Koh Pha-Ngan and Songkran at Hat Yai

To get to Koh Pha-Ngan we travelled by the budget option, the night boat.  This is no passenger ferry; rather, a freight boat that happens to carry a few people as well.  When we arrived at the dock at 9pm there was a hive of activity loading up the boat with supplies for the island: fresh produce, drinks and bottled water, sacks of rice and lots of miscellaneous objects.  Upstairs, the 'passenger' cabin consisted of two long rows of mattresses, with berth numbers painted along the wall corresponding to our tickets.  It was a very cosy affair as we lay side by side with complete strangers, who if we were lucky kept their limbs in their allocated space!

We found ourselves a place to stay at the southern tip of the island, Haad Rin, infamous for its full moon rave parties.  Our bungalow was delightful, with its own hammock on the front 'porch' and a picturesque beach a stones throw away - plus we managed to negotiate a cheaper rate since we were staying there a few nights.  We soon settled in to the chilled-out backpackers life there, and our days consisted of lounging on the beach, exploring the island a bit and browsing the little shops at Haad Rin, and in the evening catching one of the many movies being shown at the restaurants there as we ate some lovely Thai food, our favourite place having a lovely relaxed atmosphere and comfortable floor cushion seating. Jess couldn't resist the great oppurtunity and spent one day diving at the Gulf of Thailand's famous site 'Sail Rock', and had a fantastic time, despite not seeing a whale shark as she'd hoped. This was our first day apart in 10 weeks, and it was very strange meeting up with each other at the end of the day and filling each other in on what we'd been up to. Up until then probably the longest we'd been apart was when one of us had to go to find a toilet - talk about living in each other's pockets!

We got to sample some of Pha-Ngan's legendary nightlife at a half-moon party being held on the beach. Music, fire poi, drinking, games, and a general good vibe going on. Thai whiskey was being drunk literally by the bucketful - all the bars and several stalls on the street sell plastic buckets with a bottle of Thai rice whiskey, a mixer and a bottle of Red Bull, a 'make your own' concoction which is surprisingly easy to drink but quite deadly! A couple of nights like this, plus the free drinks Sara won in a footie shoot-out game served to put us off spirits for a while by the time we left the island! We did, however, meet a lovely group of Irish lads who will be arriving in and leaving Singapore the same time as us on their way to Sydney so we exchanged e-mails and hopefully will meet up for some sight-seeing in Singapore.

After leaving this beach paradise we travelled back down to Hat Yai, excited at the prospect of Songkran. After heading to Tesco Lotus to get the makings of breakfasts and picnic lunches (something we've got into the habit of and quite enjoy), we ventured out into the streets to see the night-time start of the celebrations. There was a lot going on: a big central stage with popular Thai bands playing, street stalls selling yummy foods and souvenirs, and a general party atmosphere. Everyone was daubing each others' faces with a white paste made of talc or prickly heat powder mixed with water - this is an important part of the Buddhist celebrations and brings good luck. Most people were gentle and almost apologetic at having to do it to us, but some practically slapped it on and by the time we got back to our hotel room that night we were two little ghosts, absolutley covered in white! We had to walk into the shower fully-clothed in an effort to clean it off our clothes!

The following morning, the 13th, we woke to the sound of musc and drums on the street below  - the water festival was in full swing. We ventured out into what has to be the world's biggest water fight: families stationed at street corners with buckets, hoses and supersoakers; pick-up trucks loaded with people and barrels of water for them to throw at passers-by; drive-by shootings from the back of mopeds; and fire engines parked in the middle of the action, solely for the purpose of people refilling their supersoakers... Needless to say, as soon as we set foot onto the streets we got soaked and remained like that for the rest of the day! Even the Thai policemen weren't safe, and had to have their walkie-talkies and truncheons safely enclosed in plastic bags on their belts! We spent the day in the middle of the action, a bit defenceless because neither of us had weaponry of any kind, but still had great fun. We took part in some 'water boxing', providing an entertaining spectacle for the onlooking crowd, and winning ourselves some souvenir t-shirts in the process. Next, we were quite cheeky and seeing a group of lads filling up a barrel on the back of their truck, we invited ourselves to join them. So we clambered up, were handed supersoakers and buckets, and did as the locals did, cruising the streets of Hat Yai and dousing anyone and everyone who crossed our path! Things got really hectic in traffic jams at junctions when people would jump out of their trucks to attack others and there was absolutley no escape from the buckets of ice-cold water being poured down our backs! By the end of the day we were like prunes, and have never been so wet in our whole lives! We had the greatest day ever and think that Songkran needs to be introduced back home... We couldn't find a single-use waterproof camera to capture the action, and Jess managed to take a few photos but couldn't risk her camera in all that water, so unfortunately cannot show what manic mayhem it was! But we're sure that a quick internet search for 'Hat Yai Midnight Songkran' or something similar will turn up some good photos, so if you have time please check it out - it has to be seen to be believed!

Songkran was the perfect high upon which to end our time in Thailand. We have loads of great memories and photos that will stay with us, and the fun-filled spirit of Songkran sums up our general impression of this country and its people. We've both absolutley loved it and have vowed we will return so this isn't goodbye to Thailand right now but rather a "see you later!"...