Tripping Down South: Ko Phangan & Ko Tao ~ Vina Smart

The beach at night on Ko Phangan.

In March 2013, my boyfriend and I had begun our holiday in the south of Thailand, starting off in Bangkok, where we fled Khao San Road, stalked the malls, became Skytrain experts, and had the ceiling of our hotel room collapse. We then explored a bit more of Bangkok by motorcycle taxi, and landed up at The Museum of Death. After leaving The City of Angels, we had a quick break in Ko Samui, and then headed off to camp on a deserted island. So far, our trip had been overwhelming, fascinating, frustrating, fantastic, and breathtaking, and it was far from over.

After camping on the island of Koh Wua Talap for three days, and exploring the beauty of the Mu Ko Ang Thong National Marine Park, we made our way by ferry to the island of Ko Phangan, which is a notorious "party island". Unfortunately, my boyfriend and I were exhausted, and just excited to eat some restaurant food and pass out on a soft bed. And that's exactly what we did.

Ko Phangan, in our opinion, was much nicer than Ko Samui. Of course, we could explore more of it quicker, as it is smaller and less populated. We could not, however, explore further inland, as most of the natural forest and mountainous area is pretty much inaccessible by vehicle, and I doubt many tourists leave the bustling coastline to wander around the wild parts of the island.

We ended up staying there for two nights, and spent most of our time wandering around slurping fruit shakes, eating delicious Mexican, Western and Thai food, and relaxing at our guesthouse. Our bodies needed a break from the sun and constant travelling, and this is why we didn't really do much on the island of Ko Phangan.

I liked this shot of the sleeping dog and statue.

Stoic island dog.

Perfect Ko Phangan waters.

Yet another shot of clouds, sky and sun in Ko Phangan.

We enjoyed a few drinks at this place, but had to leave before the party started out of sheer exhaustion.

Ko Phangan sunset number one.

Our second sunset on Ko Phangan.

Beautiful.

Myself and a silly golden labby who hung around our guesthouse.

Leaving the island.

From Ko Phangan we got on yet another ferry, and arrived at our final holiday destination: Ko Tao. As soon as we had arrived on the tiny pier, cramped with tourists and Thai hawkers, selling everything from sunglasses to diving courses, we knew this would be a special place. Our friend in Ko Tao had already hooked us up with Phoenix Divers, who picked us up from the ferry in a truck and took us straight to where we needed to be. While my boyfriend booked himself a diving course, I checked out the free accommodation, which was a cozy fan bungalow at AC Resort. My boyfriend then spent the duration of his course getting free breakfast at AC Restaurant and learning how to dive in various beaches around the island, while I rode around the place on a hired scooter, stopping for food and shopping now and then. On the fourth day, when he had finished his finished his course, we realised we weren't going to leave Ko Tao just yet - we had fallen in love with the place and wanted to explore it together - so we moved a few blocks away to a quieter area. Our authentic and affordable bungalow at In Touch Resort was perfect for us, and right next to their relaxed cocktail bar and restaurant on the beach. This is where the last bits of our holiday were spent, lazing around with pineapple shakes, perfect weather, and each other. Paradise.