Koh Phangan

We got a small boat from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan that didn’t take long at all. It was one where you walk in to the sea a little bit to climb onto it. We got off the boat at Haad Rin and walked to the hotel. Within about an hour of getting there it started to pour down with rain and continued on and off for the rest of the day. After a night of little sleep, because of lots of noisy people, we hired a bike to find a quieter part of the island. We ended up at a place called Haad Salad where we stayed for two nights in a little beach hut by the sea, which had a hammock on the porch. The day we arrived it was raining there so we had a meal then an early night to catch up on some sleep.
On the first full day we headed straight for the beach where we soon realised we would need to wear our sandals in the water because of all the broken shells at the shoreline. Even with my sandals on though I sliced my toe open on something sharp in the water so it was decided we would have to find another beach to play on. We found one not far away called Koh Ma, where there is coral reef. I saw so many different fishes of all colours and shapes as well as lots of other creatures in the coral reef like huge slugs, big spiky things and a little creature like Jacques from Finding Nemo. The beach itself was gorgeous, with golden sand and clear water. There was a big swing hanging from a tree which Jack loved.
The next morning we headed back to Haad Rin to spend one night there before getting the boat back to Koh Samui. We spent most of the day on the beach, but we hadn’t been in the sea long before we saw jellyfish so had to get out. Mum even got stung by one. Later we spent a couple of hours in the hotel pool which overlooked the ocean and then in the evening we went out for a meal at a place that shows films on a big screen tv, which we all loved.

Note from Mum
The best way to describe Koh Phangan would be paradise. In Haad Salad we would sit outside the restaurant of our resort in the evening and watch the sunset over the little cove, with Bob Marley tunes playing in the background and the tinkling of wind chimes. There were coconut trees everywhere you turned, ropes covered with shells hanging down all around and two small boats bobbing gently in the water. At the other side of the island, Haad Rin is fantastic too. There are loads of restaurants all in close proximity showing films one after another. After spending so much time travelling, mostly with no tv or with only the odd English channel, it was great to sit and chill out watching a film. Koh Phangan is somewhere we would love to have stayed longer if we hadn’t had the children with us. As beautiful and amazing as the island is, it’s just not a great place for kids. There have been small problems with every beach we have tried in terms of their safety, which is why we made the decision to head back to Chaweng beach, Koh Samui, which is perfect for them.