4th - 11th May 2009

Ko Phangan is a great place. We both loved it. Our bungalow (Venus) was a little hard to find as it was hidden away back from the beach with a great view from up high on the hill. The tuk tuk couldn't take us all the way there as the road was so rutted so we made our way there along the beach. The bungalows had been falling apart for a while so half of the railings were replaced with branches and the floor was rotten in places and I nearly fell through but it had character and we had a lovely neighbor Elly.

The beach was beautiful and Nikki and I quickly made use of a ball that skims on water (a gift from Big Ant - Thanks dude!) to make friends - throwing it to people as an ice breaker.

I did my first Muay Thai class at Jungle Gym where I learnt the different moves like kicking and punching as well as elbows and knees that regular kick boxing doesn't include. The trainer could communicate all the moves to me in English but was unable to have any normal conversation outside of fighting.

Nikki and I also did Yoga called Ashtunga, the one where you stand on your head and contort yourself into something pretzel like. It was extra special as the lady massaged our faces and sung at the end which was a nice touch.

The food was delicious on the island and many of the bars played new movies and had wireless internet making a great place to relax.

After a few days getting to know the island Loz, Chantelle and Bec took the boat across from Ko Samui for the full moon party that starts at midnight. Even though many people warned me not to peak to early I started on the buckets (vodka, Red Bull and coke) at five and was sick and passed out by the time we met the girls (who we initially had trouble finding in the midst of a storm but Nikki found later when walking the beach whilst I was sleeping).

Oops… I was dragged out of bed and managed to party on. Nikki the darl painted my toe and fingernails bright green and Chantelle painted the rest of my body in fluro paint as that's just what you do at full moon party.After dancing on the beach for a few hours, Nikki, Katie, another new friend, and I snuck into a beautiful pool from a resort to chill out for a while and wash all the body paint off. It doesn't wash off your clothes though, I'm still getting comments about my splotchy boardies and green toe nails (which have now been reverted back to their normal colour thanks to Nikki and her nail polish remover).

The following days after full moon party were very quiet at Ko Phangan and the beaches were so deserted it was easy to forget the lines of guys (and a few girls, gross) urinating into an amazingly beautiful beach during the party times.

We felt like it was time to move on and Loz, Chantelle and Bec were on the next island over at Ko Samui for the last days of their holiday so off we went.