“Well, it wasn’t REALLY a donkey…”

November 8th, 2001 at 12:00am

A rainy morning again but this time it’s on Ko Pha-Ngan, another island 15 km north of Ko Samui. I am sitting in my hammock on the porch of a private bungalow with a view of the sea in between a banana tree and a coconut tree. What a life!

So ok, the other day, back on Ko Samui, I decided to go on a bit of a bike ride on the island for the day. I rode from Buddha Beach down to Chaweng and then onward to Lamai. It was a hot day once the sun came out and there were quite a few hills on the way to Chaweng. When I got to town I saw the Starbucks so I had to indulge in an iced nonfat latte. And believe me, it tasted exactly the same as it does at home!! It was really good.

I continued on my way to Lamai because I decided to visit the Spa where I have reservation for next week. On the way I had stopped to check my map and the tourist police pulled over and asked if I needed help. I said no just on my way to Lamai and they said oh do you need a ride and I said ok why not. So I put my bike in the back of the pickup and they gave me a 5 km ride. The air-con was such a blessing from the heat because I was pouring with sweat!

They dropped me off at the Spa, and I went in to check it out. Seems like an ok place but I do like the set-up of Shambala better. I had some lunch there just to try the food and it was quite good. Then I set out across the street to visit the Tamarind Springs – a beautiful spa built into the hill with trees and greenery everywhere – such a cool place but way out of my budget so it was ok for a visit and a cup of tea but that was it. I wound up riding all the way back to Buddha beach (I think it was about an hour bike ride).

That night I had dinner at the bungalow’s restaurant and then went to check email. I had one from Rebecca (whom I had met in Chang Mai) saying that she was on Ko Pha-Ngan and that she had run into Robert and Heather (also from Chang Mai) and that they were all staying on the same beach in Haad Yao. So that pretty much decided it for me.

The next day (yesterday) I (reluctantly) left my bike at the Shambala and then took a 45-minute boat ride to Pha-Ngan from Samui. Then I had to take a 50-minute taxi ride over sometimes-paved sometimes-dirt sometimes-mud sometimes-sketchy road to get here. When I arrived I saw the complete paradise that awaited me – a private cove with a nice stretch of beach, totally secluded and quiet and beautiful! The beach is lined with many bungalows but the atmosphere itself is not busy or crowded at all. (Mind you, it is definitely off-season here right now – things should be picking up in another month or so for sure.)

So I checked out a few bungalows in search of Heather, Robert, and Rebecca and as I walked down the beach I heard Robert yell “Jen” and I looked back to see Robert laying in a hammock between two coconut trees. I was like NO WAY!!! It was pretty cool. We caught up with days past of who’s been doing what and then went off to secure a bungalow for myself for the night. I’ve got a beach-front bungalow for less than $4/night. That’s complete with private toilet and shower (no hot water of course). For the so many people who asked me “Why are you starting your journey in THAILAND????” before I left home, well people THIS is why. It is an absolute paradise here!!!

That afternoon I caught up with Rebecca and that evening we all chilled out with Heather, Robert and his friend Brent (a friend of Robert’s from home also traveling around Asia), hanging out, listening to all of Brent’s bootleg CD’s that he bought in Vietnam for 70 cents each. It was Heather’s last night here as she left for Bangkok today to catch her flight back home to San Francisco.

Definitely a fun group of people.

“Well, it wasn’t REALLY a donkey…”

My bungalow on Haad Yao…

Entry Filed under: South,Thailand