Hello Koh Phangang Island!

Call it what you will... but I think it's a bit of sweet irony when you're driving a scooter to return it at the pier and you say, "Wow, it's great that we didn't even have to put gas in this while we've had it" when it begins to putter to a stop!  Yes, that's right, literally right after Aaron said that, we ran out of gas!  haha  There are no gas stations here!  Instead, you find the closest food stand and they will usually have a liter of oil to sell for the equivalent of about $1.50!  This sweet lady even poured it in the scooter for us!  Aaron helped her back across the street, to her store, and she lunged in for a big hug!  So cute!

We couldn't leave Koh Tao without a delicious Thai banana pancake with nutella!  It'd be a crime not to endulge!  This guy was so entertaining!  Picture a chef from Bennihanas, except instead of shopping carrots and beef, he was throwing the knives and chopping the bananas, throwing them into the sticks of butter, etc!  Aaron was so impressed, he even tipped the guy! :)

We made it to the dock, with about 10 minutes to spar before loading onto the Catamarran!  I love how the boats in Thailand are so colorful and charming! :)

This was the most comfortable boat I've ever ridden on in Asia!  During the hour and a half it took us to go from Koh Tao to Koh Phangang, we had comfy and spacious leather seats, TV's, airconditioning (a luxury on sticky hot days!), a snack bar, and big windows to look out and enjoy the scenery!

We arrived in Koh Phangang around 10:30am, rented a scooter for 150 baht a day (about $4.50), and headed in search of paradise!  To be honest, we hadn't done our research about Koh Phangang, so when we got there, we were unpleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't exactly the paradise we were hoping for... We rode and rode and rode to the north end of the island and stopped here at a restaurant on Mae Hat Beach, where we checked the map and put a plan together!  After lunch, we would head for nearby Salad Beach!

Koh Salad was beautiful, and gave us hope that we had made the right decision about coming to Koh Phangang!  We walked to EVERY hotel on Koh Salad beach, asking for available rooms, but ALL of them were booked!  This was a 1st for me when traveling Asia!  Places are almost sure to have at least 1 room available, which is why I never book in advance!  Unfortunately, the world renowned FULL MOON PARTY was on the island the night before, so the partiers (sp?) were occupying the rooms by sleeping off their hangovers!

We reluctantly jumped on the scooter and headed for Haad Yao Beach, and were pleasantly surprised with what we saw there!  The beach is a bit touristy, but the sand is powdery white, the water is clear, and the atmosphere is relaxed and casual!  We both checked into the first place that had available rooms!  We would call Silver Beach Bungalows home for the next 2 nights!  My bungalow was closest to the restaurant and the beach too!  My lucky day!

Silver Beach Bungalows is a cute little compound of bungalows, which sit just steps from the sandy beach! 

My home away from home!  It was really spacious... probably the size of my apartment in Korea!  It was much more than I needed, but I enjoyed it while I was there! 

We immediately put on our bathing suits and went for a swim!  This is looking back at the restaurant of the place where we are staying!

This is looking north (up the beach)...  We both took our snorkeling gear out in the water, to check out the corals and fish, but unfortunately, the mask that Aaron bought yesterday in Koh Tao is a NO GO!  Water seaps in as soon as you go underwater!  FAIL!  :(

We spent most of the afternoon going between the water and the beach, reading, talking, eating, drinking, and people watching!

The flowers in Thailand are stunning, which makes it really hard for me not to pick them all the time and stick them in my hair! :)

Around 4:30pm, we hopped on the scooter and headed for a sunset point!

We stopped here for gas, and I found it funny that the restaurant's menu is propped out in front of a table holding liter bottles filled with gas!   Nothing like a one stop shop, eh?!

The views from the high mountain roads are spectacular here!

 Unfortunately, we weren't paying attention on our scooter ride and ended up getting lost on the jungle roads, so we made our way back to Haad Yao to watch the sunset from our own beach!

Call me cheesy - I don't care!  I love writing in the sand... :)

 The sunset was spectacular, and watching it from our dinner table on the sand was even better!

