After leaving Nai Plao by taxi we drove to the ferry to take us to Ko Pha Ngan, which is an island near Ko Samui. (Ko means island in Thai) We chose Ko Pha Ngan over Ko Samui because we wanted something relaxing without all the mega resorts and glitz on the beach. Ko Pha Ngan is a small island that is famously known for its wild full moon parties that have been happening since the 80’s. But there are still areas on the island that have amazing beaches that are far away from the full moon party area. Andrew and I decided to go to an area far away from there called Hat Kuad or Bottle Beach.
More Bottle Beach, yes please!
Bottle Beach is located on the Northern part of Ko Pha Ngan. Weather permitting it is only accessible by boat from an area called Chalok Lam or by very bumpy dirt road which can only been done by 4x4. After getting off the ferry we drove to Chalok Lam to get a long tail boat to Bottle Beach. Unfortunately for us the last boat was gone and there wouldn’t be another one until the morning. We spent the night in a fishing village, in a very rustic beach front bungalow. This is the first time that we have every stayed in a bungalow that had a bathroom without a roof. It was quite a strange experience to be showering etc, essentially outside under the stars and trees. The village was quite charming, with cute restaurants and some little shops.
The following day we took the early morning long tail boat and headed off to Bottle Beach which went through some choppy water. We got off the boat to find ourselves on a picture perfect small beach located in a bay with white soft sand and clear emerald water. Along the beach there were only four small hotel complexes and one little store. In the distance on either length of the beach were green hills, which made the view spectacular. Following the recommendation from a Westerner that has lived in the area for ten years, we checked in to a place called Bottle Beach III. We chose a two storey bungalow right on the beach with two big patios, a big comfy bed and a lot of windows. Almost immediately our plans for staying only a few nights turned into a plan to stay for double.
We spent our days relaxing on the beach and eating great food, in the evenings our hotel played a different movie every night on a big screen and after the movie we enjoyed sitting on our patio listening to the waves and chatting. I must mention that we got the best sleeps in our little bungalow and the beautiful beach had no touts or venders. At night we would leave the windows open so that we could hear the waves all night. Not every day was sunny, but regardless we enjoyed the beach and the ocean. The temperature was perfect, even when it was sunny the wind kept things comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed the cooler evenings, and for the first time in ages we felt a bit chilly at night. Another thing that I must mention is the lack of creepy crawly bugs! We rarely saw any geckos and I didn’t see any of the giant cockroaches that are commonly seen in Asia and the best part of all there were no RATS!
Like always, we became friends with the people from the restaurant and one night we were invited to a birthday party. That night we ate bbq, drank beer and sang songs to a guitar. It was another great night and we felt really fortunate to be staying in another paradise.
Since we extended our stay on the island, the full moon fell on our fifth day. We figured we should go and experience the event as it is such a famous thing to do. During the day of the party, our hotel filled up with people and you could sense the excitement even though we were far away from the party. At 9:30pm we all squished into a 4x4 sawngthaew (which is a pick up truck with two bench seats) We took an hour long journey to the party. The roads were horrendous, and they weren’t kidding when they said it was an unfinished road. Mostly it was a dirt path, with steep inclines and declines and giant holes. Thankfully our driver was experienced and we arrived to the party in one piece. Unfortunately the only option for the party was to leave the hotel at 9:30pm and to leave the full moon party at 6:30am. At this stage of my life, an all night party leaves something to be desired.
Full Mooning Andrew and Nicola Style:
The full moon party is located on the beach of Hat Rin, it was like a complete different world from Bottle Beach. It was everything you would expect of an area ravaged by tourists that flock to the island in search of the fool moon event. There were thousands of people on the beach, and each restaurant was pumping out ear busting trance music. Farang (Westerns) with glow in the dark body paint danced their asses off on the beach, and along the water there were countless Farang passed out everywhere. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The “sleep” areas which were actually first aid areas, were spilling with people by the end of the night. It was a fun time, we did a little dancing and a lot of people watching. For an event with that many people, it was relatively calm. There was a police presence that kept everyone in check. A long time ago, the full moon party was know for drugs but now because of the crack down it seemed to be quite clean. In Thailand doing any drugs is a big punishable offense, and it is know with travelers that messing with the mostly corrupt police would be a huge mistake.
At 2:00am Andrew and I decided to go and get a foot massage near by, it was very relaxing and it helped to pass an hour by. At 6:30am we made the long bumpy journey back home.
Big Bird:
On our first day on Bottle Beach a large looming figure swooped over our heads and landed on a volleyball net. We looked up and to our surprised we saw the biggest bird that we have ever seen in our lives. It’s hard to explain how it looks other than to say part parrot, part tucan and part vulture. It had a huge bright yellow beak with black and white feathers. The bird liked to swoop at unsuspecting people and knock them over and occasionally steal articles of clothing. It was something that we got use to seeing every so often. It seemed a little unpredictable and I always was on watch for it, fearing that it may swoop down and knock me over. One day the bird landed next to a sunbather and tried to take her shirt, Andrew offered assistance and tried to shoo it away by kicking sand on it. Hehe, of course the bird didn’t budge an inch. Suddenly out of the water ran an Israeli guy who started to swat and grab its beak. We watched in disbelief as he played with it like a dog while the bird hopped side to side playing and biting his arm. He was like the “Bird Whisperer!” After the bird flew away, he just left and went back into the water where he came from.
We could never get a straight answer from any of the Thai’s about the bird. We learned that a few months ago two giant birds appeared to the beach. There were once two, but shortly after making an appearance one left to go to the other side of the island. The rumour is that it was once a pet, and the person couldn’t afford it and let it free, another rumour is someone bought them for the island. Who, knows?! The only thing for certain, is the bird is giant wild animal that seems to be very comfortable with humans. It’s an amazing looking creature, and as soon as I can I will try to look it up on the internet to see what it is.
Saying Goodbye to Bottle Beach:
Life on Ko Pha Ngan was so easy going, the atmosphere was really relaxing and timed seemed to flow smoothly. After navitaging through cities for the last few months, it was a nice change of pace to slow down and escape reality. In fact we were so out of reality during our stay that when the day came to check out we discovered we had spent an extra day on the beach. I’m not sure where the extra day went, but all together we stayed for ten. Consequently our tourist visa for Thailand was to expire on Oct 9th, but unknowingly by the time we reached the Malaysian border we had overextended our visa by one day (actually only seven hours). Therefore we had to pay a $30 fine at the border.
I don’t know what it is about being on a beautiful beach in Thailand that makes you loose track of time. Last year while on Ko Chang island in Thailand we did the same thing, except instead of being one day extra we left the island one day early. We didn’t realize until we turned up at Bangkok airport one day earlier that our scheduled flight.
~Nicola
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| Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand |
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