beaches of haad rin

Since the beaches were a big reason we headed to the islands, we spent a lot of time hanging out around them. There were two major beaches in Haad Rin. The one where the Full Moon Party was which was called Haad Rin Nok. We would take our morning swims on this beach because it was the only beach that had a roped off part where it seems much safer to swim then having to deal with all the boat taxis that zoom around. It was only about a 10 minute walk from our place, even though we were on the other side of town so we are and worked there a few times.

Us working

A dog who seemed to be eternally fishing in the shallow water, though we never saw him catch anything

The other beach was called Haad Rin Nai and was very close to where we stayed. It wasn't as pristine of a beach but it was much less crowded and was a good place to escape from the craziness of the other side of town. We ate many breakfasts at the Coral Bungalows that overlooked the beach and was one of the better restaurants around as well as the cheapest.

A Wat on the hill in Haad Rin Nai

full moon party

One reason we headed to Koh Phangan so quickly is so we could get to Haad Rin a few days before the Full Moon Party (we heard the town's hotels fill up if you get there too close to the party). Even though partying until sun up was not our intended plan, Andrew still wanted to at least go to a Full Moon Party so he could say he's gone. Maggie had already been to one, so it was old hat for her.
We painted ourselves up in neon green paint, purchased a bucket of Thai Whiskey, Coke and Red Bull and headed out to the beach to experience that is the spectacle of the Full Moon Party.

 And it was all the spectacle we expected. Lots of techno music and people partying in bathing suits... or less. Each hotel had their own DJ so as you walked down the beach you were assaulted by many different beats and songs all fighting to be the loudest. We walked up and down the beach a few times, danced a little and did a lot of people watching. On the way to the party we realized that the street vendors had finally come out in Haad Rin (the lack of which had been one of our biggest complaints about the town), so on the way home we sampled a few of their cuisines before heading home at the (for this party, absurdly early) hour of 2:00am.

a night of muay thai

One of the things we wanted to do in Thailand was go to a Muay Thai fight because we had heard that it was the nation's biggest sport. Luckily enough, the night before the Full Moon Party, the city we were in (Haad Rin Nai) was having a night of six Muay Thai fights... it was a no brainier.

The arena was small than we thought it would be, holding only maybe around 500 hundred people. We arrived fairly early after the doors opened and were lucky enough to grab the last two available (and not saved) front row seats.

The ring and Andrew talking to the French couple that sat behind us

It started around an hour late, which was really no surprise to us. But once they got going the action was pretty continual. Of the six fights, three of them ended in knockouts so it was a good night of entertainment. It was funny to watch the rituals all the fighters go through stretching and praying around the ring before the match begins. One of the guys drew a circle on the ground with his foot in the opponents corner and stomped on it.

 

Like you would expect, it was much like boxing, just with kicks. Guys would exchange punches and kicks and then grab each other until the ref broke them up and told them to fight again.  At first during the fights they played techno music, but shortly after thye started playing the traditional Thai music with high pitched horns and drums. There was a 'Bet Corner' where you could place bets on the matches. All and all, it was everything we had expected from a Muay Thai match.

home sweet haad rin nai

Arriving in Haad Rin Nai (a city on Koh Phagnan) only a few days before the Full Moon party meant that all the prices of the rooms were inflated. We looked around for a little bit but everything was more than we wanted to pay (1500 Baht a night, give me a break, that's American prices). Luckily enough, Maggie remembered a cheap place she stayed the last time she was here so we headed over there. They had rooms for only 400 Baht a night (which has now turned into 300 Baht a night the day after the Full Moon Party) and there were shacks on a hill side with wifi connection in the shacks - what else could we ask for? It's also not on the crazy party side of Haad Rin where the actual Full Moon Party so we get a little peace and quite when we want it and not 24/7 blaring techno music.

The view from the street looking up at our place--that's Maggie in yellow

The next series of pictures takes you on the path up to our place. It involves a steep flight of stairs that leaves the legs burning every time we climb them and then a walk across piecemeal wood planks that can be more or less secure depending on where you step.

