World Backpack

Well we’re still on Koh Phangan and it’s still beautiful. This place is probably my favourite place in the country; not because of its legendary Full Moon Party or its night life – quite the opposite actually. About 3 days after the Full Moon Party, this island is almost silent. It has this unbelievably peaceful feeling that just envelops you. The closer the days get to the full moon, however, the crazier this island gets… you half expect werewolves to come popping out of hammocks and from under the sand.

Steph at our the restaurant for the Full Moon Dinner.

Last time we wrote, it was four days until the Full Moon Party. It was still relatively quiet, but each day there were hordes of people coming in. That night we went out while Chris’s cousin Brendan was still here, we were approached by a girl, about 20 years old, who was clearly on a lot of drugs. I (Steph) was worried about her, so I went and bought her a bottle of water and sat with her for a while to make sure she drank it…. then she started chomping at the air and coming toward me like she wanted to eat me. In her defense, I did smell like a coconut, but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason. This island has a really bad reputation for drugs – the Full Moon Party along is known around the world, and every month between 10,000 and 30,000 people come to celebrate. The government, however, is really trying to crack down on drug abuse here, and have adapted a zero tolerance policy. This Full Moon Party was like none of the others we have been to before, and it’s because of this new attitude on the island. The military and police presence was huge. Regardless of where you looked, there were soldiers looking for people who were clearly on drugs. There were several hospitals/help centres set up for people who needed assistance, and groups of tourist police (Western women typically over the age of 40). I loved it. As a person who nearly got eaten a few days beforehand, I took comfort in all of the new-found precautions. I can also see how a lot of people (a good 10,000 party-goers or so) would not be all that pleased. Apparently the police are doing random checks in bungalows too … I believe I wouldn’t be too fond of that. Drug addicts and military aside, we had a great time at the Full Moon Party, had an amazing dinner at our bungalow beforehand, and simply “enjoyed with ourselves.”

The people on Koh Phangan are so friendly too, they just have thier own vibe that is compeltely different from the rest of the country – which says a lot seeing as this is the “Land of Smiles”, a country that is known for its kindness… every morning we go to Nira’s Bakery for breakfast and get muesli and homemade yogurt and fresh fruit, and the girl who works there is soooo nice. Everyone is so nice – we should just move here.

The place we are staying at, Sarikantang, is the same place we stayed on this island five years ago. It has changed a bit, now has a spa, a pool, and many of the bungalows and the restaurant have been upgraded. Many of the same people still work there, and it truly is as much of a home away from home as we could imagine. The picture above is a sandcastle we made on our first day back at Sarikantang, situated on Leela beach.

A tire swing we found hanging off a very lopsided coconut tree!

Steph taking a stroll on the newly redone boardwalk to Lighthouse Bungalows.

Further along the boardwalk, a seriously amazing view!!

One of the beautiful views from the boardwalk, right before a storm approached. Also, Linda,  the tiny beach below is almost entirely made of sea glass!!!

Some people fishing in Krabi (old picture, but we forgot to add it before )

Us in Krabi (again, old one hehe)

For the last few days we have been, again, doing a ton of reading (Pillars of the Earth – Longest. Book. Ever.), and sorting out what our plans for the rest of the trip are. We are going to Cambodia at the end of the month most likely, a little sooner than we had originally planned. We are going to start in Phnom Penh (to see the Tuol Sleng Museum), then go to Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields), then over to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Afterward, we might volunteer at an orphanage in Southern Thailand for a couple of weeks. Other than that we’re still not too sure – there are a few places in the Bangkok area that we’ll go to, such as Sukothai, and a Tiger Temple (it’s a temple where the monks take in tigers that need rehabilitation… there are just tons of tigers that live there with the monks!).

Some beautiful rocks and dried coral off the beach in Koh Nangyuan (Koh Tao)

Well, that’s all for now! We’re going on a night fishing trip tomorrow night and we’re sooo excited for that – we’ll definitely update after that. Take care, everyone – see you in August!

xoxo!

Chris and Stef