Koh Pha Ngan

The party island of Koh Pha Ngan was, as I had hoped practically deserted. As I walked onto the deserted beach for the first time, I actually said "wow". The sand was soft but the water was not only clear but so shallow for so long. You could walk 10 metres out and the water was still up to your ankles. So no swimming then! I spent a couple of nights in Ban Tai, one of the only foreigners there.

I ate a couple of times at a roadside shack, where I was joined for dinner by the owners son, Mak. Its good to know that whatever nationality they are, all young boys want to do is crash their cars together. We played crash for quite a while! However Ban Tai proved a little too remote so I moved to Haad Rin. The photo above is of the beautiful white sands there. Even people who have been there, may not recognise it, as it is the scene for the monthly full moon party, when up to 60,000 revelers can be found on the beach partying all night. I had decided to move as I had heard of an offer sounding too good to be true. Coral Bungalows (home of the pool party) had reduced their rates, so instead of paying 1000Baht a night for a bungalow (approx £25), they were going for 300B. Thats the same price as a room in a cheap Bangkok hostel. The rooms are designed to sleep two or three so as a single, these bungalows would be normally out of my reach. Much to the amusement of the staff I had walked from Ban Tai to the resort in Haad Rin ( a distance of 7km, which in the heat seems a lot further). The resort is not well maintained catering as it does for young party goers, but at the price I couldn't say no. I got myself a fan bungalow.

This was the first time I had gone fan - as opposed to air con. The room never seemed to cool down but I could cool down by jumping in the pool. I used my time trying to even out my tan but to no avail. The restaurant served poor quality food but cheap alcohol. One of the staff, a burmese man, who had the strongest cockney accent ever, found a guitar and spent the evening singing western songs with Burmese words. It was a relaxing and surreal experience at the same time. Even better, because I had stayed for 3 nights, they knocked the price down even further to 200B a night (approx £5). Despite the lack of cleanliness of the place and the poor food, it was difficult to leave. But if I want to see any of Thailand before my visa runs out, I had to leave. I jumped on the car ferry and made my way to the mainland. Who would have thought that the car ferry would be far more comfortable than the passenger ferry. Plus they provided an air con coach to drive the passengers the 70km from the port to the nearest town. Passenger ferries provide uncomfortable trucks, where the passengers sit huddled in the back. The day was going swimmingly until I got to the train station. I know I exulted the virtues of the sleeper train, so I booked one going back to Bangkok. It was due in the station at 8.15. It wasn't on time. Apparently no trains are ever on time. I was offered the chance to change my ticket for an extra 300B, this would get me on a different delayed train, that was due in before my one. I wasn't going to waste money - I could wait. Wait is what I did. Every time the train was due in, the station master went over to the notification board and amended its arrival time. It eventually arrived at 11.45pm - 3 and a half hours late. I was very glad to see it! Do I wish I had upgraded? - no because of the interactions I had with the locals whilst I was waiting. At one point I got up from my bench to stretch my legs. It was obvious that my back was aching a little. A woman sat on the same bench jumped up with her arms outstretched and started to massage me. I tried to decline but she was having none of it. The strength tiny Thai women have in their fingertips is astounding. then the chap opposite started to chat with me. He had very basic english skills, but I learnt that he was a sales manager for a food company. i also learnt that the thai concept of food is slightly different to mine. He showed me his prize stock - the one he carried in his leather satchel, not in the carrier bag with the others.... it was sachets of powdered collagen. I thought collagen was used to enhance various parts of the body but in Asia it is considered a food supplement designed to give you strong bones and healthy skin. Thip (the chap's name) gave me a free sachet. He was very excited, I tried to show equal levels of excitement. He told me that this was the real stuff - all the way from Japan! Even if it is a wonder drug, alas the one sachet will not go far. You are supposed to take 3 sachets a day from 3 months. Next time I am looking particularly old I will try my sachet and hope for the best. But that is not all. He also gave me a free lip salve. He had a box of those too in his satchel. I must admit it is very nicely flavoured, but I cannot comprehend how it can be classed as food!