This local Thai guy had swam out to this rock, about 150 meters off the shore, to do some fishing...

We ordered fresh (whole) fish at this restaurant, and had it grilled to perfection, while we watched the fire show, and drank our drinks by candle and moonlight!   Romantic?  Yep, I'd say so!  :)

Our last day in Ko Tao...

To have a fantastically athletic boyfriend who is also artistic and an excellent photographer, makes me a lucky gal, I think?!

Aaron got up at 5:30am to catch the sunrise (again) this morning!  The next 4 pics are some beautiful shots he captured while the sun was rising over the water outside the bungalows!

   

These are the steps we used, in order to get into the water to see the sharks!

By this point, the sun had fully risen and was gloriously shinning onto the bungalows!   (My bungalow is front and center!)

Yoga is HUGE in Thailand, and while I'd like to say I got up early and did an hour of yoga every morning, I just plain didn't! 

Instead, I walked with Aaron to the restaurant next to the Bungalows and endulged in some toast with banana and nutella... 

... with a side of 1 friendly and playful cat to keep me company!

I hadn't blogged for a while because the internet was being finiky, so I walked over to Koppee, a ways down the road, ordered myself a cold diet coke and an apple and went to work jounraling my trip! :)

A couple hours later, Aaron came and met me!  Between he and the dog at my feet, how could I not enjoy myself!?

I'll bet you can't guess what we did next?!  Okay, okay, you're right... we went swimming...

and laid out!!  (Yes mom, I'm using my sunscreen, and yes, I've been re-applying!)

Around 4:30pm, we took the scooter into town to do some shopping!  I bought a tank top and a new dress, while Aaron splurged ($12.00) on his very own snorkel and mask! 

We walked along the beach, in town, to check out what the rest of the island had to offer!  I found this sign quite funny!  Knock on wood... I've NEVER had anything stolen while traveling in Asia!

Speaking of funny... I thought this was really funny!  Buddhists usually build shrines outside their businesses and homes, offering small gifts of fruit and flowers in the morning!  For whatever reason, this shrine held military dolls and a police car!!

We always try to visit new restaurants while we're traveling, but last night's dinner was so delicious, we couldn't resist going back to the same place!    This time, Aaron ordered 2 GIGANTIC grilled prawns... (which he LOVED, in case it wasn't already obvious!)

They were devoured within minutes... Poor little guys!

I had my all time Thai favorite - grilled corn!  I can't explain why... but this country's corn is the BEST corn I've ever tasted, hands down!

After dinner, we stopped by the local 7/11 to pick up some supplies!  While I was waiting, outside, I snapped this picture!  Believe it or not, there is not driving age for scooters!  We've seen little, little kids driving scooters to school and back more than a couple times!  Granted, not this little... but still!

As hard as I tried to convince myself these guys didn't need to be posted on the blog, I have to post this picture!  Talk about people being out of place!  To make it even more funny, we were sure they were from Atlanta or Chicago, but when we heard them speaking French, we couldn't help but stand in awe of the irony we were witnessing before us!

Aaron had talked about wanting to build a fire on the rocks in front of the bungalows, so as soon as we got back, he began gathering wood and dry pwalm branches!

He carefully placed each piece of material on top of the other, like a true mountain man...

and wala... there was fire! 

I'd love to say that there were no injuries involved in the fire extravaganza, but when you're climbing on slippery rocks, with only the moonlight to guide you, chance are slim that no blood will be shed!  I was walking on the rocks, holding my camera, when I slipped and fell on my side, banging my camera on the rocks!  Oops!    Aaron stood shocked, saying "Jillers, are you okay?!  Jill, are you okay?!"  Luckily, I made out better than I thought I had, with only a little blood on my toe, and a bruise on my knee! :)  Oh, and the camera was fine! YAY!

We quickly found a nice dry rock to settle into while we enjoyed the fire - which lasted about a 1/2 hour or more!

If you could see the rest of this scene, you would see how magical it truly was!  The water was glistening, the waves were crashing nearby, the moon was full, the bungalows across the bay were lit in beautiful shades of blue, orange, and yellow, and the air was calm and cool!  It was a perfect way to spend our last night in Koh Tao!

