In Thailand scooters are sort of a basic need, this goes, especially for the islands. So when I arrived at Phanganist Hostel I was wondering how to get around the place, because I’m not much of a driver myself. Luckily I did not have to worry about that for very long, within minutes I made some friends at the common area and they immediately invited me to hop on the back of their scooter to discover the island.
Koh Phangan has new highways going up north; you can maybe imagine that it was really nice cruising on these roads. When driving in the mountains you have to be pretty careful with all the curves and going up and down, but here we could really step on the gas and let the wind blow through our hair (I am trying to make it sound romantic, is it working?).
We first stopped at Chaloklum, this is a very relaxed small beach where the water invites you to jump in right away. We walked to the other side of the beach and then went for a swim. Because there’s a lot of coconut trees here, you can easily find a place to relax in the shade. We got accompanied by some friendly dogs, they’re everywhere on the island. Chaloklum pier is also the closest access to Sail Rock, it’s the most famous dive site of the Gulf of Thailand.
Our next stop was Koh Ma, this beach is close to Chaloklum but still has a whole different feeling to it. Koh Ma is a little bigger and also a bit more touristic. There are multiple resorts and bars to go for some food or a beer. At the end of the beach, there is actually a peninsula that you can easily enter by following the beach path. It’s really beautiful. Koh Ma also is a popular place to get your diving or scuba diving gear out.
In Koh Phangan, there are a lot of sites to watch the sunset. We decided to drive up into the mountains a little so we had a crazy overview over the sea. Usually, the sky turns all kinds of reds and pinks, but because it was pretty cloudy at some point the sky was entirely purple. Pretty majestic, if you ask me.
By Franske Huisman
Keep updated with phanganist.com by following our Facebook page.
