that first inspired the movie producer to film "The Beach," and everyone knows how gorgeous that is.
We started to tell the cabby's where we wanted to, but they were reluctant to take us because of the distance - it really wasn't that bad, I don't know what all the fuss was about. 25 minutes at the most. Finally we found someone and they brought us to a small fisherman town where we were supposed to catch a small boat to our beach. Since there are no roads that lead there, you have to take a boat. Apparently, sometimes when it storms, vacationers can get stuck on the beach for days because the small boats cannot make it around the rocky piers. I don't think I'd mind that.
Loading up the boat.
:)
Our boat. Dav was checking out the motor which was apparently taken from a car.
Cooling off before leaving.
I think this was my favourite place to take pictures. There is just something about the colours and the lighting that make them look so nice to me.
The quirky fishing boats and the way the people look at the camera also add something too.
We couldn't figure out why the boats were slanted that way.
It took about 15 minutes to get to Bottle Beach and it was a fun ride over the waves (for me at least, Dav still needs his "sea legs" as he calls them). I am a bit embarrassed at this point because as I look through my Bottle Beach photos I realize I didn't take any. I don't have any pictures from the most beautiful beach on the island. It was too beautiful to waste even just a second looking at it through a lens I suppose. I'll have to explain.
We arrived in a beautiful inlet with pure white sands and crystal blue water. There were three resorts along the beach tucked into the trees - but not big overpowering resorts - they were all small and only offered individual huts with beach or garden views. We managed to get a hut right on the beach with a hammock and patio out front at the only resort that offered a pool. It was nice. Our hut was all made of wood and had a very rustic feel (but still had AC - you'd die without it here).
When we arrived there were maybe eight other people on the beach - all couples. After we checked in we went to our hotel restaurant (another beach front table) and had the Thai green curry for the first time on the trip. It was so so good. It's making me hungry just thinking about it as I eat my little cup of Taiwanese yogurt. Ugh.
We spent the day swimming and tanning and enjoy the beach. I was happy to find a little exchange library they had in the lobby that I could take books from. This is where I found my book, "When Neitzsche Wept," which I got into and really started to love.
That evening we sat at the bar and made friends with some of the staff.
This is the lobby and the bar in the background. Dav is sitting there with a man who stopped by, completely drunk beyond belief and barely making any sense. He ate some pasta, said some weird things and then left for the night.
The restaurant at night.
Davin hopped behind the bar later in the night to share his music with the staff.
We both agreed that this was the worst meal we had on our entire trip. It is supposed to be bruchetta and a greek salad. It was surprising because everything else we had there was so good. If there is anything I've learned about travelling it is to order only the food that each particular country specializes in - that way you can rarely go wrong.
The next morning we decided it was time to move to another location on the island. We wanted to contrast the secluded Bottle Beach with the busiest beach on the island - Haad Rin - the famous Full Moon Party spot. But first, we decided to do a snorkelling trip.
Waiting around for our boat driver.
He took us around to the north west side of the island, about 35 minutes away from Bottle Beach, to a well-known snorkelling area on the island. I was so excited as the last time I did some real snorkelling was maybe 10-12 years ago on a family trip in Bahamas.
Ready to go. Aren't underwater cameras great?
This area was less known for the fish, but well known for the beautiful corals. The water was a bit murkey, so the pictures did not come out as clear as I would have liked, but you get the idea.
Goofing around.
Check out these gorgeous pictures I got of the afternoon sky:
Back on the boat, the hotel had packed us a little lunch.
I cut my foot on the coral right before I was done and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Three weeks later I still have the scab.
"Awe Davin." This would have been my favourite picture if he was smiling...and if my bloody foot was out of the picture.
After our snorkelling excursion we asked the driver to take us back to the main beach where we could catch a taxi to our next destination - Haad Rin beach at the very south end of the island.
Davin's face shows just how incredibly hot it got that afternoon. It seemed to get hotter and hotter everyday.
By this point Davin was starting to resemble a steamed lobster. You could literally hear the "sizzle" each time he stepped into the light. Since I hadn't burned too badly (surprising really, but I was getting some nice colour), I volunteered to go find a hotel while Davin stayed indoors shopping around for bathing suits.
My friend Glen had been to Koh Phangnon and was so ecstatic about his stay there that he had given me step by step instructions of what to do and where to stay to have the best time ever. He suggested we stay at Tommy Resort which was conveniently located steps away from where our cabby dropped us off. It worked perfectly. Once we got settled in we did the walk around to check everything out.
One thing we noticed was that this place was filled with young gorgeous people. The town was smaller than Koh Samui but had a neat feel because all the roads were pedestrian only and there were so many unique restaurants and shops.
This is a snapshot of the beach.
These are the stands where the locals sell buckets at night. They write these funny things to try and attract customers - they are all competing with the same product, all at the same price, so they have to differentiate themselves in some way.
Dav and I had a drink and some curry at a beach restaurant. My obsession with Thai curry starting to take control of my every meal.
Later in the evening (to relax before a night out) we found a bar/restaurant that played movies on a big screen so you could watch and drink at the same time. After a couple of mojito buckets, Dav and I were ready to hit the beach party so we head back to the room to get ready.
View from our room.
Burnt. I made Davin pose with all his lotions. He bought a new one almost every day. It was impressive actually, how persistent he was with applying this stuff. He really did not want to peel.
Very attractive. We got these devil horns at the Black Moon Party in Koh Samui. They seemed appropriate for tonight.
A really awful picture of the party down the beach. Unfortunately it is the only one I have.
It was a great night! When we arrived the fun had already started. All the pretty people we saw earlier that day were cleaned up and drinking around one of the two big wooden beach bars. Music was blarring and some locals were hosting some really funny games that were the center of attention.
They first got a bunch of guys to try their luck at lighting a big torch by blowing gasoline out of their mouth through a flame. Then we played a ballon game which Davin and I joined in on. We had to tie a ballon around our ankles and then when the music played everyone had to bounce around trying to pop eachothers ballon. I managed to make it to third place which wasn't too bad! I got pretty close to the end in musical chairs as well. With all the torches blazing around it was so hot so I had to keep going for dips in the ocean. There was a lightning storm in the distance which looked really cool from where we were on the beach.
After the games finished the music started blarring again and the party really started. We met a group of really fun people from Holland - a girl, two twin guys and their other buddy. We all danced and talked the night away and they invited Dav and I to join them if we are ever in Holland in the future. They also convinced Davin and I to go to Koh Tao the next day. In their opinion, although it is the smallest, they believed it was the best island of the three.
The next morning, tired and sad to be leaving. But off we went.
One last goodbye on the cab ride to the ferry. Koh Phangnon was great, but one crazy night was plenty.
And the adventure continued...
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