Paradise

Posted by Nicki

Sorry it’s been quite awhile since I’ve checked in to update the blog…but now that internet is free, I’ve got a bit of a chance to catch things up.

Anyhow, our time in the south of Thailand is fantastic. We had contemplated not even heading to the islands as we had it heard the weather would be bad, but we were blessed with sunshine and blue skies for our entire week, it was awesome. The only day it was semi cloudy we were snorkeling, so it was probably for the best that we didn’t get completely baked.

After our week on two different islands, I’ve one piece of advice for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii, spend the extra few hundred on airfare and book your trip to thailand! What you spend extra on the plane you will make up in amazing beaches that you will have almost entirely to yourself and beachside private bungalows for around 4-8 dollars a night. Your toilet may not be of the flushing variety and your bungalow might come with mosquito net and there likely won’t be a hot shower…but do you need one when it’s a million degrees outside and you’re sunburned?

Em and I first made our way to Ko Phan-Ngan, the middle of the three islands on the Gulf Coast. Yes, it is the infamous island that hosts full moon parties, but we were far, far on the opposite side of the island from Hat Rin, where those parties are. (And there was no full moon when we were there.) Our beach, on of a couple of twin beaches, was called Thong Nai Pan Yai. It was gorgeous. It required an hour long bumpy ride through dirt roads in the back of a pickup to get there, but it was well worth it. Very secluded and undeveloped…no high rise concrete here, (in fact there was no high rise beach resorts anywhere on either island we were on, thank goodness), it was just beachside bungalows, a few hamocs, and white sand beach. We were probably about two out of 20-30 or so that were staying there. During the afternoon just a handful of people were out. The beaches go back into green hillsides covered in palm trees. Rocky outcropping jut into the sea. It was beautiful. The only downfall was our beach faced neither sunrise or sunset.

Thong Nai Pan beaches (Yai and Noi) are both located in little bays, so the water was completely still, just a small tide rolling in. It was wonderful for swimming, but lacked the sound of crashing sea that I love about the ocean. It was also great to run along in the evening once the heat broke.

The second part of our beach trip brought us to the island of Ko Tao, the smallest island of the trio, farthest north. Again, the weather held out and was great. Ko Tao has a few better roads then Phan-Ngan, so it made it easier for Em and I to walk around. We stayed on a beach that was a bit busier, but a 10 minute walk up the road led to a beautiful secluded beach called Ao Thian. A little odd to get to as the sign in front says private property (we first got there by mistake going up the road to far then climbing over a bunch of rocks to get back), but then as you turn the corner there is another sign that says private, directly behind which is a sign that says vistors welcome! this way to the beach. Hmm, ok. So we went, as we didn’t discover it was private until we had climbed over the rocks anyhow. The beach was full of gorgeous white sand, lots of swaying palm trees, bushes for shade, and crystal clear blue water. Still in a bay, so calm like the other beach, but coral formations fairly close to the shore kept us from doing much swimming. Ko Tao is known as one of South East Asia’s best dive sites, so in the next entry, I’ll tell you all about our experiences with that. But when we weren’t diving, lots of relaxing, reading, and just enjoying the amazing scenary were our agenda for the day.