We went to Thailand in October. It was on Mike’s radar after the Great Himalayan Trail, to relax and unwind the muscles. Along with some great exploring in Bangkok we journeyed to an island.
October in Thailand is wet season. Unpredictable. Not the best temperatures or ocean clarity. It turned out to be fine for us.
We stayed on Koh Phangan. Yes, Full Moon Party island. We had no idea that was a thing until we were on the ferry from Ko Samui seeing adverts. Luckily there was no full moon during our five day stay. Even if there was, it’s Thailand’s fifth largest island, so you can experience it however you want.
The island is steep and green and feels held together by scooters and various tourist intentions. You look at the map, think something is close, and then spend 30 mins riding up and down hills through coconut trees wondering how an island ends up this vertical!
There are even sections of the island only accessible by boat or 4WD which is cool if you want to explore a bit.
We hired a scooter and basically didn’t stop using it. Taxis are not an option as they have “mafia rates”. It’d been almost 20 years since I’d ridden a motorbike, but my ego wouldn’t let a scooter show me up! It actually took a couple of days before we felt comfortable riding, and we just hired one, because, well, pillion is fun!
The food was great, as expected. Mango sticky rice showed up a lot. Not because we were hunting for it, but because it was there, and it’s hard to walk past warm rice, coconut cream and ripe mango without changing your plans.
We relaxed and walked on beaches, watched crabs and found shells, and did the usual “how does this compare to beaches in Australia we know”.
One day we went out to Ang Thong Marine National Park. A boat full of strangers and a lot of limestone islands scattered across the water.
It was a great day actually. Even if it wasn’t postcard perfect, we had a fun time with folks on the boat, especially two Spanish fellows who found it as hilarious as us to have a “free physio neck appointment” on the water with the boat crashing over the swell.
On the way out we passed working trawlers on the horizon. Thailand supplies a serious share of the world’s tuna and prawns. Seeing that scale of fishing next to a protected marine park was a contrast. No explanation, no signage, just both realities floating out there.
We stopped to snorkel, which was a good lesson in what might happen if you sink on a boat with many people; more chance of being kicked in the head than drowning. We kayaked around to another beach after lunch. We hiked to Emerald Lake, as well as a viewpoint on another island which overlooks the 42 islands that make up the marine park. It was steep and fantastic (and superbly sweaty!)
The water is warm year-round, around 28 degrees, and even when visibility isn’t perfect, the fish don’t seem bothered. Mike saw quite a few amazing fish on the day trip. We also snorkelled back on Koh Phangan, which was good but we had managed our expectations considering the time of the year and weather.
Other than the day trip to the marine park the five days blurred. Ride somewhere. Swim. Eat. Get caught in a sudden downpour that lasts twenty minutes. Relax near the pool. Or beach.
This was a new experience for both of us; a real tropical holiday. It’s what many people do and imagine for relaxation – lying around reading a book and swimming gently and eating.
Compared to the mountains it was fun in a different way, and maybe a window into how to spend time when our bodies suggest it’s no longer viable to do so many alpine adventures. For now I’ll take snow over sand any day.