One last hop

Our journey to the next island destination Koh Phangan involved a ferry - bus - ferry
as it is located on the other side of the mainland in the Gulf of Thailand. We had considered bailing Phi Phi a few days earlier for what would have been a bigger full moon party scene, although happy with our decision to check out the more intimate Phi Phi (except for maybe Simon).

Each of us rented beachfront air conditioned bungalows for a little over $30 per night, with sweeping views across a sea dotted with small islands. At Lucky Resort I had booked the Stone bungalow which entailed living inside a large cave like room with an entrance that opened up to a large waterfront balcony. There's nothing quite like drifting off to sleep at night with the gentle waves lapping up against your front deck.

With hopes of a decent squidding session we took up positions along the rocky shore, armed with our travel rods and new squid jigs, we battled the heat in search of a new champion. Contrary to the resorts name, we did not see a single squid the entire fishing session. In fact the only catch was a sole fish by Ben, who was given the benefit of the doubt to end Simon's long standing championship reign.

A small stairway behind our bungalows led up to our resorts restaurant, serving an array of quality Thai food and some of the best fresh shakes, which made it hard to stop at 2, 3, 4 or more per sitting. It's not hard to get caught up drinking endless fruit shakes when you have million dollar views and super friendly staff always on hand.

Tucked in between Haad Salaad and Haad Yao bay, we were located roughly 20 minutes from the town Thong Sala where the ferry's arrive and was easily accessible by tuk tuks, which are a motorbike with passenger seating carriage attached or you could rent a scooter from the resort (which I did manage to come off on one of the sketchy dirt tracks). We did not have much need to head in to town as a mighty 7-11 was located just down the hill on the main road near our resort. For anyone that hasn't been to Thailand before, 7-11's are EVERYWHERE and stock  multitude of bizarre Thai snacks and drinks, rather pot luck purchases make for interesting consumption when many don't have a word of English on them, all shopped for in a clean air conditioned comfort.

One night I took the boys to Amsterdam Bar which is perched up on a big hill with breathtaking views across the ocean. We arrived just before sunset and the big wooden decking was already packed with tourists sprawled out on Thai triangle cushions. Whilst its a great place to drink in the evenings, the steep exiting decline is nothing short of treacherous.

Simon picked himself up a bamboo tattoo at one of the beachfront parlours, a horse designed by his sister to honour her significant obsession. Unlike conventional machine tattoos, fine needles are attached to the end of a thing piece of bamboo with cotton, placed in a line instead of a bullet and tapped in to the skin. The skin is then punctured, not torn, which results in a significant reduction in pain and bleeding.  As there is no blood to push the ink out of the skin, there is no need for touch ups and a much faster healing time.