The adventure goes South

So the last entry Iaki and I were leaving Koh tao as qualified advanced open water divers and were gearing up for the party of all parties. The infamous Koh Pangang Full Moon party. We had heard rumours that due to a buddist holiday the date had moved from 22 to 24, but we were optimistic. We had our boat tickets and were ready to move off the diving island. The rumours were right, but that didnt mean that the island was quiet... Oh no, in retrospect... It meant that the island was overfull. However, with our optimistic view, we figured that all the accomodation being offered to us at the pier was there to rip us off, and we would be fine just heading down to Haad Rin beach, walking into a little hostel and getting a room... I mean, why not!?

The sign

Haad salad, our first Koh panang beach

This didnt work.

We arrived in Haad Rin to find a town that looks an awful lot like vang Vieng. Thousands of people everywhere all with a party in mind, and the rest all watching friends and family guy reruns. The place was packed to say the least. We wandered the beach, saw the infamous haad rin beach, and it is beautiful! Not just due to the blue sea and white sand, but mainly becasue of what is lazing around on the white sand. We were homeless in paradise. Lucky for us we found 2 canadians and a british girl who had been just as optimisic as us, and were also realising that a txi up north was inevitable. To make a long story brief... We got a joint taxi north after about 2 hours of discussions, got to the town 40km north of Haad Rin (The furthest possible point from the party beach) and got ourselves a very small, basic room. We were set! The only drawback was that it cost 10 times the price of the room to get anywhere on the island. So everything that you did had to be done in packs! The other downside was that the party moved due to a buddist holiday... this laso meant that there was no alchohol for sale, and there was a lack of overall party. So the notorious party island was quiet!

Iaki by this stage had decided that he was heading over to Phuket to see Cherise and I hadn't made up my mind yet. Then while wandering down the sunny beach it hit me. I had made it all the way here and it would be just wrong to leave. So I decided to stay on koh Pangang.

This was therefore the last day that Iaki and I would see each other in Asia that is. The last day of OurIndoChina! It has been awesome Iaki! I am really happy to have had you here with me. The two of us spent the last night of our travel partnership at Haad Rin beach hoping for a party to suddenly break out... But nothing. We met up with Daniel and Bjorn, the two legendary Swedish chefs that I first met in the Mekong Delta and together hoped for a party. But nothing. In the morning iaki and I said our good byes.

Koh Pangang, from the green dot trail viepoint

The next few days I crashed with the two chefs and had no regrets in staying on for the party. The weather turned for the worse but that didnt detract form an awesome party. The night finally came around. The 24th, thousands of people six bars opening onto the beach with blearing party tunes and millions of Samson Buckets on sale. A recipe for success. The party started off and the three of us, even though we lost each other now and then, spent most the night sipping from buckets and kicking up sand as we let loose on the jungle trance/techno beach joints. We ended the party once the sun had risen above the horizon. A glorious sight! At this stage it was about 7:00, and my ferry for Krabi left at... 12:00.

I made it to the ferry without any problems. I have never seen that many hung over people in one place before. There must have been at least a thousand people all with half closed eyes sipping cold coke and eating all they could get! The funniest thing is when we were herded like sheep onto the various boats. A seamless operation, but not the safest. As the boat I was on was made for lets say 250 people, but had at least 550 on it! It was so full that you could hardly see the colour of the floor. But the previous night made it all worth it. From Surrathani, I cought a mini bus to Krabi and once I got there, after 10 hours of travel I found a room and slept like a log!

Krabi town is a really really chilled out little town. A backpacker haven, and a place from where you can get to all the western gulf places. From the comfort of the small friendly town I went on an island tour and got to see exactly what I had been looking forward to. pristine white beaches, small sandstone outcrop islands and long tail boats casting a shadow beneath them. Glorious!

Awesome thailand

Island hopping

long tail boat trip

View from Poda

Poda Beach

After having seen all that, the weather turned bad again and I made a move to the coast. I got a place in Ao nang. A place so secluded that all there was to do was eat, sleep and sit on the beach. So, since it was raining I did the former two. very relaxed, but it would drive me insane if I stayed there for more than a day.

Closing in storm

Railay beach

The fertility shrine on Railay beach... Unassumingly the "prettiest beach of Thailand"

Koh Phi Phi was next on the list. A place made famous by leonardo! And yes, in case any of you are wondering, there are daily screenings of his blockbuster movie! You can even, at a fee, spend a night camping at the location that they filmed. The actual "beach"is on an island just south of the main island of Phi Phi and is a bay called maya bay. I didnt actually walk on the beach but did get a very good look at it from my dive boat. very nice!

On Koh Phi Phi I did what I really wanted to, I wanted to dive and see a turtle! The diving was spectacular, absolutely awesome. However I only got a glimpse of a surfacing turtle, so am still searching for that encounter. But leaving that aside, the amount of life that Phi Phi has to offer is amazing! The dive there tops the Koh tao dives hands down. So I cant wait to see Indonesian reefs!

maya bay, the island of the beach

Tonsai beach koh phi phi

Wildlife on the islands

Diving time

Phi Phi was to be my last island, and from there I made my way back to bangkok.

written by  ourindochina on February 29, 2008 from Krabi, Thailand
from the travel blog: The Indo China Adventure (incl Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia)
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