KO PHANGAN ISLAND

I took the ferry from Ko Samui to a beautiful island of Ko phangan . I shared the bus to the resort with a young couple from Aukland and they gave me their details and told me to look them up when I am in New Zealand and they gave me lots of ideas of places to go. That is one of the reasons I am enjoying this travelling, the generosity of people around you. But the flip side of the coin, there are those who want to rip you off ,so I have to be on my guard as well. The roads on this island are so scary , they are just steep hills up and down and there are big pot holes, so it was a scary bus ride. Eventually we arrived at our rooms..they overlooked the estuary of a river and the sea. They put me in a de-lux bungalow set up on the hill side. I loved it. I had to walk through some woodland along little dirt tracks to get to the main road.




I got lost.But then a man on a motorbike came and gestured for me to hop on, he did not speak any English. And I just got on and he took me to the main road, which was so kind of him. I would never have found my way!
Then I got a longboat to bottleneck beach which is beautiful. You can only get there by boat so it is not too full. I spent a few hours there. I then got a motorbike and headed for coconut beach which I had heard so much about. Well the steep roads where difficult to negotiate, and then they became dirt tracks. I have to say my heart was in my mouth and I just held onto the brakes and slid down on the bike. I thought I would figure out how to get back up later. The beach was worth it. There were hardly any people and the bungalows were set back. I chilled under a coconut tree for a few hours reading my book. Then I looked up and saw the big coconuts looming down. And I remembered that Sammie had told me that a large number of people die each year from being hit on the head from coconuts falling from the trees. I thought it will not happen to me and tried to get back into my book. But I just kept looking up and thinking"what are the chances?" and I decided with the way my luck goes at times it would be better if I moved along.
When I got back on the motorbike I decided to just go for it! and I managed to scrabble up the steep hill , slipping and sliding all over the place. But I was thrilled when I got to the top alive and in one piece!
I then went exploring on the bike.



I saw where the poor elephants are kept for the trekking and it made me realise that I did not want to ride the elephants there because there were so cooped up. I have got details of a place in Chang Mai in norther Thailand where they look after the elephants and you can help to wash them and care for them, so I am going to check that out when I go up there.
I then went and visited a waterfall. which was very atmospheric with the sound of the sicardas and crickets, it was so deafening. But I could have sat there for hours soaking up the atmosphere it was quite hypnotic. Getting back into my resort on the motorbike was frightening.It is the steepest hill I have seen and I had my heart in my mouth again until I got to the bottom. I thought it was just not worth it all the stress with the bike and I gave it back in. The next day I have to say I enjoyed walking around and exploring . I went to a great bar at the top of the hill overlooking the bay. The view was breathtaking.
Today I am getting the ferry to Ko Tao and staying there a couple of nights. I am meeting up with the girls from Ireland who I spent Christmas day with. They have got me a room where they are staying. So I am looking forward to a good night out tonight.
My visa runs out soon. so I will be getting the ferry to mainland Thailand ,then bus to Bangkok and then I have a flight on the 1st to Cambodia.I am going to visit Phnom Phenh and Ankor Wat. so really looking forward to a change of country. But then I will head back to Chang Mai in northern Thailand.