Ryan and I spent a few days in Bangkok doing some shopping. Ryan finally got his dread locks put in, wincing and grimacing through the entire thing; it was very amusing. Once I could pick myself up off the floor from laughing we got on a train- actually two different trains. I headed down to Koh Pha Ngan to meet up with Cheryl and Lara while Ryan took off for the other coast.

We spent about ten days on Pha Ngan starting on the quiet and rustic north coast then fairly quickly swapping it for the 24-hour electricity and fan on the west coast. That's right! We went back to our old stomping ground- Haad Son!! We did have a wonderful time, but were disappointed by the lack of water. There must be something about that time of year that makes all the water on all the beaches just get up and say, "It's too damn hot for me, I'm getting out of here!" The last time we'd been here, the water came practically up to the front doors of the bungalows, but it's amazing the difference a couple of months can make.

On April 29th it was time for Lara to leave us and catch her flights back to Bangkok and then home. She got off the boat in Samui and we continued on to the mainland, Surat Thani, to catch our minibus to Ranong, the port town on the Andamman Sea where we were to get the boat to meet Ryan. While I will always have a special place in my heart for Ko Pha Ngan, it was time to try out a different island and a new body of water!