Zelma’s Trip

When we arrived in Ko Pha Ngan at Thong Sala pier we got a shared minibus to Hat Rin (the beach where the monthly full moon parties are). We then took a long-tail boat to Hat Thian where “The Sanctuary” is. Julian had apparently heard (and read) very good things about “The Sanctuary” and when we arrived it soon became apparent why. Hat Thian is a small, beautiful bay and there are three or four places to stay around it. “The Sanctuary” had the most amazing position with a relaxed restaurant area on the beach looking straight out over the beautiful bay and sea. Aswell as relaxing “The Sanctuary” also offers numerous treatments and is somewhere that a lot of guests come to fast and detox. You can perhaps see why both with the party atmosphere of a lot of surrounding places and also the sheer beauty and tranquility of the location. Without wanting to go on about it I would whole-heartedly recommend the place. They have a website if anyone is interested.

We were shown several rooms. I opted for a modest but perfectly formed bungalow. I actually think that I had one of the best rooms in the place. It was just above the restaurant and had sea views from the lovely balcony. The bathroom was shared with the person next-door but was amazing and built around the rocks with large boulders incorporated into the walls. Steve and Julian shared “garden house” one of the higher end places which, although slightly further up the mountain, had beautiful views, a big balcony and a television with DVD player. After checking in we did what was required of us, i.e. very little.

I spent the following day around Hat Thian, swimming, relaxing in the restaurant and drinking copious amounts of fruit juice and shakes. Julian and I took a wander to the beach further along (Hat Wai Nam) which was also stunning. We went for a swim in the sea, although this experience was slightly marred by Julian managing to cut his foot. I got a couple of the stones out for him and he walked in a beautifully effeminate way back to “The Sanctuary”. One of the cuts apparently still hurt and, tools in hand it soon transpired that it hurt as it had a shard of glass in, which I managed to remove with tweezers.

Julian and I got a boat back to Hat Rin to look into the possibility of diving and snorkelling in Ko Tao and had a look around the town. After buying provisions, having a drink and watching “Family Guy” we booked a diving and snorkelling trip.

In the evening we relaxed and then I went to “The Garden House” and joined Julian and Steve in watching “Kung Fu Panda” which was one of the previously noted provisions. It was entertaining and felt strangely like the kind of thing that should be watched here rather than at home.

On Thursday Steve decided that he also wanted to come snorkelling so we all headed to Hat Rin for the trip. Julian was taken off in his bus to go to the dive site and Steve and I were taken to the pier to get the ferry to Ko Tao. The first place we stopped at on Ko Tao was amazing. We got off the ferry and wandered down to the most beautiful beach. I had been disappointed with the snorkelling previously on this trip but Ko Tao was great. You swam out from the beach for about twenty metres and then found coral and numerous fish. There were lovely anenomes, sea urchins and sea cucumbers a-plenty. I saw a pipe fish, which I don’t think I have ever seen before, and discovered that lauging really doesn’t work with a snorkel on. The amusement at how funny the fish looked faded as I exhaled through my nose due to the laughing, broke the seal of the mask, and promptly swalled about half a gallon of sea water. Although Steve had previously been slightly reticent about snorkelling I informed him that the best snorkelling was at the further areas where he would be out of his depth and he joined me to go further out. He seemed to really enjoy himself and I loved it. We went back to the boat and were taken to a second point around the island. This time you snorkelled around the rocks as there was no beach and you got in straight from the boat. We had previously talked about jumping off the boat and I said that I think it would most likely, boringly, be frowned upon. However when we stopped they actually suggested we might like to jump off the boat. Well before anything ese could be muttered I was there, on the side in my bikini and ready to go. What I hadn’t counted on was the tour guy announcing, “Lady going to jump”, at which point all the fellow passengers rushed over to my side of the boat to watch the spectacle. This put me off slightly as firstly, a lot of the passengers were Asian and in slightly more conservative swimming attire than myself and now staring at me in a small camouflage bikini and secondly, the boat was high enough to have made me worry slightly about my bikini and I going in separate directions upon contact with the water. Fortunately a nice Australian woman next to me obviously saw my sudden horror and volunteered to jump at the same time as me so we leapt into the water.

The snorkelling at the second point was possibly not quite as good as the first but it was different. There were more coves and smaller areas to explore and it felt more like you were the only one snorkelling there when you headed to more secluded areas between large rocks. After getting back on the boat I convinced Steve that he really should jump in off the boat. He obliged and I think he was glad that he did.

In the evening I had the crazy thing going on that I get sometimes after being on a boat i.e. you still feel like you’re on the boat despite being on dry land where you have the rocking motion etc. I was pleased to hear that Julian had this aswell. Well not pleased for him but pleased that I was not the only one. I was slightly less pleased when Steve started talking about a programme he watched where a woman had the same thing which persisted for around two years or something horrific.

Despite my wobbly head I went to a half-moon party with Steve over by Hat Rin. We got the long-tail boat with an English couple. Well techinically I don’t think they were a “couple” but there were two of them so that’s good enough for me. I was pleased when the following day I overheard the girl from the couple (Emma) describing her night to a friend and saying, “And we met two really nice people, Steve and Zelma”. It’s always good to hear that kind of thing, particularly when the person is not saying it to please you as they don’t know you’re there. We shared a couple of buckets with Emma and Joe (the English couple) on the beach before getting a shared taxi (with some very beautiful but -very- loud Glaswegian girls) out to the middle of the jungle where the party was. The party itself was pretty cool with the obligatory U.V lighting, glow paint and the like. It was mostly a friendly bunch of people and the open air surroundings amidst the trees were pretty amazing. When we headed back to Hat Rin beach Steve went to talk to someone, I had a final drink and then we got a long-tail boat back to Hat Thian.

On the Thursday we spent our final full day around “The Sanctuary” generally relaxing, swimming, eating and drinking fruit shakes. Julian also played backgommon with me again and I managed to finish up on him, hoorah! Steve and I took a wander to the bay the other side to the one where Julian had previously managed to injure himself. The beach (Hat Yuan) was beautiful powder and there were a few more bars and guesthouses than on Hat Thian. On the hillside between Hat Thian and Hat Yuan there was a Muay Thai training camp and, although there was no-one training to watch, there was a very kind boxer who walked past firstly having clearly just fought and wearing his shorts and later in a towel! In the evening we watched another DVD.

The next day we left “The Sanctuary”, however prior to doing so I realised I had managed to lose my back-up cash. Well when I say “lose” I possibly mean it was acquired by someone else as I am relatively sure where I left it in my room. I am relatively reticent to stay it was stolen though as I hate it when people instantly decide things have been stolen then they find them later or whatever. There were also several other things that I would have thought may have gone if this was the case such as my camera, Ipod etc etc. I have also “found” some money on this trip which I had obviously previously put in a safe place so we shall see. Anyway, what this meant was that I had to get a boat to Hat Rin to get more money out. Steve also needed to get money so, somewhat annoyingly, we had to go back over before making the same journey to leave for Ko Samui.