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Lost In Koh Phangan, Thailand
Submitted by: Ian MacKenzie, Canada
Website: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com
The buzz of our motorbike engines settle to a low hum as Karen and I
pull up to the fork in the road. Most roads look the same on Koh
Phangan, a tiny island off the southern coast of Thailand; crumbling
concrete which frequently disappears entirely into puddles of reddish
mud. At this particular fork there were no local residents to ask or
English signs to point the way. I removed my hat and wiped the sweat
from my forehead.
"What do you think?" I asked Karen.
"Umm...I think it's right."
"Right? But I thought we had to follow the coast," I said. It was
already our forth night on the island - we'd so far spent the time at a
small hotel on a small northern beach. It was a nice place, good
restaurant, friendly staff. We'd enjoyed the company of a few Americans
on their way from Bali, spending late nights discussing Canadian bands
and American politics. That morning we'd left the hotel behind in
search of other pastures, (and larger beaches), on the idyllic West
coast of the island. It was the notorious south-east beach of Haad Rin
that attracted legions of backpackers to the monthly Full Moon Party,
which is why we decided to avoid the area entirely.
A few Thai buzzed by us on their own scooters, followed by a pack of
sunburned Westerners. Everyone got around on motorbikes here: men,
women, even children packed four to a double seater. I lost count of
how many families appeared to pack everything but the kitchen sink on
their modest vehicle.
I revved the engine of my rented Honda scooter and peered both
directions again. We were on a mission to find the perfect bungalows on
the West coast - somewhere not too busy, but enough of an atmosphere to
find lazy conversation on the beach. Suddenly another motorbike pulls
up, the riders greeting us with wide smiles. Pasha and Marina, the
Russian couple we'd met a day earlier on a snorkeling tour of the
island.
"What a coincidence!" I tell them.
"Well," they shrug, "it's a small island." We laugh together.
Luckily, Pasha and Marina are heading back to their hotel on the West
coast of the island, exactly the area we want to visit. We follow them,
hugging the thin, winding road as it weaves along the coast, through
rusted fishing huts, past sleepy eyed dogs, an innumerable amount of
restaurants, and the occasional treachurous spider-webbed crack in the
pavement. The unruly state of the roads is partially why Koh Phangan
has escaped the heavy commercialization of it's larger neighbouring
island, Koh Samui, and why it still feels like we're visitors among
rural Thai villagers, instead of Western invaders armed with delusions
of superiority. Finally, we crest a hill and the island shores stretch
out before us like a postcard.
We descend into palm trees, bungalows, and Thai flags that flap in the
wind. Pasha and Marina show us their accomodation, a white painted
treehouse complete with hammock and piles of fruit on the adjacent
table. Pasha offers us a bite from a pecular specimen, a large purple
and white egg-shaped fruit that reveals uniform black pits when bitten
into. The taste is sweet and bizarre. "Dragonfruit," he says.
All four of us wander the white sandy beach as the sun makes it's daily
appearance before clouding over again. It's been this way since we
arrived, hazy clouds that pour sheets of rain usually around lunch,
before clearing up atdusk to allow for a warm sunset. We're told the
weather isn't typical for this time of year - it should be crystal blue
skies throughout. Yet the rain hasn't dampened our quickly acquired
affection for the island, apparent in our desire to stick around a
while longer.
Almost by accident, Karen and I found a hotel of bungalows built on the
rocks of the southern shore, held up by sturdy stilts of wood. At $400
Baht a night (about $12) it's a hard bargain to resist. We spent the
day on the beach and tossed the frisbee in the crystal clear waves.
Back at our bungalow, as dusk settled over the restaurants on the sand
below, Karen and I realized we'd found the Thailand from our dreams.
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