Koh Phangan : relax and peace (The Yang)

After the moon extasis Vane went to Australia and Eva stayed in the island...
As soon as Vane left I already had a travel companion! Gemma, a girl from Tarragona, we both got on immediately!



We both wanted to explore the other part of the island... the one that has beautiful beaches withouth huge parties... they just have peace and relax.
We moved to the south west of the island... Haad Yao. We found a bungalow looking at the sea for half of the price that we had been paying until now! So cool!!! with a balcony looking at the ocean!! with hammocks... unbelivable place!
We rented a moped and we decided to explore the island. The first day was great! lots of beaches and we even learned the receipe of the Pad Thai!




We found swings, beaches, corals, shells, pad thai... and the sea... with a beautiful rainbow!!! Great day!!



During the evening... We spent hours chatting together ... to be honest, with Gemma is very easy to chat and laugh!



We also wanted to visit another part of the island.. that one that you can only access by boat...



We found a very nice local guay that after a while of bargaining and a couple of beers decided to be our guide for that day...




3 of us on the boat.. .tuna sandwich and let's go!!



WE visited waterfalls, the famouse Bottle beach and also other little corners of the ilsand which do not have names but they are beautiful!!



Magic... the night and the day.. .the Yang!!


and the adventure continues...

See you soon!! !

Here you have more photos of Koh Pahnang:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29210326@N07/?saved=1

Koh Phangan:The Full Moon Party (The Ying)

As other travellers' souls we all look for the charming moon... and this is what ocurred in Koh Phanagan... we found there a duality ... on the one side we found a crazy party... and on the other side we found relax and nature... The Ying and the Yang, things that complement each other are opposites at the same time, as they are the Forces of the Universe. These did a good job and made our experience in this island unforgettable.

Lots of things happened in this island... we even separated from each other for the first time on our trip... but just for a while.. .just to follow our insticts... and it is to be said that after 5 months of intense travelling together a change is also good. Vane went to Australia and Eva after the Full Moon party stayed in Koh Phangan.

But before separating our ways for a couple of weeks we were partying for 4 days!!!


Koh Phangan is an island between islands( Koh Tao and Koh Samui)...it is well known due to the Full Moon Party ... and there we were!! of course!! Weren't we Carlos? hahahaha




Locals say that this party started when some friends decided to celebrate a birthday party along the Sunrise beach in a full moon night. It seems that it was such a great party that from then on (in the 70's) the party has occured every full moon ... now even there is a new moon party and half moon party!!! Here everyday there is a different party!!! You can dance every single day until the sunrise!!
DJs, mucic, dancing, fires, friendships, buckets.... they create the heaveanly hell!!! hahahha



WE shared this experience of our trip with lots of people... it was great! such a good fun!



So, that's a party at the end of the day, isn't it? Just let yourself go with the music and the great atmosphere, being happy and full of energy and , of course, laughing all night!!!!!!

We would like to thank all our friends on those nights ...
We will mention some of them....

Thanks to the guys from Barcelona.... especially to Carlos.... we are not from Catalonia or from Valencia... actually we are from La Rapita!!! hahahha


Until the sunrise!!


...show man

No comments!!

and the night continues....


...to Paco...from Granada...we reached the hell!!!!


Also thanks to the guys from Mallorca...Lourdes, Andreu and Tia.... such an adventure!! we came all injured!! but it was worth it!!

To Iban and Gemma.... she even has been my companion after Vane left to Australia... we are really getting on!! it is a pleasure to find people like her!



...to the guys from Terra Ferma...from Lerida


...thanks to everyone... especially to the people from Israel!!! you can't imagine how many people from Israel are on the Full Moon Party!!! and they look like us... so they thought we were from Israel too!!! so funny!

If you look at the other side of the party... we mean what it means for locals... it must be tough. They live from these parties... so they work on this party 365 days a year.. everyday they set up the pubs along the beach, clean the beach.. night work...drunks... ladyboys.... must be hard for them.. but at the end of the day is what they do for leaving... so we presume they have it more than assumed... taxi boats, shops, bucket market, waiters, fire performance.... getting everything ready to let you enjoy the party.



Full Moon Party 2008 ...Thailand.......koh Phnagan!!!....

The moon's daughters take their own way... but just for a few days.... meeting again will be magic!!

Zipi and Zape....one to Melbourne the other to Koh Phangan!!!

Koh Phi Phi - Thailand

From Cambodia we took a bus (of course! it is the most used transport on our travels!!)to Bangkok. After spending a few days there and saying goodbye to our friend Caro (she was going home after travelling around Asia for 6 months) we made our way to Koh Phi Phi.


Koh Pi Pi was one of the most devastated places by the Tsunami in December 2004. You can still see that some areas of the island are still under reconstrucion. You can even see the signs for the route of evacuation. However, the island has fastly recovered its flow of tourism as the aquatic environment was not damaged.


Kho Pi Pi , located on the South West of Thailand, is comprised by two islands: Koh Phi Phi Don and Koh Phi Phi Leh. The first one is where the village (Ton Sai) is. It is where the vast majority of the travellers stay. It is a small island where there are no cars... there are just hundreds of tourists walking around and locals riding their bikes and shouting ....Pi Pi!!!!!!!!! Bycicles with horns haven't been invented here yet! :-)

Here you can find all that a tourist might need: pubs, restaurants, ATMs, hotels, shops, Spas, travel agencies, etc.. but the thing you find the most are tatoo or scuba diving centres!!! Amazing... out of every 3 shops one is a tatoo or a scuba diving centre! In Thailand you can choose to get a tatoo by the usual machine (as at home) or by bamboo. This last one is an old technique very popular here.It seems to be more superficial and therefore, less painful.

