After a very tiring 24 hours by sleeper train, which departed from Bangkok at 16.40 to Surat Thani, arriving at 6.00,a bus ride of 2 hours then a 2 hour ferry crossing we finally arrived on the small but friendly island of Ko Pha Ngan, After research on the internet the North of the Island looked like the the place to stay. A short but very bumpy taxi ride later we arrived at not more than half a mile as the crow flies from where we wanted to be. To save us 300 Baht{about 4 pounds} Kay suggested we trek the 20 minutes in the heat of the day {94 degrees}. 35 minutes later, 2 stone lighter and leaking like a sieve we had made it.
We were looking for our own part of paradise, the kind you see on the bounty advert however our bubble quickly burst as we where lead up a concrete path, some 100 metres back from the beach! Mind you the cold water running shower, the soft double bed {that I fitted into, unlike the one on the train}and shear exhaustion led us to both take the room not mention the cost of a nights stay which was 500 baht {6pounds 50p}
We decided to relax for 2 days, during which time we were made to feel really welcome by the owner Pen. With less than 40 people along the 1km white sandy beach, the amazing cheap food at the restaurant and the seclusion of having no shops, bars or internet connection made this an ideal spot to chill out.
But no rest for the wicked and last night we left Coconut beach, for our overnight ferry back to Surat Thani and connection to take us south to Hat Yai. The night ferry which left at 22.00 was an experience in itself, see the photo to see what we mean, a bed shared with another 40 people! Another 5 hours by mini bus and we have now arrived at the busy town of Hat Yai, where this morning we found out that we had missed the connection to our next island destination of Ko Lipe. We are now leaving on the morning ferry after booking into a guest house for the night, costing a mere 300baht {5pounds}. Will catch up with you all soon, thanks for all of your comments , keep them coming. Steve and Kay
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