Where I last left off we had departed Cambodia en route for the islands, so I will pick up there. Our flight to Koh Samui took us back through Bangkok's airport for a layover and then we continued south. Most visitors travel to Phuket in the Fall, as it's not experiencing the rainy weather that sometimes comes to the "Ko" islands at this time of year. However, because our friends had built the home at which we stayed, we planned our trip differently.
We had a few hours to "kill" in Koh Samui before catching our ferry to Ko Phangan, so we cabbed it to a resort at which many of my friends have stayed, Poppies, for a cocktail beachside. The place was very nice, and would probably be a nice spot to spend a week.
After our brief stop we hightailed it to the ferry terminal for the 40-minute choppy ride to Ko Phangan.
From there a taxi driver picked us up and took us the 45-minutes to the house on the northeast side of the island. I immediately fell asleep on the bed, as a result of the sea sickness pill taken aboard the ferry. After a few hour nap, we meandered on down to the beach for some dinner at the resort (which manages the house). The evening was spent eating and hanging out on an elevated floor, seated on pillows, at the "lounge-style" outdoor restaurant. Little did we know we'd be eating there a lot in the coming days.
Back of the "taxi"
The terrace of our house
A bungalow at the Longtail Beach Resort
Walk to the beach at Longtail Beach Resort
At the very end of the evening we walked into "town" to grab some coffee from the local convenience store, a 7-Eleven! We were followed by a stray puppy...who walked right into the store behind us. We bought him some dog food and thought that would be the end of him - we were wrong.
The next few days were spent eating, reading on the beach, and walking along the sand. Our resort was virtually the only one with guests, as it was definitely the low season and most resorts were doing construction. On the 2nd day as we walked along the coast, a dog bounded toward us from behind some tropical foliage. It was our puppy from the night before! From that point forward he never left our side, sleeping on the house's terrace at night, accompanying us to each meal at the restaurant and while we read on the beach. He even followed us to the neighboring village on a day that we had massages! He became quite a sweet little friend, and in turn we fed him multiple yummy meals (including Shrimp Ramen. soup..a Thai dog's favorite!).
The beach at the resort
Looking up to the restaurant - me reading once again!
On our 3rd (and final) day in town, we also decided to have some cheap-o Thai massages. They were each about $10 for a 1-hour massage, given to us in an open-air Thai style house. We opted for Swedish-style massages, but toward the end of the session there was a bit of pulling and stretching common in Thai massage. I thought it would be weird, but it was actually quite nice the way the masseuses pulled on our spines and muscles - it was oddly relieving.
The little man following me to the massage spa
A spot we found along the way
The view from our house's terrace
One of the resort's resident dogs - she ate with us daily - and was very sweet!
The desolate beach (that's me on the swing)
That night we took a taxi into town for a Black Moon Party on the beach. Ko Phangan is best known for their Full, Half and Black Moon parties, which can draw upwards of 30,000 people from the mainland for a 1-night party. The Half-Moon parties (occurring twice monthly) take place in the jungle, whereas the full moon and black moons parties take place on the beach in Had Rin. These parties basically turn into raves with loads of mixed alcohol served in buckets with straws and lots of illegal drugs. It is not unusual for many tourists to end up in jail or in the hospital by the end of the night/morning. Many tourists come into town without reserving a hotel for the night, and just crash on the beach before taking the morning ferry back to Koh Samui. Needless to say, we went to the party early just to take in the spectacle, drank identifiable beer from closed bottles, and were on our way home shortly after midnight. We had a very tough time finding someone willing to cart us 45 minutes to the other side of the island, but eventually found a married couple that took us in their private pickup truck. Not speaking a word of Thai, the ride was scary as we were uncertain that they had good intentions as they drove us through the jungle. My heart was racing and palms were sweating as I awaited our final fate - which, just happened to be a return to our rental house without difficulty. Phew!
A picture as the crowd grew larger - it was a "Black Light" party, so everyone wore neon
I took this video of the "entertainment" which featured 2 guys juggling various sticks and nunchucks dipped in pure gasoline & lit on fire. There was no crowd control, and we were about 5 feet away...hello risk?!
The next day we departed back to Bangkok fairly early. We had a tearful goodbye with our little puppy friend, affectionately named "Thai," as he ran after the open air taxi as we raced down the street. We are hopeful that he has had as much luck with other tourists to the area since our departure. If it had been easy, we would have brought him back to the US with us for sure!
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