FULL MOON PARTY! + The islands

Feeling refreshed after our stay with Andy it was time to head over to the islands on the East coast in preparation for the full moon party. Annoyingly our bus arrived late at the ferry port meaning we had to spend most of the day (9 hours!!) sitting in a cafe waiting for the night boat to Koh Tao which left at 11pm. We arrived very early (4.50am!) in the morning to find that nothing was open so decided to nap for a few hours on a sunbed on the beach before finding a hotel for the next couple of days. Koh tao was lovely and we spent some time by the hotel pool and also on one of the days walked to a deserted beach of which we were the only occupants for the first few hours!! We then got the ferry over to Koh Samui, and while waiting for the ferry also bumped into some of the people we had met whilst in Laos who were going over to Koh Phangan, for the full moon party, a couple of days earlier than us so we arranged to meet them when we arrived - what a small world! 

Our deserted beach

Vietnamese walrus

We opted to stay on an alternative beach to the busy Chaweng beach on Koh Samui called Maenam Beach which was quieter and I think a little cheaper. We found a comfy room meters from the beach and then resorted to yet more days sun worshipping on the beach- tough life. In the evenings many of the restaurants along the beach front lined up their tables metres from the sea, setting the scene for a lovely couple of meals. We could easily have spent another night there but had to head over to Koh Phangan for the full moon party. 

Dinner on Maenam beach

We arrived in Koh Phangan and tracked down our hostel to dump our bags and head to the beach. The hostel was clean air conditioned, however it was also extremely crowded with bunks in every available bit of space! The night of the full moon we got painted up and met up with the others. Obviously before an evening of drinking we had to eat- I had my customary chicken schnitzel sandwich- my diet for breakfast, lunch and dinner which on Phangan. Poppy had found an amazing crepe shop and had one of these instead. We both had a really good night and partied till the early hours on the crowded beach. The next morning I struggled to get up at a reasonable hour- but with Poppy's persistance (as an early riser) we managed to catch a boat over to a nearby beach, Haad Yuan, and had a lovely day there relaxing and nursing a hangover! Getting back to Phuket took a lot longer than anticipated. We left Phangan at 6am, and after 1 ferry, 4 bus changes and a mad driver who shouted and screamed, reducing one of the girls in our minivan to tear, we arrived for a few more days at Andy's before heading to Koh Phi Phi for Poppy's 21st.

Lethal Thai energy drink!

Feeling somewhat worse for wear?

Just in case you partied too hard