Live, love and eat kimchi...: Thailand- Chapter 2, Black Moon on Koh Phangan

Sarah and I finally arrived at Koh Samui as the sun was setting. We had been delayed two hours in the Bangkok Airport, so we quickly grabbed our bags and ran to the information desk to find the quickest way to the harbor. We still needed to take a ferry to Koh Phangan, where we were staying, and where the infamous Black Moon Party was going on that night. We went to the taxi counter and told the women where we wanted to go. To our suprise, she laughed at us! "Hah, you won't be going there tonight," she told us condesendingly. She explained that the last ferry was leaving in 5 minutes and it would cost $200 to hire a private boat. We insisted on going to the harbour anyway (we had to try), so our taxi driver skeptically dropped us off at the end of a dirt road, leading down to the ferry port. We carried our bags down and saw a group of guys our age standing around. We began talking to one guy, who was German but had very good English, and he told us that he and his friends were also trying to get to Phangan and had already hired a speed boat. I immediately asked if Sarah and I could hop on and he was happy to let us join. We paid $30 and found ourselves on Koh Phangan island in less than a half hour!

We hopped off the speed boat, said goodbye to our new friends, and caught up cab that drove us up the hill to our hotel, the Blue Hill Resort. When we arrived it seemed like we were the only guests, but we checked in and were assured by the concierge that the party was going on that night. We had a wonderful Thai dinner on the outdoor patio and then settled into our rustic room (no furniture except a bed) and got ready for the party. The Black Moon Party was everything we expected; rage on the beach, lots of crazy people, drinks, dancing, fire tossers, etc. We danced the night away and met people from all around the world: Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, UK, Israel, etc. It was a great night but we called it quits around 3:00 a.m. so that we wouldn't completely waste the next day, and our first full day of our island experience.

Fire throwers at Black Moon Party

Sar & I at the party

We woke up to a hot, sunny Thai day and discovered the amazing view from our balcony room, over looked the Gulf of Thailand. After a delicious western breakfast of omlettes, bacon, toast, coffee, fresh juice and fruit (which I had been craving forever), we headed down to the beach and pool to relax for the rest of the morning. In the early afternoon, we decided it was time to make a decision about the days activities. I wanted to see the island and check out the Elephant trekking, but we realized that it was extremely difficult to get around the island. The only transportation was expensive taxis or renting a motorbike or truck. Motorbikes were out of the question for obvious reasons, and we decided that we did have the time or funds to rent a truck. So we settled on the Elephant trekking because they would provide transportation from the hotel to the site in the jungle, so we figured we would get to see a lot on the drive there.

About an hour later, a thai man in a pick-up truck came to get us. We hopped in the truck and set out across the island through the jungle. The old pick-up seemed to be "trucking" along, climbing up and down the steep hills, but suddenly, half-way up a massive incline, it just stopped. We didn't think it was a problem until he tried to start the truck a few times and it didn't work. He got on the phone and Sarah and I just looked at each other and laughed, both thinking, "here we go again." Through sign language and "Thainglish", he told us to wait and another ride was coming. We sat for ten minutes and soon enough a woman came riding up on a motorbike. We didn't think much of it until she stopped at the truck. Suddenly, I realized it wasn't a woman at all, it was a lady boy!! There are many lady boy's in Thailand, basically men who dress up as women, but are still men, anatomically speaking. Anyway, "she" was very nice and spoke great English and told us to hop on, the site was only a few minutes up the hill. We hopped on and sure enough it was just at the top of the hill, we could have walked! Anyway, when we got there we were the only tourists, so they brought one of the Elephants over right away. Immediately, Sarah and I both got that uh-oh feeling. Not because we didn't feel safe (it was perfectly safe) but because we both realized that this was in no way an animal-friendly business. The elephants looked sad, hungry and unhealthy. I won't go into too much detail, but Sarah and I made them cut our half-hour ride short and we both vowed to spread the word about elephant trekking in Thailand. If you're going to go, make sure its an animal reserve where they use humane practices! We wished we had done our research. After the ride, we bought some bananas to feed the poors things, and then headed back to town for dinner, a night out and a good sleep before our day trip the next day, snorkeling at Koh Tao.

Save the elephants!

Lady boy!

In the morning we caught a big ferry to Koh Tao, and after dropping off 75% of the passengers in town, the boat continued on as a snorkeling day trip. Our first stop was to Nangyuan Island, two tiny islands connected by a strip of beach and surrounded by crystal blue waters. Just as we were strapping into our life jackets and getting onto the long boats to take us to shore, we met two Singaporian guys. They were really nice and cool, and we ended up spending the whole day with them. We snorkeled and hiked around the first island and then the boat took us to Mango Bay on Koh Tao, which is also known as Diver's Paradise. And it was just that. The coral and the fish were colorful and stunning, I had never seen anything like it. I just wished I would be a diver and go deeper down where I could really see the stuff right up close. By the end of the day we were all exhausted, and we slept almost the whole boat ride back. We said goodbye to our new friends and went back to the hotel. That night we went to a nice spa and got Thai massages for a whopping $10!! It was amazing. And after the massages the women rubbed ointment on each on of my hundred mosquito bites on my legs (yes, one hundred!), it was great service. We went out and met some nice American's on the beach and then headed back for our last night at the hotel. So far, we had seen and done a lot in Thailand, but in the morning we would head to the westcoast, where we still had a lot more traveling and adventure left to go...