After 2 nights sampling the crazy of Bangkok, I decide it's time to escape the city and head south for some far-flung sun-drenched beach, where I can while away my days drinking cocktails, sunbathing and reading. This is the dream. Unfortunately, the reality does not quite match up...
My destination of choice is Koh Phagnan, a little jungle-clad island on the Gulf coast of Thailand, most famous for the hedonisitc Full Moon Party that takes place at the end of each month. Still feeling a bit down and quite frankly developing an aversion the full-on "backpackers" that dominate the Thai travel scene, I decide to avoid the full moon resorts and head to the north of the island, where I'm promised peace, tranquility and sunshine.
So I leave Bangkok around 8pm in the evening, and by 10 am the next morning (after a very hairy bus ride) I am on the boat bound for Koh Phagnan, feeling tired, jaded and slightly disoriented by just how many tourists are crammed on to it.. Because the one boat will make several stops at different islands along the way, everyone is given a different coloured sticker to wear, to let the boat staff know where you're going. Obviously this is completely logical, but I can't help but feel as though I'm being herded along on some hideous 18-30 package holiday. Full of "Brits Abroad" type characters, all crisply burnt and proudly wearing their best football shirts. Am I in Thailand or Magaluf...?
Luckily, while I'm on the boat, my best friend from back home just happens to stroll on board, so for the next few hours at least, we enjoy a catch up and chat. Small world indeed!
As per usual, my careful plannng (ha!) comes back to bite me on the ass, and what I fail to actually reearch is that the Gulf Coast of Thailand is slap bang in he middle of the monsoon.... So my first problem strikes as soon as I arrive at Thong Sala pier; the beach I am meant to be staying at is so remote that it is only accessable by longtail boat. And the weather is so stormy that the boats are not running...
So time for plan B. Unfortunately, I don't have a plan B, so hop on the first Songthaew (shared pick-up truck) that's heading north. I meet 2 French girls there, who are staying at the idyllic Haad Salad beach, so I rock up there hoping to find somewhere to stay, and luckily they do. So for the next best part of a week, I enjoy the comfort of a lovely little beach bungalow, all for 300 bahts per night, which I deem to be pretty reasonable considering the Full Moon usually drives prices up across the whole island.
The majority of my stay is peppered with amazing sky-splitting thunderstorms, but it's not all rain and clouds; sunshine appears most days in enough bursts to allow to me swim, sunbathe and take walks along the beach (I reaise this is beginning to sound like a very bad personal ad...)
During periods of prolonged rain, I can be found lying in a hammock on my balcony, drinking Chang and reading. Bliss!
After a week of total relaxation (in spite of the Chinese family who seem to appear wherever I am and INSIST on asking overly personal questions/making videos of me on their camera phones), I decide I want to spend a few weeks in the north of Thailand. But first, I have to head back to Bangkok...
Again, it's another night-bus situation, filled with illegal manouvres, crazy overtaking and a driver who probably bought his license from a dodgy dealer on the Khao San Road...
Thankfully, I have some company on this journey, in the form of Mitsy, an English girl completing a year-long trip in Australia with a holiday in Thailand. She's with 2 other girls (who sadly have food poisoning) and suggests I join them when we get to Bangkok.
The bus is due to arrive at 6am, but annoyingly it arrives 2 hours ahead of schedule (when does that ever happen...?!) so the 4 of us are ditched at the road-side in a non-descript part of the city feeling sleepy and confused.
A short taxi ride later and we're at a hostel on the Khao San Road practically begging them for rooms. Luckily they can accommodate us in 2 twin rooms, and its only 175 bahts each, with air-con. After a much-needed sleep, me and Mitsy decide to head out and explore some parts of Bangkok that neither of us has seen yet. First top, Chinatown!
We take a boat down the river and get off at the pier closest to Chinatown (which is definitey a good idea considering the crazy traffic here...) and are immediately struck by a wave of people, shops. traffic, heat... Chinatown is absolutely mental! This is the archetype of Bangkok; frantic, bustling and relentless. I love it! But in small doses...
So we head back to the releative calm of the Khao San Road (!) and freshen up, ready for a night of drinking. After a few Changs we head to busy bar, and watch the world go by with a bottle of rum for company. The Khao San Road is the perfect spot for people watching. Amongst the tourists there are locals, ladyboys (obvious by their jaw-lines and prominent Adam's apples..) and people who look downright lost and overwhelmed.
As the evening progresses we meet a couple of guys and the 4 of us decide to go to Le Club (I actually can't remember if that's what it's called...) for a spot of dancing. It's a total sweaty meat-market, but a lot of fun nonetheless. Mental dancing tourists, Thai girls dancing round their handbags lookig a tad desperate, and plenty of sleazy 'lads'. Almost like a night ut in Glasgow.
All is going just grand until a very drunk guy, who is dancing far too vigorously, gets a little too close nd (accidentally) headbuts me. Resulting in a swollen a bruised eye the next morning. Excellent! Luckily it's nothing a bit of concealer and a large pair of dark glasses wont cover.
Hangover-free, my second time in Bangkok comes to an end and I decide to start working my way north. Time for a change of scenery!
Koh Phagnan: Stayed at Sea Salad beach huts at Haad Salad Beach. 300 baht per night for a spacious bungalow and very friendly service. Haad Saad is accessable by shared taxi, and should cost about 150 baht for a one-way journey. "My Way" restaurant is also a great choice for food, right on he beach. Cost of overnight bus/boat from Bangkok to Koh Phagnan should cost from 850 baht upwards.
Bangkok: Stayed at My Friends guest house, in the Banglampoo district. A double room set us back 350 baht. Dorm available from around 100 baht.
