The island of Ko Pha-ngan....what more can we say... Sun, sea and sand. Ko Pha-ngan is famous for its full moon parties, but fret not Dad we missed it. Its strange how the full moon party started as a simple farewell party in 1997 and now its well known on the party circuit for its wild raves.

We had a tortous 22 and a half hours journey by bus and boat from Kuala Lumpur, Helen slept most of the way. On arrival at Ko Pha-ngan at 9.30pm it was pitch black and Nick did not recognise it (he last visited 10 years ago) so we wandered aimlessly around the immediate area of the ferry trying to look for a guesthouse/hostel. We did find a hostel but it was 300 baht each for a dorm which was quite frankly out of our budget so we continued to wander around until we came across this Eco Friendly resort called Lime and Soda, their initial price was ridiculous but the owner finally relented at 400 baht for a hut.

The bed was enormous, and we were grateful to have a fab bed after the lumpy bed in Tanah Rata, a smallish dorm bed in Kuala Lumpur and a coach seat. Needless to say we both had a fab nights sleep but we had to be up early as we only had one full day on the island. (For the next 5 weeks, we are on a smash and grab tour of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam).

The next morning we hired a scooter, we tried hiring one with Helen as the driver and Nick as a pillion passenger but Helen gave up after 10 minutes as Nick did not sit centrally on the scooter. (Thats Helen's view anyway, Nick thinks otherwise). So we hired another scooter, Best decision ever. Helen was given an uber retro scooter which was so cool! (Since finding out they only cost 48,000 baht to buy (£1021) Helen wants to buy one and send it home!)

We scootered around the island, parking our arses at several beaches trying to catch some rays. If you go off the beaten track in Ko Pha-ngan there are some hidden gems ie. waterfalls, beaches and beautiful woodlands. We wonder how many people go to Ko Pha-ngan just for its party circuit.

We had lunch at a typical Thai roadside stall in the middle of nowhere, the stall only had three tables and a very cute and friendly dog who kept licking our feet. The food was delicious and cheap!!! 50 Baht for a main course!!

From there we headed to Haad Rin Beach, which is where the full moon parties are held. We were surprised at how clean the beach was considering wild parties take place on a monthly basis. Nick wanted photos at the viewpoint so we climbed up and took photos (Nick had photos taken at the exact/similar spot 10 years ago) and wanted a trip down memory lane. We then chilled out on the beach until the sun started to set and scootered back to our hut to shower/change.

The evening was spent at the traditional Thai market town of Thong Sala eating to our hearts desire at the food stalls, Helen managed to get a delish fruit shake, noodle soup and pancake for under two quid. Needless to say we were going to return the next morning.

The next morning we returned to the food stalls and Helen ordered a fruit salad for 40 baht (85p) and the bowl was full to the rim with various fruit. This is where England is going wrong, as Sainsburys sell a feeble plastic bag with a few slices of apple and 4 rotting grapes for 1 pound 50 and the government wonders why there is a obesity problem???

After dropping our scooters off, we walked to the ferry port with our bags and caught our ferry to Ko Tao, Turtle Island.