As it’s my birthday weekend, we are off to Ko Phangan for the weekend.
So we are up fairly early and a take short walk to the travel agent. The Loprayah bus picks us up and we take the drive to Mae Nam.
Loprayah are certainly the most organised, and best ferry operator we have taken in Asia. Their catamaran ferries are quick and smart.
We board, and sit, but soon get a tannoy message asking everyone to move to the front of the cabin, as the tide is unusually low, and the boat is close to grounding out.
We’re soon on our way. The boat is certainly the fastest I have taken in Asia. It only takes 20 minutes before the familiar site of Thong Sala, Ko Phangan appears.
We disembark and head straight to rent a scooter. Last time I was on Ko Phangan I rented a scooter from a nice guy, who gave me a partial refund because I had the bike for part of a day. I headed back to him, as that is rare service in Thailand.
The guy isn’t there, so we grad some lunch, and head back after. He is there, and gives us a discount this time as we will rent the bike for 3 days. This is a good example of how good customer service builds a good business. I went back to this guy today (even after having to wait for him to open for the afternoon) because he gave me a discount before. Today he has given me another discount, so I will definitely rent a bike from him in the future.
In case you are interested it is the Easy Diver bike rental, next to the 7 Eleven store, right opposite the Lomprayah pier (the more southerly pier).
As we are travelling light (a small backpack each) we jump on the bike and head north.
It’s always lovely being back on Ko Phangan. It’s a beautiful island.
We take the coast road, passing Sunview, where we stayed last year. They seem to have changed their name to Sun Set Bay. Seems like a strange thing to do when you have an established business.
We turn off the road at Sandy Bay (or Long Beach, or Had Yao West, to use its real name). We park up at the Ibiza bungalows and take a look around.
We stop at several places and ask, but most places are full, as last night was the full moon party.
After exhausting the northern end of the beach we are about to head to the other end when I spot a sign. AC rooms for 500Baht. Seems like a bargain. We take a look and find ourselves a lovely, clean, brand new AC room for 500Baht.
We settle in, have a drink, and do some sun bathing on the beach.
It’s great being back here.
We watch the sun go down and relax for the night.
I am planning to go away at the end of this month (Jan 2009). The bitting cold of the English winter has got to me, and I’m off. It’s the first winter I have spent at home in three years. I’ve loved spending Christmas with my family, but I don’t like this weather, and this had been a good reminder that I need to live elsewhere. I’m thinking of Australia or Spain for long-term living, but there is still more travelling to do for now…