{"id":511,"date":"2009-07-10T02:50:37","date_gmt":"2009-07-10T02:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/blog\/ferry-to-ko-phangan-thailand\/"},"modified":"2009-07-10T02:50:37","modified_gmt":"2009-07-10T02:50:37","slug":"ferry-to-ko-phangan-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itravelabout.com\/2009\/07\/10\/ferry-to-ko-phangan-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferry to Ko Phangan, Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"
As it’s my birthday weekend, we are off to Ko Phangan for the weekend.<\/p>\n
So we are up fairly early and a take short walk to the travel agent.\u00a0 The Loprayah bus picks us up and we take the drive to Mae Nam.<\/p>\n
Loprayah are certainly the most organised, and best ferry operator we have taken in Asia.\u00a0 Their catamaran ferries are quick and smart.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
We’re soon on our way.\u00a0 The boat is certainly the fastest I have taken in Asia.\u00a0 It only takes 20 minutes before the familiar site of Thong Sala, Ko Phangan appears.<\/p>\n
We disembark and head straight to rent a scooter.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I headed back to him, as that is rare service in Thailand.<\/p>\n
The guy isn’t there, so we grad some lunch, and head back after.\u00a0 He is there, and gives us a discount this time as we will rent the bike for 3 days.\u00a0 This is a good example of how good customer service builds a good business.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Today he has given me another discount, so I will definitely rent a bike from him in the future.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
As we are travelling light (a small backpack each) we jump on the bike and head north.<\/p>\n
It’s always lovely being back on Ko Phangan.\u00a0 It’s a beautiful island.<\/p>\n
We take the coast road, passing Sunview, where we stayed last year.\u00a0 They seem to have changed their name to Sun Set Bay.\u00a0 Seems like a strange thing to do when you have an established business.<\/p>\n
We turn off the road at Sandy Bay (or Long Beach, or Had Yao West, to use its real name).\u00a0 We park up at the Ibiza bungalows and take a look around.<\/p>\n
We stop at several places and ask, but most places are full, as last night was the full moon party.<\/p>\n
After exhausting the northern end of the beach we are about to head to the other end when I spot a sign. \u00a0AC rooms for 500Baht.\u00a0 Seems like a bargain.\u00a0 We take a look and find ourselves a lovely, clean, brand new AC room for 500Baht.<\/p>\n
We settle in, have a drink, and do some sun bathing on the beach.<\/p>\n
It’s great being back here.<\/p>\n
We watch the sun go down and relax for the night.<\/p>\n