belated updated #4 ctd........

OK, so where was I.  After Ko Samui we went to kho pha ngan.  The ferry over was about an hour and a half or so and we arrived near Hat Rin (I think).  To be honest I was a bit overwhelmed with how busy it was at the port - the place was just rammed with “travellers” (got talking to a guy in the taxi from England - asked his name and he replied ‘G’.  Took about 5 minutes of me asking perplexed questions before he started getting a bit arsy and told me in very clear terms that yes, his name was JUST G - like the letter.)

Click here for more info on Koh Pha Ngan and the date of the next full moon party (Ed).

Anyway, we decided to stay at Bottle beach.  We booked a room and got the taxi to take us there.  It was only when we dropped ‘G’ off at his mountain retreat that the taxi driver then informed us you could only get to bottle beach via boat and we were now too late!!  In true “travelling in Thailand” style we just went with the flow and half an hour later we were deposited on a beach and told to wait for a random stranger (no stickers this time :o)  Ten minutes later we were in a boat (having to pay extra due to the lateness we had arrived), twenty minutes after that we pulled up to a moonlight, seemingly deserted beach.  It was my idea of paradise.  We wandered up the beach and a bloke came out shouting “bungalow” (actually turned out we had booked rooms on a different beach so it was lucky they had rooms available here!!).  We were in a double bungalow ( a room upstairs and one downstairs with a bathroom for 750 baht (just over a tenner).  The place was bottle beach 3 (there’s only the 3 places on the whole beach - bottle beach 1,2,3).  The beach itself is only about 2-300 metres in length.  Really is an amazing place and I toally recommend it.  I stayed there for about 4-5 days - the huts are slightly hidden by trees so from a distance the beach looks almost deserted - very relaxed atmosphere and great for just chilling out.

Click here for info on Bottle Beach (or Haad Kuat, as it’s known to the locals) (Ed).

As the full moon party was on at the same time we felt we had to go and see what all the fuss was about.  To be honest I thought it was a bit pants.  Just loads of bars opening onto the beach, people with glow-sticks, people peeing in the sea, and, to be honest, pretty middle of the road dance music (hey, I’m no expert, but there was nothing of interest to me - although I am highly embarrased to admit that I did purchase a glow stick in my drunken stupor (and then promptly lose it!!)).  Myself and an Aussie bloke also got offered heroin, but we both decided that our first foray into the murky underworld of class A intravenous drugs would probably be more prudently served from someone who didn’t have a patch over one eye and a hideous skin disorder :o)

Click here for info on the full moon party (no drugs on this site!) (Ed).

After kho pha ngan was kho phi phi.  Stayed at the rhimni guest house, which was OK (clean and tidy, bit of a rickety walk-way to the bungalow though!!).  To be honest I got ill in kho phi phi, went deep sea fishing and didn’t catch anything, then went snorkling to see sharks and didn’t see any - so, although its a very nice island, I had a bit of a cr*p time (well, not cr*p, but not as good as everywhere else in Thailand).  Then it was back to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok before my flight to Oz (where I am now). 

Click here for more info on Koh Phi Phi and Krabi (Ed).

All in all though I would reccomend Thailand to everyone - its really cool. Things I won’t miss though:

* Worrying that I’ve flooded the guest house when once again I forget that I’m not supposed to flush the loo roll down the toilet.

* Having random strangers accost me whenever I stop on the street for more than 4 seconds (and then pretend for 20 mins to be just shooting the breeze before finally getting round to trying to sell you something).  This does only really apply to Bangkok though.  Actually, funny story.  Myself and a friend where looking for somewhere in Siam square.  I bet her we’d get stopped at least 5 times before we found it.  We got stopped 7 times in about 10 mins!!! (OK, I did cheat by wandering around with the Lonely Planet waving about in my hand!!!).

Anyway,

More later

A.

Click here for info about Bangkok (Ed).