Koh Phangan

Wow, ok I have finally found a minute to sit down and write. Things have been so hectic, between a hectic schedule in Singapore, a much too rushed (but enlightening) trip through Malaysia, to a full beach and party scedule in Koh Phangan -- all this is not counting the the travel times between places either.

I am currently in Bangkok, it is my second day here. I am still extremely exhausted from my time in Koh Phangan. Koh Phangan is a beautiful island if a bit over run by tourist from around the world seeking beach time by day and wild party times at night.

We stayed in a place called Haad Yao on the island which is in the North West and had to travel about 30 - 45 minutes on a harrowing strectch of road which ascends and descends at impossible angles (it really makes you wonder how often the cab drivers have to change their brake pads), in order to get to Haad Rin, which is where the Full Moon party happens.

We went to Haad Rin on two occassions. The first ine was a couple of days before the full moon, and I must admit was not very impressed by what I foud down there. Essentially the beach is set up with a whole number of "nightclubs" jammed in next too one another, all trying to out power the other. This all makes for sme of the stranges and disorienting clashes of music - Blur vs Abba back with a psy-trance beat - yikes! In terms of the people, there was a large contingent from Canada, Sweden, Israel and Australia, although tha was not the complete extent of the mix - there were also kids from Singapore, India, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan etc. etc.

That first night on the beach inspired a great deal of cynicism, as all that seemed to be happening was a bunch of backpacker getting trashed and trying to get laid. Now some (perhaps many) would argue that that is exactly what the Full Moon party is about for them, which is all well and good, however I was looking for and expecting something a little different. So after that first night I was seriously reconsidereing whether or not I would head down that mountain goat trail they call a road in our coverted tin can... Of course I went though and whoa! What a party!

Ok, there are some gaps to fill in before we even get to the party. So after the first night were doubts about the whole visit to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon gathering began to sprout, we went back to our bungalow at Haad Yao, which while being on the other side of the island was ideal, a beatiful and chilled out stretch of beach, with amazing places to eat, have a massage or just pass out and roast. While just pondering over things about the island, about life and decisions made my friend Han and I decided to go for a bit of a hike - not a very easy thing to venture out on once you have experienced the geography of the island. Any way, we went exploring and made our way across to another small resort called My Way, where we had arraned to meet another couple of our frineds, Matty and Nat.

We all had lazy lunch before we decided to head back to our resort. After a few blind decisions abou which road to take we came across some folks on the side of a dirt road filling up sand bags. Of course we asked what they were doing and they gave he inevitable response "What does it look like we are doing?" With those formalities out of the way we then discovered that they were filling the bags for the construction of a super adobe sound dome, which was going to be a part of the Pyramid Yoga retreat.

When we went up to have a look we found the most amazing space for yoga, this huge covered pargola type structure. A class had just finished, and we spoke to a few of the participants as they made their way down. We had stubled across a teacher training course which was runnning for the next few weeks. They do hold classes for all levels, however we had just arrived at the wrong time of the month - not that we really would have been able to do much since we were all only there for a few days.

Next we went up to look at he sand bag, which was something quite phenomenal to stumble across in the middle of the jungle. There was such a strong sense of commuity as well amongst the participats of this work shop who had been working on the dome for the last 5, amlost 6 weeks. They were also all very warm and welcoming to us, two strangers wandering along through the jungle. I don't remember really any of your names, but to if any one who worked on this project ever reads this, thank for your time in entertaining our curiosity and sparking a new found interes in earth building. Also, thanks for the tip on the Indian restuarant in Thong Sala, the food was phenomenal and they did a great Chai.

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Ok there is still much more to write but I will have to get back to it at a later stage...

Still to come:

The Magic Bar
Scooters
Friends met along the way (Hi Mariah, Julianna and Saskia)
More on our whole crew
Backyard (the big up yours that turned out not to be)
And pulling overselves out for the depths of a hell much deeper than any hangover to make the boat.

Also, photos to follow at some point.

Peace