If you look closely, you can see two of the many kittens that live around here sitting half way up the stairs

Our place has a nice little poach with a great view of the water and the island of Koh Samui in the distance. The interior of our place is nothing special, one room dominated by the bed and a small bathroom but we have electricity and wifi, so really no complaints from us.

night ferry from surat thani to koh phagnan

We left Bangkok after only two days there because the beaches and the Full Moon Party on Koh Phagnan were calling our names. We took a morning train out of Bangkok that arrived in Surat Thani around 6:00pm. From the train station we took a local bus (we were the only foreigners on it) to the stop that was only a few blocks away from Ban Don Pier. How did we know which stop was close to Ban Don Pier? Let me tell you: at the first stop we asked the lady who collected our bus fare whether this was the stop for Ban Don Pier (and by asked, I mean, said "Ban Don?" and pointed out the door). She shook her head and we knew that she would now help out us poor foreigners and let us know what stop we were looking for. So about twenty stops later (and about ten instances of, "Ban Don Pier?" "No, no.") she motioned to us that we were there and we piled out and only had to walk about four blocks to the pier (with a very helpful Thai lady who had gotten off the bus at the same time pointing the way).

The boat didn't leave until 11:00pm so we sat around and had a couple beers because we knew it was going to be a long night. The boat is mainly used to bring supplies to Koh Phagnan (Koh means island in Thai) and they had converted the top floor to sleeping quarters where they stuffed us in like sardines. I think when we left, we each had about two feet of horizontal space to sleep in.

We meet a Polish girl on the way to the pier who we had our drinks with while taking in the scenery of Surat Thani bay.

And then we tried to sleep smushed between fellow travelers (Maggie slept next to our new friend Maria, but Andrew's neighbor must have weighed about 300 pounds and wasn't interested in staying in his own space) until our boat pulled into Koh Phagnan at about 5:30am and we were off to the island.

travel vaccinations at the red cross clinic in bangkok

We had decided to get our vaccinations in Bangkok because of how much cheaper they were than in the US. So the second day (first full day) we were there we headed over to the Red Cross Hospital on Rama IV road (by the Snake Farm) to get ourselves vaccinated. We had heard that no cabbies knew where it was so we had to say we wanted to go to the Snake Farm, that turns out to be on the hospitals premises, and even then it took talking to a few cabbies to find one who knew where that was (and even that involved trying to mime "snakes" so the cabbies would know what we were talking about).

Once we found our way there it started to sink in that we were going to a hospital in a foreign country where the language was totally different than English. We had heard from the internet that this Red Cross spoke pretty good English, which was partially true. Not everyone did, but luckily the doctor who ran us through what exactly they were injecting us with, was fairly good and there was a big sign with all the possible vaccinations in English that he pointed to quite often (all with a big smile on his face--the doctor was about 85 years old and very friendly!). So we were 95% sure we were getting the right vaccinations. All and all, it was actually a pretty painless experience. The nurses were really nice and carefully with all their poking (we could hardly feel the shots, which we would never have said for shots in the US!). Andrew got four vaccinations and the nurse looked at him and said, "So many!" Which wasn't very comforting, but it went all right.

All in all, we saved thousands of dollars getting shots here. Particularly for the more exotic shots (Japanese Encephalitis, rabies), our US insurance counted them as "elective," so would not pay for them. Just a series of rabies shots alone (it takes three shots) would have cost each of us over $1000 in the US, and here, we're each paying about $30 for the set of three. We know it seems kind of crazy to get our vaccinations in one of the foreign countries where we could contract the diseases, but Thailand is known for its medical care, and (knock on wood) we've had no ill effects so far besides some sore arms. 

Left: The only sign in the first room we went into              Right: Andrew recuperating after his "so many" shots.

bangkok... wow

We arrived in Bangkok very early in the morning after a red-eye from Stockholm and went directly to a restaurant so Andrew could eat the Pad Thai he had been lusting for over the last couple months. After that we looked for a hotel in the Koh San Road area (not on Koh San Road though, it's a little crazy for us--it's the big backpacker area in Bangkok, and is filled to the brim with street vendors, tattoo shops, food stalls, restaurants blaring techno, and more).

Koh San Road

Maggie had been talking about all the Pad Thai street vendors in the area and they did not let us down. At night it seemed like hundreds of them were on the streets selling the same same, but different Pad Thai as all the others for around 30 Baht (which is around US$1).

Pad Thai street vendor making it right in front of you

Our hotel was fairly standard for the area. The bottom floor was a restaurant / bar with the rooms in the floors above.  And hot water (maybe our last hot water for awhile), all for only 560 Baht a night (about $18).

The restaurant / bar on the bottom floor of our hotel