Bridge: Despite having set our alarm for a 7am wake-up, we were woken at around 6am to find thick smoke billowing into our room through all the windows and up through the floorboards. At first I thought one of the bungalows was on fire, but as I looked out behind our bungalow,Ii found that one of the kitchen staff from the restaurant had gone and started a fire in the rubbish pit just 20 meters from our room! We were not impressed and could barely breath, so we decided to pack our things and go off for an early breakfast. We left for the pier at around 8am.
After a very heated negotiation session with the driver, we agreed he would take me and all our ‘kutundu’ to the Pier for BHT200, while Quint took the scooter back to Buddah View and took his own taxi from there.
At the Pier, the Pamphraya catamaran docked from Chumphon and dumped some of the passengers before we were allowed on board. Inside was like a cinema – rows upon rows of leather seats, air conditioning, a bar serving soft drinks and M&M’s and 4 large flat-screen TV’s all playing the DVD of “Cold Mountain”.
On the top deck there were four rows of benches and white plastic garden chairs as seats for along the sides. As the trip was an hour long, we opted for the free aircon and movies whilst we had the chance! The crossing was smooth and super quick – 125kph!
We were greeted by dozens of locals armed to the nines with piles of resort brochures and maps. We had no idea where we wanted to go – the east coast had more beautiful beaches and decent swimming but was a nightmare to get to as the roads were so bad. In some places, resorts were only accessible by boat. The west coast on the other hand had good roads, was easy to get around by bike, but the beaches and swimming waters were less attractive. So, being the typical tourists we are, we took a look at a few brochures. They all seemed to be promoting the north-west side of the island. We picked the first brochure that got stuck in our faces that suited our budget (BHT250 – BHT400) and, as stand-up comedian, Lee Evans would say, “...it has all the amenities ...” – internet, pool, bike hire, bar, spa! We piled into the back of a pick-up with a few others and were on our way to Haad Gruad Resort and Spa!
Quint: Ko Phan Ngan is a much larger island. Our little taxi struggled over many large hilltops and down steep valleys on our journey to the north-eastern part of the island. We eventually found our way down to the little resort set in a private little cove – trust our luck to choose a place well off the beaten track once again!
The rooms were a lot better standard than our previous ones – there was much excitement up on the discovery of a HOT shower as although not a massive requirement in the climate – it was still nice to have. Our room overlooked a lovely blue pool with an infinity edge which in turn overlooked the private beach. Our expectations were high about this “private beach” we had heard advertised, but to tell the truth, it was what we would call “a bit average”. I must have got it from my father, as each resort we visit i find myself imagining painting here and there and explaining to Bridge what “...they should have done...” and how I would do it, if I’d ever been given the chance.
The beach was very rocky and made up of rough sand and bits of dead coral! To my way of thinking, 10 spade-wielding men and 3 x 30 tonne trucks full of sand could have sorted the tiny beach in a week!
After redesigning the resort in my head and a quick lunch, we hired a scooter from reception and decided to explore our new island. Much to our dismay, we could only afford a “semi-automatic” scooter. The autos that we were used to driving previously were over priced. I told Bridge, “Never fear, I can ride anything with wheels.” And with that, we set off to an extremely jerky start up the dirt drive way to the tar road. Unfortunately, this little machine, which, by the way we had named “Sha-Bang” didn’t like me, and I didn’t particularly like it either! It had no clutch and a gear pedal on the left side on a pivot – therefore, stepping down with your toes got you gears up and heel down got you gears down!
We did, as a result have a slight incident on the main drag which I won’t go into too much detail about – pending the possible outcome if Bridge’s dad and grandpa were too hear the full story! But lets just say we achieved a wheelie on a 60º slope going up at about 50km/h with two of us on the back of this Honda 125cc! Heads and all eight limbs still attached we returned to our resort with our tails between our legs to pay the extra buck for a decent bike!
We spent 2 days and 2 nights on Ko Phan Ngan and in general found it a lot more rural. It was about 14km from North to South up very steep hills so unfortunately was not was easy to explore as Koh Tao had been. Lets just say we did a lot of pool swimming, tanning and scooting around. We rode past some Asian elephants for the first time and had initially been keen to go for a trek on their backs but, however, we were suddenly put off when we was the poorly state of the poor eles. There were 4 on the side of the road under a tatty thatch shelter chained by a back leg to iron rods cemented in the ground. In the 35º heat with not much food and no water, they looked worn and old. Bridge’s immediate reaction was to inform SPCA of the malnourished beasts, but was quick to realise that this was not our country – people think differently here.
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