A rather nice view from my bungalow overlooking the bay – so pleasant I fell asleep in my chair.

Here I am on Koh Pangan – home of the Full Moon beach party. Well, it would be but it is not the time of the month so the place is a bit more chill. Though that is relative – techno music pours out of the beachside clubs til dawn and fire spinners and pyrotechnicians provide the special FX.

Sadly, my time on the island is all too short, but I feel I have a good impresson of the place. The weather has been a bit crappy – resulting in choppy seas and a need to were a decent jumper in the wind, but I don’t really care because it is more pleasant than the stifling heat and humidity I left behind in Taiwan.

My original plan had been to make it to the diving Mecca of Koh Tao, but that plan was scuppered by the fact that the plane on Koh Samui landed too late for the last boat out. All was well, however, as I got two dives in todayby taking the cat out to the island to join a dive boat for the day. The diving was okay – but buouancy problems as a result of the BCD slowly inflating constantly and a dive master that was less than fully attentive added to problems lowish vis and building confidence. It was okay, but overall a bit mediocre.

Tomorrow, I have most of the day on the beach, and then I catch the plane back to Bangkok for a last night in the city. It has definitely been worth staying out here. The beach hut clinging to the cliff overlooking the palm tree sandy bay, the fantastic fresh food and fruit drinks and joining a different stream of people with their minds a thousand miles away from work.

For now, though, I join the fire dancers and full bottles of beer on the beach!