Hi all!!!
Coming from a typical british family, childhood holidays were always a typical scenario, sun, sand an sangria. As a result Iv never been fortunate enough to journey further afield than the med or canaries and since discovering amsterdam aged 18, Im sad to say nowhere else had a look in. So Im jumping in feet first and off to a new continent to discover a world of pastures new.
The main attraction of thailand for me is the full moon partys (I know... to a lot of you more experinced globe trotters its probably too comercial now etc but Id luv 2 c it at least once!!!), however I would like to see a lot more of phagnan, take in some culture, places of interest etc, so if any1 can offer tips there?
Since looking into it Iv found the journey to Haad Rin may not be so strait forward as get on plane...get off plane....party!!
Primarily my main concern is getting there as cheaply as poss and staying alive!!! Ive tried forums etc but theres not really much info past flights to bangkok and hotels so any advice on traveling to, and stopping in Haad Rin from bangkok would be warmly recieved. Or maybe it would be better to fly into another part of Thailand????
Im aiming to go in august, I understand this may be rainy season, but that bothers me none, hell Im british, right?!!
Any help or advice would be amazing thanks!!!!!

Hey Dally, good questions and good choice. I'm about to seriously doze off right now but will reply when I wake..

Hi Dally,

Good to hear you're taking the plunge, and welcome to the forums. The full-moon scene is commercialised sure, but still a lot of fun, depending on what you're into. There's plenty of stuff dotted around Pha Ngan to keep you amused when the madness is over too so no worries there.

As for getting there, you need to take an overnight bus or train from Bangkok to Surat Thani. The cheapest way to do this is to buy the ticket at the bus or train station yourself either on the day or the day before. Don't let people scaremonger you into booking through an agent, you'll pay through the nose for.... well for nothing. You want to save money right? So you have to do it yourself. Simple. From Surat Thani you'll find heaps of touts for busses to the east coat jetty. Just buy a ticket and jump on the bus/minivan. Same at the jetty the other end: you'll either be going to Koh Tao, Koh Samui or Pha Ngan - buy a ticket, board the boat and bingo, you're at the Pha Ngan jetty in (I think) around an hour. From there take a motorbike taxi or tuk-tuk to Haad Rin OR rent yourself a motorbike (scooter) direct from the rental places near the jetty - if you're planning on hanging around this will be the most cost affective option as you can drive yourself to your hostel in Haad Rin. Also don't forget you can fly into Koh Samui direct, then take a boat to Pha Ngan form there.

This all seems long winded but trust me, it's painfully simple. Failing that you could always pay an agent in Bangkok to arrange everything for you, for way more money. It's your money.

How long are you planning on hanging around?

Hey Scott
Hope u r well
Massive thanks for all your info. Tho its put me off none, your right, it does seem a bit long winded, Id expected maybe 24-36 hours of travel but after looking into train timetables etc I may have to factor in 2 days+ of travel each way. But it also sounds like an adventure and an experience and a half!!!!!
I was originaly planning a 7 day tour with 3-4 days in pha gnan but now I realise Im going to have to extend slightly (after watching some vids on utube like... maybe the rest of my life ha!). Bear in mind long weekends in amsterdam are all ive done for last 10year, so maybe i need a SERIOUS reality check!!! Could u give me any info or pointers on the following topics please scott?
When i get to the jetty, is there just mainline ferrys or r there smaller independant boats taxying, just i arrive at bangkok about 6am and should arrive in s/thani around 4.30pm. On a website i reviewed, the last direct ferry leaves at 2pm and the night ferry doesnt land on pha gnan til 6am the next day, that would put me into 3days of travel!! Maybe i need to organise a stopover somewhere or buy a truckload of pro plus in ha?
Being honest the fullmoon and general nightlife are the biggest attractions but i aint 1 for lyin in bed all day an would like to get out and see the place during the day, maybe hop over onto another island for a day. Including food, drink, day and nighttime activitys I'v heard you can live like a king on 100gbp (5000baht'ish) a day, would you say this is correct or should I budget more? I'm not exactly planning a backpacker lifestyle when there.
I dont wana ask too much cos most of the funs in discoverin it yourself init ha!
On a serious note tho, this could be make or break, apart from a good job that isn't looking as secure as it was 6months ago, I have absolutly no reason to come home after. I realy can see myself falling in love with the place!!!! And after reading some of the blogs of travellers on this site the nomad lifestyle seems so exciting!!