Tomorrow morning, we're headed for Koh Phanganag Island!

Freedom Beach, grilled fish, and a good book!

Where did I last leave off??  Oh yes, I had just finished my pink Pad Thai with Aaron at our resort's restaurant!

After dinner, we moved next door to the charming, Thai style, New Heaven Restaurant, to have some drinks and enjoy the full moon, shining over the water! (Picture to come!  Sorry, it's on Aaron's camera.)  We met and played with the funniest little girl, who at first, we thought was "special!"  Her name was Ria, and she was about 3 years old.  After meeting her parents, we learned that she lives in Koh Tao, but only speaks French (from her dad) and Mandarin (from her mom), which explained why she seemed "special" at first!  She was probably totally confused by our speaking English! Our ESL training definitely came in handy when playing with her!  She was such a ham and her mom said she's never warmed up to people that quickly!!

After drinks, we called it a night, both exhausted by the day's snorkeling and climbing up the 100 steep and tall stairs from the bungalows to the street numerous times throughout the day!!

I woke up to the sun blaring through the window of my bungalow, and got up, in search of Aaron, who happened to have been up for hours, reading his book in bed!  He had woken up to watch the sunrise over the water!

We both got ready and made the trek up the 100 stairs to the front of the resort...

jumped on our $4.00 a day rented scooter...

 and headed for some breakfast in town!   Aaron had accidently forgotten his electric razor at the last place we stayed, so he dropped me off at KoPPee cafe and rode the scooter over to see if they had found it!  Luckily, they had, and even gave him some free coffee while he waited for them to search for it!  That place had the greatest service, I tell ya!

While I waited for Aaron, I sat, eating delicious homemade banana bread and petting this sweetheart of a dog!  All dogs and cats are welcome in restaurants and cafes in Koh Tao!  They live on the streets and basically come and go at their own free will!  I, personally, love it!

 After breakfast, we went back to the bungalows and put our bathing suits on!  The sun was shinning, the water was clear, and we were ready for some swimming!  We had heard that Freedom Beach was beautiful, and close by, so we slipped our rainbow sandals on and walked (hiked) over to the beach!  The only way to get there is to follow this path along the waterside! 

The sand was powdery, the water was clear and turquoise, and the view was to die for!  When I thought I had seen the best beaches in Asia, I was once again, pleasantly surprised!  This may have been the prettiest beach I've been to yet! 

One of my fav pictures of the trip!  At this point in the day, we had already snorkeled way off shore into about 10 meter deep waters to see beautiful corals and colorful fish!  The longer we keep those tight masks on though, the more they indent our faces!   So, in other words, those are not new wrinkles! haha!

We had lunch, there on the beach, and took some fun pictures of Aaron!   This was my personal favorite!  

After lounging, eating, snorkeling, swimming, and sunbathing at Freedom Beach, we decided to head back to the bungalows!  We went a different route this time, hoping that we could find a secret pathway over the mountain!  We did... kind of... It was a bouldering pathway, but it got us back to the bungalows none the less!  I felt like I was the guy from 127 hours, jumping from boulder to boulder!  I did take a decent fall, but luckily never had to cut my arm off!

We didn't want to leave the sharks out today, so we went back out, infront of my bungalow, to say hello to all our shark friends!  Aaron saw 3 huge baracudas!  I was happy I didn't!

We ended the afternoon with hours of reading!  Aaron lounged on the boulder infront of my bungalow, while I chose to stay on the veranda, in the shade! 

No relaxing vacation is complete without a good book, right?!  Thank you Annie Kerkian for lending me Bitter is the New Black!  I can't stop laughing!

As the sun was going down, we rode the scooter in search of the perfect restaurant for dinner!  After parking and walking the entire length of Chalok Bay, we found the hidden gem!  A wonderful fresh fish grill!  You pick your fish...

...and then they grill it, right there on the beach!  We kicked off our shoes and grabbed a table to enjoy our yummy fish and grilled sweet corn!  We could quite possibly stay here forever!  I think we've found our paradise!