Relaxation in a Bottle
Trip Start
Unknown
1
6
14
Trip End
Ongoing
Bottle Beach, Surat Thani, Thailand
Monday, December 21, 2009
When we got off the boat on Koh Pha Ngan there were tons of people waiting with signs to take you to the beach you wanted to go to on the island. The thing with Bottle Beach is that there is apparently no road that leads to it, so we would have to take a taxi to the next beach over and then take a long tail boat to our beach. One woman came up to us asking where we needed to go, so I told her Bottle Beach and she said she wouls drive us to the next beach to get a boat. After many cell phone calls made by her, she dropped us off only 2 minutes down the road at a bakery and told us to wait there and that someone would be around in 10 minutes to drive us directly to the beach. We were confused because we thought this was not possible. Apparently the water was too rough that day so no boats were going in. We our ride finally came, we soon realized why they say you cannot drive to the island - the roads are AWFUL. The first 10 or 15 minutes are paved and no problem, then the rest of the ride (at least 30 minutes) is dirt road that has been so weathered, the entire drive is rocking back and forth and bumpy and huge dents in the dirt. No wonder you're supposed to take a boat!
Well, it was worth the drive because this place is amazing! It is the most relaxed place you could ever visit. Because there are no 'real' roads to it, its a nice secluded beach that does not get too many tourists at all. I am usually not very good and doing nothing for days, but its easy to get into it here.
We are staying at a bungalow resort called Bottle Beach II with a beachside bungalow looking right onto the beach and the ocean - its wicked. We have just what we need, but no sink but we apparently don't need one! As long as there is a shower drain/hole in the floor its not a problem. I bought a hammock and tied it to the front porch/deck area of the bungalow and chill out there looking out at the water, its pretty sweet! The people who work at our resort are wicked too, the guys are so chill and will come and talk to you while you try and decide what to eat for that meal. They basically let you do anything, including buy booze in the town on the island and bring it back to the resort and store it in their fridge so that you dont have to buy their drinks because its cheaper! So cool. Once again the coolest dude here is Burmese, just like at Morning Mist in Khao Sok. Those Burmese are wicked people!
Christmas didn't really feel like Christmas, being on the beach and all, but it was still a cool experience and the weather has been amazing. It has for sure felt like its been in the 30's everyday. On Christmas day night we went to a famous 'Full Moon' party on Haad Rin beach on the island. These things are famous for having thousands of people and being totally off the wall. Full of wasted people doing crazy things. And they sell these buckets of alcohol, not glasses, buckets. You can get vodka, rum, whiskey, and mix it with Coke, Sprite, etc., and don't forget the Red Bull! Yes, these things totally mess you up. We asked them to only put half the Red Bull bottle in because we've heard all these stories of people blacking out at these parties and not remembering anything. There was a limbo stick set up, except the rod was on FIRE! People (really, it was the guys) were doing the limbo under this flaming rod, and they kept putting it lower and lower. It was nuts! There were 2 guys who were really good at it, and this one Thai guy actually went under it when it was probably a foot and a half off the ground. Definitely something to see. Im glad I went and experienced it, but don't think I will go to one of these again. It was pretty surreal. The ride back to Bottle Beach at 4:30am was fun, riding in the back of the pick-up truck singing random songs with other peple from our beach who went to the party going along the awful bouncey road - good times :)
It will be hard to leave this place, but it has to be done at some point! Maybe I'll come back through here later on in the trip again.
Bye bye Bottle Beach! (but Im taking my hammock with me :)
