Thailand- The South

Situated in the lower southern Gulf of Thailand is Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan. Samui, a much bigger island, has an international airport and is a jump off point for the other islands in the area. This is where we flew in and caught a ferry to the much smaller island of Ko Pha-Ngan. Internationally notorious for it's Full Moon Party (billed to be the biggest beach party in the world), Pha-Ngan is a must see for any young backpacker traveling through Thailand. The Southeastern tip of the island is home to Hat Rin where all the partying takes place and the rest of the island is mostly undeveloped jungle and beaches. As nice as that sounds, we were going directly to the dirty little beach town of Hat Rin for what was said to be the biggest Full Moon Party of the year, estimating about 12,000 people. It was not to be however as a large storm pelted the Gulf making the usually wave-less bay and torrent of white water and rip tides. The day we arrived we went down to the beach just as they were pulling four people from the water who had been sucked out by the rips. We stood in horror as they tried to revive one girl who had been unconscious since they pulled her from the water. She did not wake up. Her and another girl died right there on the beach and three others had to be rushed to the local hospital. Needless-to-say, after seeing something like that, the mood afterward was very somber, no one really ready to go out and party. The following day was gloomy and beach was again hit with unrelenting high water, they local police closed off the beach and the full moon party was officially cancelled, although everyone just ended up walking around on the streets near the beach. We hung around the next day, again overcast and waited until it was time to leave. If you looked up the world 'bust' in the dictionary, this would be the explanation. No parties and no sunshine on a tropical island, and was raining everywhere.

But Jim Croche once sang, "Tomorrow is going to be a better day," and he was right! We took the ferry back to Ko Samui and boarded plane, never looking back. We arrived in Puket an hour later renewed and excited. We were going to Ko Pi Pi, which is one of the most spectacular islands in the Andaman Sea. About an hour's ferry ride from Puket will land you on Ko Pi Pi Don, a 'H' shaped island that is really two smaller islands joined by a sandbar isthmus. You may remember the name because when the 2004 Tsunami struck South East Asia, this was one of the worst places to be hit, 3rd on the body count list. But it was making speedy recovery and although the evidence of the disaster was still evident (toppled bungalows, uprooted palms) the community was rebuilding.

We arrived to calm waters and a cloudless sky. Not wasting anytime, we jumped on a longtail taxi boat and headed out to Ko Pi Pi Leh, a smaller undeveloped island just 5km to the south. We stooped in Maya bay, famous for its spectacular beach and snorkeling and more famous for the location of the 1999 film, The Beach. This may be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Sheer limestone cliffs that disappear in the brightest blue water in the world. Coral reef that you can almost reach out and touch from crystal white sand beaches. And the water, aside from being in the mid 70's, was so peaceful. I could have spent the entire trip here. But we only had three days. We made the most of it though. Spending at least 6-8 hours on the beach everyday in cloudless sunshine and eating fresh caught seafood at night under the stars. As we boarded the ferry back to Puket we all cracked a smile as the rain clouds rolled in, knowing that our timing could not have been more perfect. It was perfect.

I'm on my way home now, eager to get back in time to spend the holidays with the family and friends. But not eager to leave this place. It's diverse landscape, friendly people, and ridiculously low cost of living would tempt many people to stay long past their originally planed departure date. I'm not worried though, I’m sure I can convince a couple of you to come back with me.

Scott