Koh Phi Phi beaches have clear water... turquoise colour... and white sand. The ones further from town are wilder and nicer. The ones that surround the town are full of restaurant and boats to take you to the islands around.

If you walk a bit to the west you find Long Beach... this is a quiter beach where the water is as blue as a swimming pool!! here is where you notice that you really are in Thailand!







Near Koh Phi Phi you can find Bamboo Island. This little island is fantastic for scuba diving or snorkeling and it has a natural park to visit. We spent hours there just walking around and enjoying the landscape.... yeah a small island but charming.. you can spend there hours just walking and breathing the peacefullness that this little place by the sea gives you.








We also went to visit the Monkey beach.... literally!!! It is a small beach where you can just reach by boat and where a tribe of monkeys live. They are so funny! They lie down on the sand, swim, and just rest in the shade... just like us!!! and when the tourists arrive... .let's go for them!!! they try to steal your bag,jump on you... they even scratch dreadlocks !!! hahahaha






The other island. Koh Phi Phi Leh is a natural park without any tourist development. This is where you can find the Viking cave and the Maya Bay.
The water in this area is soooo tourquoise!!! it seems as if you were swimming in a swimming pool!!! you can see the bottom without wearing a mask!





The beach of the Maya bay is where the film "The Beach" was done and it is amazing!!! In order to get there you need to go through a little cave in the water (the boat can't go over it) and then you have to walk through a little jungle.. and when you get there.... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh The beach itself is very small but the crystal clear water and the two rocky outcrops that surround makes it special.





And after all the swimming... of course... we had time for a couple of beers!! Chang beer.. the local one:-)




Here you have more pictures of our time in Koh Phi Phi:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/29210326@N07/?saved=1

See you soon!

Koh Tao- Thailand

After saying goodbye to the West of Thailand we crossed the country to the East side... first we took a boat, then a bus and then a night boat until we arrived to Koh Tao, also known as the Turtle Island.



We arrived there very early in the morning.... at 4 am, so early that we had to sleep in the front steps of a travel agency hahahha
The taxi didn't pick us up until 7am in the morning...



... the taxi brought us to the South of the island, that's the area that we chosed for accommodation as it is nice and not so crowded.

Koh Tao is a small island if you compare with other ones in Thailand. However, it is perfect! Nice beaches, small coves to discover, forest, sea, great sunsets, big palms and lots and lots of scuba diving!!



Scuba diving is the reason why the most of the backpackers come here... accommodation and food in the island is quite cheap and getting the scuba diving licence (PADI or SSI) is quite reasonable. If you compare it with prices at home is actually quite cheap (however Vietnam is the cheapest place to do so in Asia).



Koh Tao is an island of 21 square metres of beaches full of young atmosphere. The most popular beach is called Sai Ree and it is full of pubs and restaurants along the seashore with hammocks and chillout music... the party starts around sunset time and lasts until the morning.



We were lucky and we found a bungalow very close to one of the quite beaches in the area of Saam Jao Beach... along hte Taa To bay.



On our first day at the island we decided to go for a walk... we were the only ones walking there! Everyone got a motorbike!! now we understand why!! Huge slopes!!



Sustainable tourism in a island with thousand of steep slopes is not human! hahahaha



Therefore, the first thing that we did the following day was to rent a moped... our pinky friend... hahaha she brought us for ride around all the island and helped us to discover amazing beaches and stones that looked like art work in the middle of the sea!



We went all over the island...the day wasn't very sunny but at least it didn't rain!! Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeee This started to look like Ireland :-)

We tried Pad Thai for dinner (typical Thai food) ... it was yummy!! and finally... after 4 months of travelling... our first massage!!!! Thai massage of course... those women streched us as ever!!



We were going home walking along the beach when suddenly we saw Ernesto!! hahahha A guy that we met in Siem Reap... that great night.... and he was there...funny! such a coincidence!



Then, of course, plans always change and you can now imagine how we ended up.. .with him and a group of friends from Madrid dancing all night and!!! of course the buckets helped :-)



Ernesto... give us the scarf back!!! You thief!! hahaha
The party that night didn't stop the fact that we had to go diving the next day. Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeeee



Our last immerssion on the sea was in Vietnam... two months ago... e... but guys.. the weather was terribe and visibility was bad. We didn't see many sea life but the feeling of being at the bottom of the sea is anyway great!

After every immerssion you notice every immerssion is different and so it is every school .... so here you have an advice: if you wanna do scuba diving choose a small school, with family atmosphere... forget those "diving factories" that they only want to get money... so many people goes to dive at the same time! just one instructor for all... it is not the same!

But that's not all what we did in this little island.... we also did something that will remain in our memories and bodies forever... a symbol of friendship and balance... the Three Maries and an "E"... more than ink in our bodies is a feeling of love and personal development that we have been carrying on our backpacks during our trip and now... on our bodies!

An old technique was used... bamboo...

one did it on her foot...




the other one on her waist



Rasta Tattoo!!!He is a legend!! hahahah



Tattoo and Violadores del verso....an special combination that it could just happen in Koh Tao... now is your turn girls... always together.. .always growing up... always dreaming!!



Now we leave to Koh Phangan ... to the Full Moon Party...




Cheers!!
Vane and Eva from Kho Tao