KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND
Well, I guess the tom kha worked, because surprisingly, I feel a lot better today--and not even a lingering cough or sniffles, which is really odd. I thought this would be one of those colds that drag on and on, but this must have been some weird hit-and-run tropical virus or some'n.
Anyway, now that I'm feeling better, I decided to head to Haad Rin, at the southeast corner of the island, where I'm hoping things will be a little more happenin'. Seethanu was great for sitting around and recovering, but it's also pretty boring, because there's hardly anyone else there. So this morning I caught a taxi to Thong Sala, and then another to Haad Rin, altogether about a half-hour's drive away. After wandering around for awhile, I found a suitable bungalow at the Phangan Bayshore Resort, within sight of the beach, and checked in.
Haad Rin is definitely busier than the sleepy west side of the island; actually, it's kind of like a mini-version of Kuta in Bali: A maze of dusty narrow streets lined with restaurants, internet cafe's, T-shirt shops, and convenience stores (with a sleeping dog lying in front of each one), crowded with sunburned European backpackers. There are actually two beaches here, on either side of the "town": Haad Rin Nok, or "Sunrise Beach," on the east side of the peninsula (this is the Full Moon Party beach), and Haad Rin Nai, "Sunset Beach," on the west. My bungalow is next to Sunrise Beach, which is the longer, nicer beach; similar in size and shape to Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil, but with more beachfront bars, restaurants, and such.
In the evening, most of the restaurants here show (pirated) movies on their big-screen TVs--tonight I caught The Beach, which perhaps not coincidentally is about annoying young backpackers traveling to an island in the Gulf of Thailand. I had only seen the first part of the movie before; having seen the rest I now realize what an utterly godawful flick it is! The one interesting part is when Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton have to pick up supplies in Koh Phangan, and keep remarking on how awful it is here, and how this is what happens when an island paradise is ruined and turned utterly commercial by capitalist parasites.
Which, come to think of it, may not be that far from the truth--but unlike in their "paradise," people don't seem to go crazy and kill each other on THIS beach.
Thailand Fun Fact:
Well, I guess the tom kha worked, because surprisingly, I feel a lot better today--and not even a lingering cough or sniffles, which is really odd. I thought this would be one of those colds that drag on and on, but this must have been some weird hit-and-run tropical virus or some'n.
Anyway, now that I'm feeling better, I decided to head to Haad Rin, at the southeast corner of the island, where I'm hoping things will be a little more happenin'. Seethanu was great for sitting around and recovering, but it's also pretty boring, because there's hardly anyone else there. So this morning I caught a taxi to Thong Sala, and then another to Haad Rin, altogether about a half-hour's drive away. After wandering around for awhile, I found a suitable bungalow at the Phangan Bayshore Resort, within sight of the beach, and checked in.
Haad Rin is definitely busier than the sleepy west side of the island; actually, it's kind of like a mini-version of Kuta in Bali: A maze of dusty narrow streets lined with restaurants, internet cafe's, T-shirt shops, and convenience stores (with a sleeping dog lying in front of each one), crowded with sunburned European backpackers. There are actually two beaches here, on either side of the "town": Haad Rin Nok, or "Sunrise Beach," on the east side of the peninsula (this is the Full Moon Party beach), and Haad Rin Nai, "Sunset Beach," on the west. My bungalow is next to Sunrise Beach, which is the longer, nicer beach; similar in size and shape to Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil, but with more beachfront bars, restaurants, and such.
In the evening, most of the restaurants here show (pirated) movies on their big-screen TVs--tonight I caught The Beach, which perhaps not coincidentally is about annoying young backpackers traveling to an island in the Gulf of Thailand. I had only seen the first part of the movie before; having seen the rest I now realize what an utterly godawful flick it is! The one interesting part is when Leonardo DiCaprio and Tilda Swinton have to pick up supplies in Koh Phangan, and keep remarking on how awful it is here, and how this is what happens when an island paradise is ruined and turned utterly commercial by capitalist parasites.
Which, come to think of it, may not be that far from the truth--but unlike in their "paradise," people don't seem to go crazy and kill each other on THIS beach.
Thailand Fun Fact:
- The main reason people come to Haad Rin (and Koh Phangan, for that matter) is for the island's world-famous Full Moon Parties. The first one, back in 1989, consisted of about 50 people dancing on the beach in front of Paradise Bungalows. From there it somehow evolved into a monthly mega-rave where up to 10,000 people show up, and professional DJs from around the world play. The events have been so successful that in addition to the monthly Full Moon Party, there's now also a "Black Moon Party," "Half Moon Party," and even a "Shiva Moon Party," whatever that is. (So basically, every week there's something going on, in case you arrive too early or late for the full moon.)
posted by John Kuge at 10:31 PM
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