Koh Phangan Island

After a long overnight train from Bangkok to Chumphon, a morning bus ride with a transfer to a high speed catamaran on Lomprayah, our 14 hour trek finally brought us on the lovely island of Koh Phangan on Tuesday morning, October 19th. After two weeks in the hectic city of Bangkok and 8 days of hospital visits, the warm island breezes immediately rejuvenated our tired bodies and provided a much needed sense of tranquility. We checked into a beautiful resort called The Grand Sea Resort just north of Thong Sala where we were able to negotiate an upgrade to an adorable Thai style bungalow by the pool for 1000 baht (about $33). It is considered “low season” here because it is supposed to be monsoon season, but we have completely lucked out with beautiful weather every day and more flexibility for negotiation.

Our first day we just enjoyed the pool and a dip in the ocean, which was 10 steps away and incredibly calm and warm. The water is so low that you can almost walk the entire way to a set of small islands nearby. Later that night we walked into town to find a lovely Japanese restaurant where we enjoyed sushi for the first time in ages. On the walk home we began to notice how sleepy our side of the island appeared to be and a severe lack of nightlife. But as we neared our resort, we heard some very chill house music coming from the beach and followed the tunes to a wonderful beachfront bar/restaurant full of bean bags and hammocks called Ann’s. We ended up adopting this place as our regular spot for the rest of the trip. We also met a wonderful gentleman named Dan that evening who is in the process of becoming a Parisian ex-pat, and he gave some great advice about the island.

The next day we decided that we needed transportation to truly explore the island, so we rented the resort Jeep and drove around the coast, learning of another delightful café just up the hill called A’s Beach Resort which had an amazing ocean view. We continued straight north to Chalokum Bay and then south towards Paradise Waterfall. It was a pretty treacherous climb up to the top due to the heat and a pretty disappointing “waterfall“, but there was a cool pool of water waiting for us at the top for a refreshing dip. Just after we left the waterfall, we had to make a stop to meet Bee, a 35 year-old elephant we had noticed hanging out by the side of the road with his owners. Bee’s main purpose is to serve as a trekking elephant providing rides for tourists, but you can also just feed him bananas and take photos for 40 baht. We couldn’t resist the opportunity to feed him, so we took turns while we each snapped photos. It’s a little daunting having an elephant direct his trunk straight at you, but once you understand that he is just trying to wrap the trip of his trunk around the fruit it makes feeding much easier. He was so sweet and very gentle - what amazing an animal!

On the way home we stopped at a venue called Amsterdam Bar which is perched at the top of a cliff and is riddled with backpackers and ridiculous views. We just missed sunset, so we promised ourselves we would return another day. After a shower and a change at the resort, we decided to do some recon by visiting the southeast corner of Haad Rin to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Full Moon Party - a monthly debaucherous night of drunken 20-something year olds dancing to DJ music on the beach. I wanted to make sure I understood the layout, and also knew how to make a quick escape in case the kids and drunkenness became a bit overbearing. We had a chance to explore the town and figure out the taxi stands and main entry way into the beach front bars. We also enjoyed a fairly quiet dinner and a movie being showcased on a huge LCD screen….an actual date night!

Thursday became a leisurely day of dining and sun exposure. We had a great lunch at A’s Beach Resort where the manager, Sophie, let us check out their Glass Cottage, a large luxury bungalow that is completely enclosed in glass and overlooking the ocean. It is a true honeymooner’s retreat that I would definitely recommend to anyone on a romantic getaway! The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying our pool and watching a long and incredible sunset. I think the sky took on an entirely new look every five minutes, as is evident from the 40 photos I captured. For dinner, we went into town to enjoy a scrumptious meal at A’s Café, the sister restaurant to the beach Café and met Sophie’s husband, Mike. We are hoping the encourage them to list their Glass Cottage on Airbnb!

Friday morning we took a taxi over to Haad Rin again to pick up a boat tour which departs from the Haad Rin pier every day at 12:09 called Munchies. The boat took us all the way around the island making several stops along the way including an unimpressive waterfall (Thaan Prapad), a delicious lunch in Nai Pan Yai, and great snorkeling in Koh Ma. Our captain, Chris, was super cool and even served us rum and Coke drinks at the end of the tour. I highly recommend their tour - no need to book in advance, just show up! It’s a great deal for 700 baht (lunch included).

We raced back to our resort to shower and also meet up with our Airbnb friends, Lisa whom we’ve known since Paris, and Daniel and Justin whom we just met in Bangkok. We introduced them to Ann’s bar where we enjoyed some cocktails and catching up. The next day we rented the Jeep again and took them for a tour around the island, where our first destination was a secluded beach on Chaloklum Bay. We then took an adventure trek through the jungle to Haad Thong Nai Pan Yai (TNP Beach) where we enjoyed lunch at the same place we dined during our Munchies tour. We then raced back to the resort to shower, have a small pre-party at our bungalow, and then dinner at Ann’s to prep for our big night out.

We caught a taxi across the island to Haad Rin around 11:30pm to make our way to the Full Moon Party. It’s hard to explain the experience, but it’s basically beachfront bars which pump out a variety of different music and try to entice young partygoers to dance on their section of the beach and purchase their “buckets” (booze and mixer served in a kid’s beach pail that you consume through a straw). Many of the clubs also have black lights lining their pr9operty, so it is extremely popular to have your face, arm, or possibly your entire body painted so you glow in the light. I have to admit, I was particularly impressed with a group that painted their entire bodies in blue and went as Navi from the movie Avatar. The evening was actually quite entertaining, and once we found a sound system with some fun music the five of us danced for quite a while on the beach. However, as the night wore on and tiredness set in I was very grateful to know where to quickly pick up a taxi to take us back home.

The next morning we all headed straight to Ann’s for some breakfast and learned about their Sunday night BBQ later that night which meant our dinner plans were set! After some much needed pool time, we headed up the hill for a proper sunset at Amsterdam Bar and took some great scenic shots. We headed back down the hill just as the BBQ was in full swing. We were served a huge whole red snapper, three shrimp, baked potato and salad. I think we all literally licked the bones clean because the meal was so delicious! One of the local cats also tried to infiltrate my meal several times and pretty much sat on my lap the entire time I was eating waiting for scraps. Our friend Dan also showed up later that evening and pulled up a chair to chat with our group, and we also hung our with our favorite waiter, Karl. It’s amazing how just within a few days time you can establish your own “Cheers” type of venue where you get to know the regulars.

The next day we had one final breakfast at Ann’s with the Airbnb folks and finally had to say goodbye to them and the crew at Ann’s. While we were sad to leave Koh Phangan (and start a treacherous 2 day journey to Chiang Mai) at least we knew we were returning to this island next month, and we are certain to meet up with our Airbnb friends again - perhaps next month!