Thanx for all your help so far scott, hope you can answer these and any more i may think up. Realy looking forward to this!!

ross

Whoa Ross, you'll be living like two kings on that amount! That was my budget for about a week and sometimes more! I hardly splurged in much but I think, from what you're getting at, that should do ya!

You could live like a king on £20/day!

I took the overnighter ferry from Surat Thani to Koh Tao and it was fine. A long deck with mini beds. A couple of beers and blue wonder pills and I was knocked out for the 10 hours or so journey

From my experience the journey to/from surat thani normally took at least 2.5 hours, depending on where they docked. I took a catarmaran from Chumporn once and that took about 1.5 hours to get to Koh Tao but it was hellish! Vomit central!!!

To be honest I booked all these trips through agents in Pha Ngan and Bangkok. It's really not expensive, I think I paid about 500baht, and no hassle at all. Get on bus at 6pm, arrive Surat Thani around 6am, arrive Koh Pha Ngan 10ish. probably around 200baht if done individually but on such a short trip just use the agents in Khao San Road!

Or just use one of the budget airlines and fly from Bangkok to Koh Samui in about 1 hour (around £30 each way I reckon) and catch one of the boats for the short hop (45mins ish) to Pha Ngan. That boat will probably dock in Haad Rin as well which is a bonus.

5000baht a day??! Whoaaaassh you may as well just move straight in to the royal palace! In fact you can stay with me for a thousand a night and I'll cook you dinner AND make you smile with beer Chang. How's that?

Mate seriously, if your budget's that loose and you've no intention of living a 'backpacker' lifestyle then I'd say get yourself to an agent in Bangkok and have it all stitched together for you. I wrote that little lot cos' I thought you wanted to get from Bangkok to Pha Ngan as 'cheap as possible'. Or, just fly to Samui and take a boat to Pha Ngan from there. There's always the private jet if all else fails right?

You'll have blast, though I will say part the fun is in the 'struggle'. Skulling a few beers on the overnight boat to Pha Ngan is truly a novel experience, and you'll meet some great characters. Whatever floats your boat as they say. Your money your call..

blue wonder pills????

valium......

Nice work sir..

When I was in Koh Pha Ngan you could buy Codeine, Xanax over the counter in 7-Eleven. In fact they were displayed openly ON the counter. With Valium it wasn't exactly covert either. They just pulled a large container off the shelf, found a little shovel and said "how much you want"!

If you really want something then you'll get it. My mate paid a doctor in Mexico to get a valium prescription......

ahh right. I always had the knockoffs if I needed them. They weren't blue

Thanx to evry1 4 all the help !!!!
Maybe i was a bit over zealous wen i said 'cheap as poss' i expected rail fares etc and living expenses to be as pricey as flights. The flight strait through to koh samui sounds good as it cuts travel time drasticly but i'm actualy lookin forward to the full trek, plus it gives a decent chance to rest after whats guna b a mammoth supersized adventure to me. I quite like the sound of the catamaran as well!!

Scott i sincerely hope u r beating ur illness, my thoughts are with you. Ur offer of lodgings is much apreciated but i think after 2days of no sleep, your fridge being empty and a chang fortress being erected in your front room you'd wana kill us ha!! Might hav to call in en route and see you if your still there tho, buy u a beer for the help!
Keep up the good work on the blogs, makes for amazin readin, u should seriusly think about publishing!!!!! I know adventures of...... books are ten a penny but this is an actual diary, not just memoirs.

As for the blue wonders, i didnt realise i'd be walking into a prescription drug haven ha!!!!
Maybe something of the green herbal variety to help sleep and other things to perk you up, any tips there or is it just avoid, avoid, avoid!!!

Again, you'v all been most hepful, thankyou for taking the time to reply.