Ko Phan Nang
Alex Garland has a lot to answer for, from the ko sahn road I took an overnight bus to the port of surat thani to connect with the ferry that services Ko Tao, Ko Phan Nang and Ko Samui. The trip took 15 hours in total and apart from the temperature you’d swear you were back on that school tour you went on back in primary school. There was barely a thai person to be seen anywhere along the route. Needless to say the night bus though better than the indian ones still made for an uncomfortable night. It makes you really drowsy when you don’t get proper sleep and you end up traipsing around the place like a zombie.
On the boat though someone else took the initiative and rather curiously enquired as to whether I was irish or not? Does it stand out that much?? The person who asked was a dude called bobby from limerick, at the start of this trip around south east asia we got talking and ended up rooming for the next couple of days. The first port of call litterally is a place called thong sala in the south west corner of the island, we shared a taxi with a bunch of young swedish kids just out of school who were as bronzed and beautiful as they were dim and boring. Seriously, time and again myself and bobby came out with absolute pearlers only for it to fall on the blankest of blank faces…. Way to stereotype a nation phil!! Well lets just say I’ll leave my mind open. Its not like the irish representatives who were there already did much for our nations reputation. A couple of rowdy bucks from baldoyle had myself and bobby calling for them to bring back the old iron curtain and stick it around the pale. One of these jokers asked me why did I go to india? I explained all about the food, the mountains, the sights etc etc to which he replied ‘Yeah that sounds good n all, but I just can’t stand those bloody pakis…….’ Tumbleweed….
Life on the beach is one for a lazy sod, you’d think it would suit me down to the ground but on that first beach I just couldn’t relax. There was always something on at night but that left you in a cycle of drinking a little too much and not being able to do anything the next day other than lounge around in a hammock. After 5 nights there and minus bobby I headed to the remotest beach on the island called bottle beach. It can only be reached by boat and there was nothing to do there other than gaze at my extending navel and take the occasional dip in the bounty ad sea… 3 lads from sunderland I met previously joined me here and we got on great. Their sense of humour is very dry and right down my alley. I was in stiches laughing most of the time I was there. There was a good atmosphere at this beach, we met up with some more irish people and a bucket load from england and canada. One of the locals went a little loco with one of the sunderland boys over was was very little so that unfortunately hastened our exit from that little bit of paradise. I would recommend that beach to anyone willing to make the effort….
I spent my last few days on ko phan nang at the lucky resort on the west coast of the island. I was with the sunderland lads, a lad from cork and a girl from canada. Lucky was more than the name of the resort, the main tout for the place picked us up at the local shop/atm. After some negotiation on the price we took the place, the spin up was something else. All piled in the back of a 4×4 jeap the tout tom took off as it he had never driven a car before. We were in the ditch twice and at one stage he absolutely buckled a sign that had CAUTION written across it that was in the middle of the road. Shakingly we got out off the taxi and went for a swim in the pool, some beers in the sun and some snorkling before getting down to some serious noshing at the local restaurant.
And thats pretty much what I got up to over the last 2 weeks. I am now off to cambodia, I am reading a book about the killing fields to inform myself a little more about the place and what I am going to be confronted by. It will make a change from the slothful existance of the last couple of weeks but after india I think I deserved it….
Adios,
Phil
Tags: ko phan nang, thailand
Phil Gill
Ko Phan Nang? You’re just making these names up :-/