24th-27th Sept.
I arrived in Koh Phangan safe and sound, hasslefree, just past midday. What a differee it makes to be ale to view a plaec in natural light and to not have to worry about time being against you. The first place i turned up to- Coral Bungalows- was the last also as i ended up checking in there right away. i had already een reccomended the place as a cheap, cheerful place to stay- perfect for making friends. It was the easiest decision i;'ve had to make so far. The dim lighting and brown 1970s tiling was questionable but a hot shower and a hearty lunch soon put those issues to rest.
As i mentioned in my last entry however- just my luck- there were tropical rainstorms and cloudy skies cast over KP as soon as I got thee. I knew it was rainy season but, like all the other destinations i'd viisited, i presumed it would entail an hour or two of rain with the rest of the day dry for me to do some serious sunworshipping. Alas, I was wrong. The first day consisted of me reading a book and merely watching the sea- at high tide and ferociously hitting the shore- rather than being in it. The atmosphere in the resort was nice though and i happily spent my evening talking to people and watching movies in the lounge area. It was just nice to finally put my feet up without a care in the world.
Day 2 in KP was one of fun and laughs. I befriended some fellow Londonders who were staing at the same place and we headed over to the main beach in the town, Haadrin. I found out that where we were staying was called sunset beach and the other stretch was "sunrise"and mcuh nicer. For the dayts that followed then, we ritually made our way to the main beach for sun and sand and would head back in time for sunset at thew resort. My day with the girls was really nice and chilled, eating, drinking and exchanging stories about our expeiences thus far. I also ate Schnitzel for the first time in my life- In Thailand of all the places! interestingly, a large proportion of Israeli's visit Thailand every year around this time when they get holidays from the army (it's compulsary for both boys and girls before university for at least 2 years). What has this got to do with Äustrian"schnitzeln you ask? Well, as my new Israeli friend- Barack (yes, like Barack obama)- informed me, the Israeli's dont really have an national food of their own. Instead they crave all things Schnitzel and moroccan like falafel, and so this is why so many of these shnitzel joints have popped up in Thailand- to cater for the Israelis. And that's your interesting fact for the day!
After my schnitzel ( a glorified chicekn burger), we headed to the resort and chilled out by the pool before heading back to the beach to attend an infamous beach party. There were fire dnacers everywhere, lots and lots of "buckets"of alcohol- for those of you that don't know, when you visit Thailand apprantly the only thing to drink- chang and singha beer aside- is a "bucket"filled with various spirits and mixers. And yes, these are as lethal as they sound!
Day 3- KP
The londoners were moving on today so i booked myself onto a boat tour of the island. I thought it would be a nice way to explore the sights and sounds and make some friends along the way. But sadly it was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. not ones to let anything get in their way, some Israeli=s from the resort who were booked on the tour also decided to charter their own boat and make a trip of their own and invited me along. Myself and another fellow from Durham university became honorory Jews for the day and spent time laughing, joking and drolicking in the sea on the more secluded beaches on the island. the skies had cleared, the sun had come out and finally the island began to look like the untouched paradise i had first hoped it would be- oh how shortlived that moment was! As soon as we got back to the resort, the heavens opened up. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain continued through the night. AS this was my last night and i had an early start for BKK the next day, i took a rain check (prdon the pun !) on that nights beach party and headed to bed.
all in all it was a really fun couple of days and i've made some friends that i would definitely keep in touch with. it felt like my trip was finaslly starting to take shape and at an enjoyable pace. I felt more confident and was slowly starting to think, sleep and breath like a traveller. Next stop... Bangkok.
Px
