Koh Samui & Koh Pan Gan

The Kingdom of Thailand is an exotic country in Southeast Asia amidst the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand.It is renowned for its tropical weather, lipsmacking food and mesmerizing culture. A destination attracting people all over the world for its beaches, mountains, spas, wildlife and full moon parties.

After Goa and Gokarna – we had to rush back to Melbourne to make it to our friends Jess & Rudy’s wedding which allowed us to tie all loose ends that that tied us to Melbourne. My friend Jimmy  he told me about this amazing spot in Thailand where once you enter the beach, you can never leave. He told me that he only reason why you want to drag yourself out of there is when your pockets are empty and you need to cash up. As soon as I heard about this – I knew that that’s where I am heading next.

A few flights later we landed in Krabi and after spending a few days there we made our way to Koh Samui to catch up with our friends Jason, Lindsey and little Aswell. This is us having celebration drinks at Ark Bar.

The best way to get around at the islands in Thailand is renting a scooter. The roads are really scenic and easy to get your head around.

Koh Samui has many waterfalls which you can visit. We vistited one called Numuang Water-fall.

After Koh Samui – we caught another ferry to get to Coh Pan Gan. Had Rin beach is where your ferry normally drops you off and from there you can take a taxi, scooter taxi or a boat to get to other places. The famous full moon parties happen every full moon at Haad Rin beach – and this is really what attracts most tourists to come to Coh Pan Gan.

Photo Credit – Per Meistrup

Unlike most tourists we were given instructions to take a boat to Haad Yuan from Haad Rin and meet Jimmy at Eden. Getting into another small boat we find ourselves sailing around amazing crystal blue water towards a beautiful mini island. Once we arrived we were completely taken aback by how amazing this spot really is.

A mission to get here but the effort was worth it when we sat down at Eden’s lounge to enjoy this spectacular view with the most amazing Thai food.

What I loved about Eden was how its rooms were like tree-houses scattered amidst tall trees and rocks which give you a real jungle feel to it. Its VIP rooms have the most amazing view of the sea which is an added bonus as you have the best of both worlds – the jungle and the ocean.

The rain is amazing to witness from the VIP room.

Amazing View from the balcony.

This island is full of amazing treats and is the perfect place in indulge in the ocean, the jungle, amazing food, local fruits, yoga, massage, dance and music. I highly recommend the following must dos:

1. Mangosteen Fruit
2. Fresh Coconut Water
3. Massage at Bamboo Huts
4. Orange Malibu at Guys Bar
5. Massaman Curry at Eden
6. Trek to Wai Nam Beach – with the food and snorkeling.

As you walk up the hill past the VIP rooms at Eden you eventually arrive at a beach called Haad Thian which is more quiet than Had Yuan.

`

I highly recommend going to the parties which happen at Eden and Guy’s Bar on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Bar at Eden

Yeah! Thats Right!

Woo Hoo!

Life is a Beach.

5 favorite things to do in Hampi

Hampi is another world heritage site situated in Karnataka which will leave you in awe with its untouched beauty. You can get lost in endless rocks and ruins with amazing landscapes of rice fields and rivers in all its serenity. Here are my favorite things to do there:

# 1 – Sunsets

I witness the most amazing sunsets here in Hampi – the weather is perfectly warm around March and you can go venture out into the rocks and find awesome spots to get that perfect sunset view. As you sink into the amazing colors of magic hour a chaiwalla comes to you to sell you amazing chai to sip while you watch your sunset.

# 2 – Ancient Ruins

The majestic ruins of old temples are an absolute eye treat as they take you on a journey back in time. The 1st temple you will probably end up in will be The Virupaksha temple – when you go there make sure you get your blessing from the Elephant which feels really warm and fuzzy.  The best part about all these ruins is the carvings and the details in each carvings.

# 3 Rice Fields Walks & Rock Climbing

The rice paddocks in Hampi are so beautiful – you feel a deep connection to earth as you go through these fields towards the endless walks into the rocks to go venture out into the wild. It is a perfect destination for wanderers who just want to explore.

# 4 The Locals

The locals are so friendly they love hanging out with you. When we ride around Hampi the locals spot you and go crazy waving at you and shouting “Hi!! Hello” “How are you?” and a simple smile and a wave back makes their day.

# 5 Monkey Temple

I love Monkey Temple – it has the most amazing view of Hampi from top and the rocks are so nice and warm to sit on. If you want to just find a beautiful spot to just chill and not move and maybe meditate this is the place to be. Best time to visit would be around 5 in the afternoon.

Chilling on an hammock

Perfect view of the rocks from the room

Goa – Gokarna

We traveled around Australia for more than 15,000 kms and after that we took a flight to India and spent a few months traveling around Goa, Gokarna and Hampi.

Goa is divided into two – North Goa and South Goa. North Goa is usually where all the action is while South Goa is full of isolated islands and quite relaxed beaches. We started in Anjuna in North Goa and then head south to Palolem and Gokarna. Anjuna Beach was full of activities with lots of trance parties happening at multiple shacks at the same time. It is like the beach full of discotheques everywhere but you’re are more or less partying by the sea instead of indoors. Its a pretty fun vibe if you are a party animal. Palolem on the other hand was very still and silent with not much happening except for a silent disco joint and pool parties at the Lalit that people gathered for. It was quite a refreshing change from Anjuna but it was time to go after a few days. We made our way to Agonda beach and Blue Lagoon while we were in South Goa and then head out to Gokarna.

We moved on to Gokarna and found out that it is actually a cluster of beaches – it starts at Gokarna – then Kutley Beach –  Om Beach – then Half Moon Beach and then Paradise beach. From Kutley to Paradise beach – there accomodation gets more and more basic where we found there were no place to stay in Paradise beach at all – you basically needed to camp out.

What I loved about all these beaches is hand delivered fruits that come your way all the time. Since it gets quite hot everywhere in Goa – Fruit is the best way to re hydrate.