Escape to the islands . . . Sort of!

Last week, the college where I try (not with great success) to teach supposedly education-seeking Thais decided to give everyone a week off – without real warning, of course. Anyway, having managed to persuade my wife to tear herself away from the computer for a few days, we set off one Sunday morning for the island of Koh Phangan, located just north of Koh Samui. The 8.30 bus from Hua Hin departed at 9 & took us to a small ferry pier just outside Chumporn City. The ferry, supposedly an ultra modern, ultra fast catamaran, departed OK but soon after we reached the small island of Koh Tao, we were forced to get off the boat. No reason given & although I thought it might be engine problems, the boat then picked up a bunch of passengers heading the other way & took them off! I later learned that a large tour party had arrived at the Chumporn terminal & with typical Thai disregard for business, the company had decided to dump us & aim for them! Anyway, we later boarded the next ferry, which was of course already crowded, & so I spent the trip mostly sitting on a plastic stool at the back of the ship. After finally reaching our destination, we caught a crowded Song Thew to our hotel, located on a slope about 20 minutes outside the main port, Thongsala. We were supposed to stay here for 3 nights but mother nature had other plans.

We spent most of the daylight hours in or around the hotel, as the island’s attraction were not enough to make us drag our 2 ½ year old son along the winding & dangerous roads. We did manage to visit the lovely home of some French/Japanese friends we knew from Hua Hin, but this involved travelling across the island via some rather dicey roads. They live in a truly beautiful old cottage right beside the sea – except that it isn’t old, it’s just built to look old. Truly like something out of a guide book! However, come Tuesday night, we discovered how true the old adage of ‘Man proposes, God disposes’ is. You see, my wife noticed that the booking agent in Hua Hin had made a mistake on our return ferry ticket & so she called them. That was when we found out that due to the storm (the remains of Typhoon Durian that was sweeping across the Gulf), our ferry had been cancelled & there was no way we could get back to the mainland that day! To make matters worse, we couldn’t even use the hotel pool, due to the continual heavy rain, or even get on the beach – which meant keeping our little one amused for a long & windswept day!

However, come the next morning, the weather returned to normal , clear skies & smooth seas, & so after waking up the staff to get us some breakfast (this hotel, ‘Sunset Cove’, might consider itself a luxury resort but I most certainly do not), we headed back to Thongsala, where we eventually boarded the catamaran ferry & set off for the mainland. Having paid an extra 50 baht, we were allowed to sit in the so-called ‘VIP room’, which was virtually empty until we reached Koh Tao, where a large bunch of very noisy Thais came onboard. The movies shown during the voyage were both very unsuitable for our young son but luckily he was more interested in the sea & other boats.

We reached the mainland at some time after 12 & then resumed the chaotic experience of trying to make sense of arrangements made by a Thai company. It is hardly surprising that the Thai economy is falling behind all of its neighbours & may soon be overtaken even by Laos! You see, we were told to board the bus but we were not told there were 3 buses leaving. In line with the rules of nature, the one for Hua Hin was the last one we checked! Anyway, we got back to Hua Hin some time around 17.15, the journey north having taken much longer than the journey south, & then headed home.

Summary: Koh Phangan is a beautiful island, with some lovely scenery, especially in the mountainous interior. However, it’s charms are NOT worth the hassle & discomfort that the transport arrangements that link it with the rest of Thailand entail. If you do decide to go, try to avoid using the catamaran service (run by a company called Lomprayah). The best way is probably to fly to Koh Samui & then take the local ferry north to Koh Phangan. They say that the island will have its own airport within 5 years but that seems overly optimistic to me, & so I might not be returning there for a while.