KO PHA NGAN

Mac and I arrived in Ko Pha Ngan mid-morning on Sunday. Ko Pha Ngan is a pretty big island but it's not as near as developed as Ko Samui. The west side of the island holds most of the bigger towns with roads running up and down the coast, whereas the east side of the island is more remote, with a lot of beaches that are only accessible by boat. The ferry dropped us off on Hat Rin, a little cape on the southern tip of the island. Hat Rin is a little town sandwiched by two beaches, Sunrise Beach and Sunset Beach. Ko Pha Ngan is world famous for its monthly Full Moon Party that takes place on Sunrise Beach, thousands and thousands of people flock to the island every month for the event. The beach is totally decked out with beachside bars, ear deafening sound systems, and little stands where you can buy booze. Being that it wasn't a full moon and the peak season has come to and end, the beach partying was relatively tame.

Mac and I were able to find a pretty cheap place on Sunset beach, and after checking in we wandered down to the beach with a few large bottles of beer. The beach is shallow and the water is almost hot, we waded out, sat down in the water, and sipped on our beers... what a great way to kick off the afternoon.

Desperate for business during the low season, Mac and I were approached by a number of guys trying to convince us to rent their jet skis. At first we declined because the price was pretty steep, but after a while we ended up talking these guys down to a deal that we couldn't refuse. For the same price that it costs to putter around the bay for a half hour, we convinced this guy into guiding us up the east coast of the island to find a waterfall! We threw a few bottles of beer in the trunk of my jet ski, our guide jumped on with Mac, and we all took off up the coast.

It was a beautiful ride, the east side of Ko Pha Ngan is awesome, mountains roll into the sea and the coast is spotted with little coves and secluded beaches. After about twenty minutes we arrived at a small beach. Our guide stayed back to watch our jet skis and pointed us in the direction of a little river on the far side of the beach that emptied out into the sea. We grabbed our beers and started walking. The river was calm at first, the water was almost stagnant, and the mud along the riverbank squished between my toes as we hiked upstream. Eventually the riverbed became more steep and rocky and we had to be careful not to spill our beers. After hiking for a ways we came across a group of Thai people picnicking on a sandbank under the shade of a tree. They were drinking whisky and cooking pork ribs and invited us to join them. There were four men and a woman, and the woman spoke a little bit of English. They offered me a pork rib, and my god was it delicious! I could've eaten all of them. After finishing off my beer I announced that I was going to continue my hike upriver to find the waterfall, Mac was enjoying the conversation so he opted to stay behind. The hiking was rather slow in bare feet, but I slowly made my way along the river. After about twenty minutes the river began to level out again. As I stepped on a boulder that was slightly submerged in water, a large snake, about three fingers thick, slithered around my ankle. I froze. I swear it took a long three seconds for it to pass. If my sister where there she wouldn't have hesitated to dive into the water and grab the serpent with her bare hands. I, on the other hand, figured that that was probably a good sign that I should turn around. I don't know, I kind of think that hanging out in a jungle stream with fat snakes is a little creepy, I guess I wasn't going to make it to the waterfall after all. There was a nice cold glass of whisky on ice waiting for me when I got back to Mac and the gang, and after finishing it off we headed towards the beach. The ride back was amazing. The sun was getting low in the sky, our guide rode on the back of my jet ski this time, and we laughed as Mac ran circles around us and caught air off the waves.

That night back in the pool at our hotel we bumped into a young English couple on their honeymoon, Rob and Gen. They were great, and we ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night and all of the next day as well...