Having fallen in love with Koh Phangan last
year, I was keen to return. So in April (2011) last year, KatieB and I flew out
to Thailand. Now contrary to the blog’s name, I guess you could say this was
more like a hop, a skip, and a jump. The whole journey process was almost too easy
and within 24 hours of leaving Doha, we were walking off the ferry in
Thongsala. The only hiccup to finding our wonderful resort on Leela Beach was
the mini trek over rough ground in the dark each carrying a handle of KatieB’s
slightly impractical, but very pretty, pink suitcase. Luckily both of us were
delirious from lack of sleep and found the whole event rather amusing.
Despite having an impossible name to
pronounce, Sarikantang (the resort) couldn’t have been any nicer. Especially as
when we arrived, we discovered we’d been upgraded. Our room had become some
sort of honeymoon deluxe suite complete with swan shaped towels, glass bathroom
walls (which thankfully also had blinds), and romantic built-for-two balcony
sofa. Located just a 7min walk away from the hedonistic mess that is Had Rin,
we were perfectly located for any Full Moon antics. We spent the days
suntanning – KatieB’s ultimate aim in life is to be permanently tanned and was
determined to go back to the UK black – and the evenings in Hat Rin on the
beach drinking buckets, dancing on tables, and attempting a multitude of
gymnastics moves (attempting being the key word in that sentence). We also
rediscovered our love for Friends (the show seemed a hit with the
locals and played on a loop). We sparked up a great friendship between a
bucket-seller/toilet-paper keeper, Jolie and her two-year old daughter, Bindy.
Quite frankly, a win-win situation! She supplied the alcohol (plus jewellery,
albeit plastic) and toilet paper all for one discounted price! We met a rather
strange assortment of people – DJ Talent, Billy Elliot, Talk to Frank, Nelson
(Mandela), Aston from JLS, and Eminem - who we definitely impressed with our 'brap brap brap' skills - to name just a few.
View from our room, Koh Phangan |
At one point, we ventured out on a moped. I
was designated driver as whilst KatieB is talented at a great many things,
driving scooters and parking are not two of them. The death-defying mountains
(hills really) in and out of Had Rin combined with my shaky biking skills meant
we didn’t get much further than the port. We conceded to wondering around
Thongsala and called it our ‘cultural’ day. I wasn’t too bothered about not
gallivanting around the island as I had already done it the year previous.
KatieB proved to be a great backseat passenger, entertaining me with various
choruses from Rihanna and for some odd reason, 'Jingle Bell Rock'.
We had a spectacular time and I was beyond
devastated to leave. So much so that as soon as I returned home, I promptly
sent my CV out to a multitude of language schools in the hope of moving. Whilst
it was my desire to up and leave immediately, common sense has prevailed, so I
sit writing this post from the comfort of my room in Doha. P'haps next year.