heading to the south islands!

29th February - 1st March 2012

Battambang, Cambodia to Koh Tao, Thailand

                    The FULL MOON PARTY looms. My time is running out in Asia but there was no way in hell that I would come all the way to Thailand and not partake in one of the most notorious and infamous parties on the planet so on the 29th February I left Battambang and headed for Bangkok with the goal of reaching the south islands as soon as possible. As mentioned previously, I fly over to Sydney on the 11th March and thanks to some fortunate timing there was a Full Moon Party scheduled for the 8th which gave me just enough time to experience a bit of Thailand's south islands and also to get stuck into a party I have heard so much about over the years. Departing Battambang around 9am, I was sad to be leaving Cambodia so soon after arriving but I had a lot of amazing experiences over those ten days and was greeted by smiles and friendly hospitality wherever I went. The coach ride to Bangkok took around eight hours which was pretty good going and the border crossing back into Thailand at Poipet was also hassle free - although the stinking heat and hordes of backpackers made for a sweaty wait at the immigration desk. Still had a darn good ham and egg roll with me so it could have been worse. It's worth mentioning, for anyone considering heading out here, that Thailand is the only country out of the four I have visited in South East Asia that does not charge money for an entry visa. When I first arrived in Bangkok last December I was automatically given a free 30 day visa upon arrival and returning now, nearly three months later, another free fifteen day visa was stamped into my passport upon arrival at Poipet. Due to this generous and tourist-friendly policy it is not uncommon for people travelling around Thailand to do visa runs into other countries to tack on some more free days to their stay. I would be leaving on the 11th though so the fifteen days would be adequate for my final stint in Thailand. Once cleared through immigration we transferred over to a smaller mini bus which got us all the way to Bangkok arriving in that mad capital around 4pm. Standing once again at the head of the infamous Khao San road, I debated what to do next. Initially I had intended to stay one night before catching a bus down to Koh Tao the following day but on a whim, and as I was standing next to a travel agency, I walked in and asked if there was a bus leaving that evening. As it happened there was, in ten minutes, so before I knew what was happening I was handing over 500baht ($16) which would cover my bus journey down to the town of Chumphon (and also the boat over to Koh Tao) which sits on the east side of the strip of mainland that connects Thailand with Malaysia. The town itself is the jumping off point for the Island of Koh Tao which sits 74km away offshore in the Gulf of Thailand and was where I planned to spend a few days before heading over to Koh Phangan where the Full Moon Party would be kicking off on the 8th. The bus down to Chumphon was a VIP bus which meant fully reclinable seating and wide screen televisions and so I actually ended up watching the movie Blow, for the millionth time, apart from this time I was watching it whilst cruising along in a double decker coach down to Thailand's party islands. As I was travelling alone once again, there was a free seat next to me which was quickly filled by the friendliest German I have ever met by the name of Anselm. He was travelling with his best mate from back home, Daniel - sat in the seat in front of us - and like many other travellers I have come across on this trip so far we instantly clicked. Arriving in Chumphon around 3am it was necessary to wait around at the pier station until 6am when the next boat to Koh Tao departed. Travelling bodies were lying all over the station floor in an attempt to grab a few winks of sleep and I managed to construct a make-shift bed using my bag as a pillow and some chairs as a mattress. After drifting off into some degree of slumber, I was awoken by a sun that had recently introduced itself to the sky and whose arrival also signaled that our boat was ready and so after heaving my rucksack onto my weary and stiff back, I plodded onto the boat with my new found German friends.

               Sitting down in the stuffy cabin I soon went for a little stroll around the boat to get some fresh air and realised it was possible to sit on the bow; a position many others had retreated to as well, and as a result the wooden decking was filled by weary looking Westerners slumped here and there. With Bunny Wailer doing his thing on my iPod, I sat with my legs hanging over the edge and my arms resting on the metal railings and watched as the bow cut through the waters; kicking up a fine spray that whipped the sides of the boat. Looking down at the surface of the water, small flying fish would occasionally pop up and glide over the small waves that crashed against the hull of our speeding boat before plopping back into the watery depths. In the sky above, an infant sun grew in stature as the early morning hours passed and by the time we had reached Koh Tao it had grown in power transforming the surface of the water below into a surging mass of colliding mirrors that sparkled and danced in the light. All around me, weary travellers lay about the bow reading books, listening to music or sleeping; their faces golden under the watchful gaze of a parent sun above. Sat there, listening to my music and observing everything going on around me, I drifted off into a period of internal reflection about what this trip means to me and felt a rush of contentment wash over my body. Was an amazing few hours, watching the sun grow in the sky while feeling the spray of the sea on my face and moments like that make me want to keep on travelling and never come back. If only my bank account had the same nonchalant view on life eh! After several hours I looked to the horizon and saw the dark outline of an island which with it's petite size could only have been Koh Tao. By midday we were pulling up to the jetty which peered out from the thick jungle that engulfed the island like a thick green blanket. Luscious palm trees and golden sand welcomed us to the shore and after traversing a rickety wooden pier I finally arrived in Koh Tao after travelling for around 24 hours from Battambang. After recruiting some more German girls we met on the boat, making it four Germans to one Brit  - don't mention the war, eh basil! - we clambered onto the back of a pick up truck and headed off in search of a bungalow that could accommodate us all for the next few days on this paradise island.

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Cruising to Koh Tao.

Location of Koh Tao in Thailand

The scenery from the boat was amazing, made even more epic by seeing the sunrise from the horizon.

We all relaxed at the front of the boat enjoying the early morning sunshine.

The bow of the boat was a tangle of weary bodies.

Koh Tao!

That spot on the right hand side railing is where I dangled my legs.

Approaching Koh Tao

Pulling into land.

Koh Tao.

Joining the latest legion of backpackers to arrive in Koh Tao

Looking out from Sairee beach on Koh Tao's West coast.

We ended up finding the blue wind bungalows. Shared one with ze Germans for 300baht each a night. The restaurant (above) was about twenty metres from the sea and every morning I woke up and went straight for a dip in the sea.