Ko Phangan

Last week we left Phuket and headed to Ko Phangan. We decided to do the backpacker thing and travel there by minibus and ferry. With all the waiting for busses and ferries a one way trip took 12 hours! Ko Phangan is famous for it's Full Moon parties, especially on Haad Rin beach. We missed the party and decided on a motorbike trip down there, that there are better beaches to spend your time between full moons. We met up with David and Lisa at Mae Haad beach, which has fantastic snorkelling, a nice beach and not much else. We stayed in a little bungalow on stilts in a coconut grove and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a few days. We discovered the Ko Phangan speciality on the menu - NoName - which is a cross between an Indian Vegetable Pakora and Japanese Tempura. We trundled across the island to Treehouse Lodge, which is an isolated beach resort accessed by 4x4 only. This is run by Stephan and Andrea's sister and she was very surprised when we just turned up for a few days. It is a relaxed place located on a private beach and although the bungalows are basic, they have wonderful seaviews and ours was perched on top of a big boulder looking out to sea. The food was fabulous, washed down with a few cocktails each night. More chilling and a lot of reading!