Nigel: We wanted to go to Koh Phangnan so that we had been to all 3 main islands on the East coast of Thailand. We tried to get to the island earlier but booking accommodation was a problem due to the famous full moon party that takes place there every month. We arrived again by boat but on this occasion, the hotel that we booked with wasn't there to pick us up. After we managed to get the phone to work and had stopped being hassled by some crazy women trying to give us a lift, our pick up arrived and we were on our way to Haad Yao which is one of many beaches on the island. The hotel we stayed in was very posh with a large swimming pool which looked out over the beach. We were only in the hotel for 1 night before we said bon voyage to Fay, who was returning back home. The beach we were staying on is approximately 1km in length and curves around the bay. It is lined with many different types of accommodation, so we had a walk to see if we could find a cheaper place to stay. We tried in several along the front but all seemed to be to either expensive or very poor standard, so we thought our luck was running out. When you get to the end of the beach you are confronted with a sheer rock face and some steps up to the top of it were there are several bungalows. We wouldn't normally go up there as it seemed a lot of effort, but as we hadn't found anything suitable we decided to walk up to the top. What a very good decision it was to walk up there. Not only did we find cheap accommodation, but it also had its own swimming pool which over looked the beach and sea and the room was basic but was perched on the side of the mountain, again with great views over the bay of Haad Yao.

Alison: Haad Yao is a very beautiful beach. Some parts of it look exactly like the paradise scenes you see in the holiday brochures. The sea was so clear and turquoise....shame I wasn't allowed to go in there after the jelly fish incident! Haad Yao was especially nice when we were there because there were very few people there as it was low season and a full moon party had just finished. The location of the accommodation we stayed in was really spectacular but it's unusual location did come at a price. When we first viewed the place the tide was out so access to the stairs was easy. However, most of the time the tide seems to be really far in which covers the entrance. We had to roll our trousers up and wade through the knee high water and waves to get to the entrance which wasn't too bad in the day but proved a bit tricky at night! Once that obstacle was overcome, it was then a grueling walk up the very steep, never ending staircase to the bungalows. We were very fit by the time we left!