Arriving at our little house on the beach was initially a bit of a shock. The closeness of the sea was indisputably incredible but "The Beach House", plonked in the front of a community of Thai housing which included numerous children and roaming dogs and cats seemed alien to what we had booked through Air BandB. Remembering this was Thailand and our mantra "nothing is ever as it seems" we soon settled in and saw all the charming factors about it. Once our novelty wore off we were soon left alone in peace and quiet by the residents and the animals.
Doing what we set out to do - become immersed in the culture and people of the countries we intended to visit - we started to ask questions and explore. Att helped us hire our scooter (Mr Bee) for 150 Baht (NZ$ 7) a day, Liz told us about the best restaurants close by and Peter guided us through the back blocks to them. Within a day or two we had already learned a lot and knew our way around - including finding a 20Baht shop (NZ$2 shop) for washing up liquid, mossie spray and soothing balm for our "already bites". (Haven't quite got it right though here......everything we bought was at least 120Baht but still cheap).
Mr Bee has taken us the length and breadth of Koh Phangan - North to Chaloklum where we did our first snorkelling, on the way home calling into Haad Mae Haad which was beautiful; West to Haad Son; East to Haad Rin Nok (sunrise beach) and South to Hard Rin Mai (sunset beach). These two beaches are heaving with young people every month at Full Moon! Anywhere from 8,000 to 30,000, depending on the season. They party on the beaches and in the bars until dawn. It also has a reputation for lots of topless girls, rapes and on occasion murders.........but they still keep coming in droves.
These journeys have not always been easy on Mr Bee. It is monsoon season here and although warm and humid it often pours down on several occasions every day which is generally accompanied by fierce thunder and lightening. This means we have to shelter somewhere - more often than not in a bar drinking Chang beer and eating Phad Thai - but not always. Sometimes a banana tree has to suffice!!!! Also the terrain is very hilly..........and I mean very steep hilly.......with always a left or right hand bend at the bottom. Leaning into the bend as instructed often feels like the wheels are going to slide out from under us..........but I must remember!!!!!.....this is "an adventure according to Gary"?? .....lest we forget!?! Hearing that our immediate Thai neighbour, a fisherman, had been killed in an accident just a few days after our arrival has not helped the cause. He was run over by a Farang (tourist) on a motorbike. Testosterone, a motorbike, no helmets and fast driving do not gel. Europeans walking around on crutches with bandages and plaster all over them has not helped either. To date we are still whole.
Venturing into the local supermarket Makro to stock up on supplies was awesome. Everything is so fresh and very cheap - including Gin and beer - and the selection plentiful. One can eat a good, plant based diet here easily but there are many vegetables we have not seen before and The Beach House is not really set up to self cater so.........damn it........we have to eat out every night!!
Meals range from 50Baht (NZ$2.50) authentic Thai food to 250Baht (NZ$11.50) for amazing Sushi.......all is good. Our best dining experience so far though has been a Thai BBQ restaurant just 2 mins up the road on Mr Bee. This is all you can eat for 199Baht (NZ$9) of anything. Seafood of all descriptions, meat of all descriptions, vegetables of all description, pre cooked Thai food, Larb, noodles, rice, Phad Thai, spring rolls, kebabs, garlic, chillies etc etc, which you BBQ at your table. All the juices and flavours collect around the centre cooking point -like a moat which you keep topped up with water - and this then becomes a soup which is gorgeous and flavoursome. We probably didn't eat our whack but the locals know how to get value for their Baht.......I have never seen so much food consumed in one sitting. Eat.....take a long break.....start eating again but.....there is a catch. Any food on your plates uneaten carries a fine!!!!! 30 Baht per 100grams. Guess this type of eating encourages obesity but we will go back there before we leave. We were thinking how this could be brought to NZ but Health and Safety would have a field day. Guys walking around with woks full of glowing coals would be totally unacceptable......you bet!
So we have been quietly exploring, reading, swimming, paddleboarding, eating, drinking and generally relaxing. We discovered in the local village/town of Thong Sala a second hand book shop where we are able to swap in our books for a small fee.......the quirky owner loads us up with lollies as we leave which is a bonus too.
As I type this the island is being inundated with young people here to go to the Full moon party at Haad Rin on 30th May. Up until last night we have mainly been the only patrons in many establishments but last night was noticeably different. Our favourite restaurant, Mammas, was totally full with young British people getting ready to party hard on full moon. In the low season for 2 days before and 2 days after full moon everything changes. Resorts open, restaurants reopen, beaches are groomed, ferries from Koh Samui increase and the place fills up. The local Thai people need to take advantage of this small window of financial opportunity for as the moon wanes so does their income.
And so it did.....all change again. We called into the ferry terminal on Mr Bee the day after full moon and it was chaos and utterly packed. We sat and watched for a while then decided as we were leaving 2 days later that we should leave The Beach House an hour earlier than planned to join the outrageous queues!!!!!! However that was actually the post full moon exodus........just unbelievable!!!!! Everything closed down again, the roads were all calm once more, peace was restored and we spent 2 hours at a queueless ferry terminal on our last blistering hot day on Koh Phangan.
We know we are going to miss the scrumptious fried, double chicken breasts (25 Baht each for me - 40 Baht for everyone else) and the "chop, chop chicken man" (50Baht for us as was "special" - 40Baht for everyone else) on Koh Phangan, but we now venture forth to Ao Nang for one month.........we have a long day of travel ahead of us.
Good bye The Beach House we will sort of miss you too but........there is room for huge improvements there for people staying long term and we certainly will not miss the roaming dogs along the beach,
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