Single trip on the river boat cost 15 baht
Haggling in the markets is a must, and I ususally managed to get around 50% knocked off the asking price.
My destination of choice is Koh Phagnan, a little jungle-clad island on the Gulf coast of Thailand, most famous for the hedonisitc Full Moon Party that takes place at the end of each month. Still feeling a bit down and quite frankly developing an aversion the full-on "backpackers" that dominate the Thai travel scene, I decide to avoid the full moon resorts and head to the north of the island, where I'm promised peace, tranquility and sunshine.
So I leave Bangkok around 8pm in the evening, and by 10 am the next morning (after a very hairy bus ride) I am on the boat bound for Koh Phagnan, feeling tired, jaded and slightly disoriented by just how many tourists are crammed on to it.. Because the one boat will make several stops at different islands along the way, everyone is given a different coloured sticker to wear, to let the boat staff know where you're going. Obviously this is completely logical, but I can't help but feel as though I'm being herded along on some hideous 18-30 package holiday. Full of "Brits Abroad" type characters, all crisply burnt and proudly wearing their best football shirts. Am I in Thailand or Magaluf...?
Luckily, while I'm on the boat, my best friend from back home just happens to stroll on board, so for the next few hours at least, we enjoy a catch up and chat. Small world indeed!
As per usual, my careful plannng (ha!) comes back to bite me on the ass, and what I fail to actually reearch is that the Gulf Coast of Thailand is slap bang in he middle of the monsoon.... So my first problem strikes as soon as I arrive at Thong Sala pier; the beach I am meant to be staying at is so remote that it is only accessable by longtail boat. And the weather is so stormy that the boats are not running...
So time for plan B. Unfortunately, I don't have a plan B, so hop on the first Songthaew (shared pick-up truck) that's heading north. I meet 2 French girls there, who are staying at the idyllic Haad Salad beach, so I rock up there hoping to find somewhere to stay, and luckily they do. So for the next best part of a week, I enjoy the comfort of a lovely little beach bungalow, all for 300 bahts per night, which I deem to be pretty reasonable considering the Full Moon usually drives prices up across the whole island.
The majority of my stay is peppered with amazing sky-splitting thunderstorms, but it's not all rain and clouds; sunshine appears most days in enough bursts to allow to me swim, sunbathe and take walks along the beach (I reaise this is beginning to sound like a very bad personal ad...)
During periods of prolonged rain, I can be found lying in a hammock on my balcony, drinking Chang and reading. Bliss!
After a week of total relaxation (in spite of the Chinese family who seem to appear wherever I am and INSIST on asking overly personal questions/making videos of me on their camera phones), I decide I want to spend a few weeks in the north of Thailand. But first, I have to head back to Bangkok...
Again, it's another night-bus situation, filled with illegal manouvres, crazy overtaking and a driver who probably bought his license from a dodgy dealer on the Khao San Road...
Thankfully, I have some company on this journey, in the form of Mitsy, an English girl completing a year-long trip in Australia with a holiday in Thailand. She's with 2 other girls (who sadly have food poisoning) and suggests I join them when we get to Bangkok.
The bus is due to arrive at 6am, but annoyingly it arrives 2 hours ahead of schedule (when does that ever happen...?!) so the 4 of us are ditched at the road-side in a non-descript part of the city feeling sleepy and confused.
A short taxi ride later and we're at a hostel on the Khao San Road practically begging them for rooms. Luckily they can accommodate us in 2 twin rooms, and its only 175 bahts each, with air-con. After a much-needed sleep, me and Mitsy decide to head out and explore some parts of Bangkok that neither of us has seen yet. First top, Chinatown!
We take a boat down the river and get off at the pier closest to Chinatown (which is definitey a good idea considering the crazy traffic here...) and are immediately struck by a wave of people, shops. traffic, heat... Chinatown is absolutely mental! This is the archetype of Bangkok; frantic, bustling and relentless. I love it! But in small doses...
So we head back to the releative calm of the Khao San Road (!) and freshen up, ready for a night of drinking. After a few Changs we head to busy bar, and watch the world go by with a bottle of rum for company. The Khao San Road is the perfect spot for people watching. Amongst the tourists there are locals, ladyboys (obvious by their jaw-lines and prominent Adam's apples..) and people who look downright lost and overwhelmed.
As the evening progresses we meet a couple of guys and the 4 of us decide to go to Le Club (I actually can't remember if that's what it's called...) for a spot of dancing. It's a total sweaty meat-market, but a lot of fun nonetheless. Mental dancing tourists, Thai girls dancing round their handbags lookig a tad desperate, and plenty of sleazy 'lads'. Almost like a night ut in Glasgow.
All is going just grand until a very drunk guy, who is dancing far too vigorously, gets a little too close nd (accidentally) headbuts me. Resulting in a swollen a bruised eye the next morning. Excellent! Luckily it's nothing a bit of concealer and a large pair of dark glasses wont cover.
Hangover-free, my second time in Bangkok comes to an end and I decide to start working my way north. Time for a change of scenery!
Koh Phagnan: Stayed at Sea Salad beach huts at Haad Salad Beach. 300 baht per night for a spacious bungalow and very friendly service. Haad Saad is accessable by shared taxi, and should cost about 150 baht for a one-way journey. "My Way" restaurant is also a great choice for food, right on he beach. Cost of overnight bus/boat from Bangkok to Koh Phagnan should cost from 850 baht upwards.
Bangkok: Stayed at My Friends guest house, in the Banglampoo district. A double room set us back 350 baht. Dorm available from around 100 baht.
Single trip on the river boat cost 15 baht
Haggling in the markets is a must, and I ususally managed to get around 50% knocked off the asking price.
Irish jonny here tying from a depressed public bus in Rainey Manchester hope your having a class time
ReplyDelete