We've arrived in Koh Phangan. It's bigger than I imagined and quieter, at least the Mae Haad area we're staying in which is on the west coast of the island. 'Good for families and couples' says the book (incidentally, we've rapidly gone off the Lonely Planet - makes everywhere sound the same and they have such an annoying turn of phrase! Overtly jolly and simplistic!). We chose this region because there's a good dive spot just north of here and the woman in the tourist office we stumbled in to when we stumbled off the pier this morning suggested it!
We're happy. Still only paying a tenner per night here, yet the difference is enormous. No building site next door, incredibly beautiful views across the beach, which is just a stone's throw away and a private pool. Our room is very, very nice indeed although I do yearn for a loo which flushes and some paper! I hate to think that everything one sends down there goes straight out to the sea too!
Anyhow, this place is a great relief after the last one which was noisy, sweaty and smelly and where Ric was savaged by mosquitoes constantly, poor thing. He is covered in bites and has can't stop scratching. It's rather spoiling his fun, except he has a telly so is occupied for the evening. They don't find me as attractive the mozzies. Must be all the veg I consume.
The Thais do like their Dido, James Blunt and bland boy-band pop music as well as their fluffy dogs; not the scrawny strays we saw in the Philippines and Malaysia. They've got poodle parlours, pet shops, even TV programmes about them here and I've even seen a few with diamonte collars! Is it a sign of a more developed country when animals are kept as pets instead of being feral, kept as guard dogs or even eaten?! Perhaps it's got something to do with the Thais devotion to beauty and pampering. I've never seen so many massage parlours and salons and for that matter, creams to whiten one's face!
It really is sleepy-ville here. The shops are open but the sales assistance are asleep on rugs when you go in! I imagine it gets much busier here in October. I hope we don't get bored. If only I was more of a beach lover - I'd be in my element! All this is very postcard friendly (I've never sent so many!) and relaxing but I still can't escape my too often mentioned demons, ghosts, anxieties or whatever I chose to call them, and at times I think I'm going stir-crazy. Feeling confused, flat, old, bulimic, irrational, obsessive and somewhat depressed. How ridiculous when I am in what can only be described as paradise! Ric's mind is ticking over business ideas and game designs. News trickles through from back home, good and bad. It seems so very far away and long ago and it would be a shock to the system to go back now.
It's definitely good for us to keep active and get to know other people. I think it's interesting, if not surprising that most of those we've spent time with so far have been fellow divers and often quite a bit older than us. They tend to be more affluent, friendly and well rounded characters as opposed to the cheepskate gap yearers I'm afraid to say.
If we don't have an accident on the motorbikes we're hiring tomorrow to explore the island properly we might be brave and check out the 'Half Moon Party' (of all things!) tomorrow night. Well, when in Koh Phangan...
I do wish I had my own laptop here. Would save me a small fortune and stop me pulling my hair out! And I still haven't had a massage.
Pictures now on Picasa!
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