Overnight at Koh Pha-Ngan

Manda writes:

Despite wanting to stay longer in Koh Tao we headed for the next big island, Koh Pha-Ngan, in the Samui archipelago. We have got under a month to work our way through Koh Samui, Krabi, Phi Phi island, Malaysia and Singapore before heading back to London. It's a shame we cannot spend longer on each of these islands as they look like relaxing places to chill out. But at least we have got a flavour of each one and now have first hand experience of what Alex Garland was describing in his book, The Beach.

Koh Pha-Ngan is only a one and a half hour ferry trip from Koh Tao. As soon as we got off the boat at Thong Sala, the welcoming party (i.e. the hotel and taxi touts) were out in force. They seemed very persistent and even though we had wanted a taxi, we only took up the offer from an old lady right at the end of the long line of bustling salesmen - the persistence tactic has quite the opposite effect on us. Once we boarded our taxi, I looked around to see that most of the earlier taxis (or songthaews) were full. Maybe this tactic does work after all or maybe everyone just wanted to head in the direction of Hat Rin, like us.

Judging by our taxi journey, the island is very hilly but this did not stop our driver from speeding across, making our ride not too dissimilar to that of a rollercoaster. Some of the roads were steep dirt tracks that were occasionally connected by concrete roads. There was one section that was particularly steep and slippery since it had been raining. We watched a tourist come off his rented motorcycle here - fortunately he was alright.

The rain was coming down thick and fast as we approached Hat Rin. We headed into a restaurant-bar (of which there are many) and had some lunch, waiting for the rain to subside.

Hat Rin is the most popular place in Koh Pha-Ngan. It lies on the southeast peninsula of the island. There are two beaches on either side of this strip, Hat Rin Nok and Hat Rin Nai. The former a busier affair and the latter, a more subdued one. We chose to stay in the quieter Hat Rin Nai, which is only a ten-minute walk from the hustle and bustle.

There was no one on the long stretch of beach at Hat Rin Nai, probably as a result of the weather. We could see a pier and Koh Samui directly opposite. We jotted down the boat timetable for our trip over tomorrow then made our way back up the main street. Sandwiched between the two beaches are streets crammed with tattoo parlours, bars, ethnic clothing and ethnic jewellery shops, pirate DVD/CD outlets and hair braiding places. In this sense, it's quite commercialised but the roads still have some catching up to do - many of the routes connecting the two sides of the peninsular are little more than dirt-tracks. Some have described this island as a halfway house between Koh Tao and Koh Samui and not just in terms of geography, it would seem.

No Thai street is complete without the obligatory 7-11 store.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at Hat Rin Nok.

The beach in Hat Rin Nok is where the full moon parties take place. This is where up to 12,000 ravers (at peak season) amass to dance the night away. Loud music spills out of the various stages and the partygoers spill out of open air dance venues and on to the beach. It sounds like a good place to party but since we hadn't packed our lunar calendar, we had no idea when this event was due to take place next.

Hat Rin Nok, home of the Full Moon parties (and the occasional curious dog)

Hat Rin Nok beach is more attractive than the one at Hat Rin Nai and the fact that it is sheltered by a bay, gives it more character. It is apparently good for snorkelling but now would not be a good time to try it out as the surf can be rather tricky at this time of year.

We walked around a few more shops before heading to another eatery for dinner. The restaurants along this strip offer a lot of choice - hamburgers, pizzas, fish and chips and some Thai dishes. Even the Thai dishes and portions seem somewhat adapted to Western taste. Our Pad Thai noodles were cooked in a sweet and sour sauce - which was different to what we have tasted before but nice at the same time. Or to corner a phase used by the locals: "Same, same ... but different!"