Ko Phanghan

Arrived by fast boat on to the party island of Ko Phanghan and were immediately hit with a audio advert for some Muay Thai boxing event. The advert was spoken in a broad cockney accent.

We were aiming for Hat Rin on whose beach the big full moon parties take place. We weren't going to be on the island for the full moon but heard there are parties for all stages of the moon - and there were. Too many parties, far too many.

The boat actually dropped us off in Thonsala so once we realised we were in the wrong town, we got a sangtheuw (truck taxi - spelling of the word probably wrong) to Hat Rin. Dived into a bungalow on the beach (Hat Rin is a surprisingly beautiful beach will no litter at all - full of posers though) and rested before hitting the town and buying elements required to make a bucket, i.e. bottle of Hong Thong, proper Thai red bull, 7 Up, a sand castle bucket and two straws. After having a good dinner on the beach we went for a dance and a drink (no 'dancing in the moonlight' fortunately).

Watched the silly games at a bar such as balloon tied to leg bursting and fire breathing. Saw one particular charver stamping on the balloons of little kids and then getting Muay Thai'd by a ten year old further up the beach. Shame the Thai kid didn't land many of his spinning bird kicks really as this guy was a prize prick.

I'm sure the place is fun but to be honest it was chav central. All the bars played either Friends on loop or Family Guy (turns out this was actually good on our exit day recovering from a hangover). The food was decidedly western and not very good. We did find a local Thai eatery and feasted on decent red curries and pad thais with the obligatory big bottle of Chang.

Partied for three nights and tried to get train tickets from the main land to Bangkok but unfortunately the train was fully booked for the next three days. Our visa was fast running out so we reluctantly booked on a sleeper bus from Surat Thani to Bangkok. Tip for anyone else - book train tickets as soon as you know the date you are travelling. They fill up fast.

As the full moon approached, more and more people of the unsavoury variety arrived in the town. It was time to leave. We got a mini bus to Thonsala, a car ferry to the mainland and then the night bus to Bangkok.

On the boat I began to feel rather ill. This continued all the way to Bangkok. The toilet on the bus was very small even by bus toilet standards and made the act of being very, how do I put it, leaky (?) difficult to say the least. The service station toilet made the need to encourage vomitus maximus null and void. I was a pretty sick individual really. First time since we started travelling so I had a good run. I blame the western food on Ko Phanghan. The boat ride did not help.

So, in a nutshell, Ko Phanghan is good if you want to party and watch Chandler, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Monica whine on in episodes that for some reason you have already seen ten times.

The rest of the island I hear is more beautiful, especially the North but we only saw the famous Hat Rin beach. It was fun and we did our fair share of partying but all in all, not the best place in the world.

Next up, a day and a night in Bangkok before the flight to Hanoi, Vietnam.