Happy Days on Kho Phangan

After spending 19 hours between a bus, shuttle, bus and ferry from Bangkok I arrived at the gorgeous island Kho Phangan. Oh and did I mention the fiasco on the bus around midnight...everyone was sleeping and all of a sudden we heard someone screaming from below about a bag. This person was livid and kept asking `where is my bag``and this went on for a few mintues. The group of us sitting on the top had no idea what was going. I hit a panic and checked that my bag was still with me with all my valuables and nothing had been taken...We eventually stopped next to the road to drop off those going to another island and this is when things heated up. The person making the scene took the bus keys and asked to call the police because her bag had been taken and she saw the man who took it (who by now had jumped off the bus and ran away). It was crazy...this scene going on in the street, its midnight and we all concerned about our bags in the luggage area, as there was a suspicion by now that the locks had been tampered with on the luggage. Needless to say after some time and bag checks we hit the road again, alert as kites in gale force with another four hours to go. I mus just say it was the first `potential snag` I experienced since I started travelling and was so grateful my things were untouched! So by the time I reached the island I was was overwhelmed excited, despite the long dramatic journey, to spend fours days exploring, swimming in the ocean and having some down time. I stayed in the south at the Ringside Hostel (3km from the pier) and was a 5 minute away from the beach...

I couldn't have asked for a better hostel and felt that as soon as I walked in. The team was so friendly and welcoming, a beautiful setup and ideal location, the environment was energetic with faces coming and going and music to get my dance shoes out at lunchtime. As soon as I was shown to my dorm I got ready and went down to their sister lodge called Charm Beach. I walked along the beach and just absorbed the beauty and palm trees around me. The tide was unfortunately too low to actually swim so I lay by the pool at Charm Beach and relaxed in the sunshine. It was epic!

I met loads of stunning people that night and ended up on the beach listening to the water, whilst chatting to interesting people from all over the world. Over the next few days I spent time exploring the streets and beaches of the south. As it was low season, it was rather quiet but I preferred it that way. The hostel had enough to offer at night and I continued to meet new faces, so I focused the day time on things I wanted to do for my inner me. I spent time meditating, writing, taking heaps of photographs and just staying in the moment. I was at peace and so grateful to my positive emotions growing each day of this journey.

I met a group of wonderful girls and had the opportunity to hang out with them and explore. We had all heard about this Secret Beach on the west of the island. So we set out one afternoon in search for it and eventually came to it after asking for some directions. It was incredible and definitely a highlight. It is a lodge built out on the side of the beach onto the ocean. On the edge of the restaurant you look out onto the ocean and can jump a few meters down into the water. The sunset was indescribable and the panoramic view of the beach, ocean and beach was worth the 19 hour journey to get to the island. The restaurant had hammocks to relax in, a fantastic atmosphere, view to take your breath away and swarms of fish near the area you jump in. It was perfect.

The weather whilst I was on the island was unfortunately not too generous and it rained too much for my liking. I was therefore not able to do the tours I would have liked to. But in saying that I met amazing people, explored the surroundings and experienced a booming night life. Every night at the hostel we played beer pong, had a few drinks together, socialised and just had a fantastic time. Complete strangers became great friends, late night sandwiches at the local 7/11 became the norm and experiencing a beach party in Haad Rin doing limbo with a rope on fire was definitely a first.

Kho Phangan was a short and sweet visit and exceeded my expectations in ways I never imagined without the moon parties, and even more so was Ringside Hostel.

Happy days...