Day 6: Koh Phangan's beaches

According to the weather report, today should be our first rain-free day, so we planned to visit some great beaches. However, our first stop was at Beck's Resort, which we had already explored two days ago, to rent a kayak. Our plan was to paddle to the small, not too far away, island of Koh Tae Nai. The kayak cost us 100 Baht per hour, which is about 2.50 €. We loaded our backpack and everything we had into the kayak and off we went. At first, it went well, but it became more and more exhausting. The further out we went, the stronger the wind and waves became. Eventually, we were in the middle of the sea between departure and destination, and the waves were coming at us from both directions. The water splashed into the kayak, and I was afraid of tipping over. But actually, I was much more afraid for our documents. We had taken everything with us, and I feared that we would lose it all in the water.

Eventually, we reached Ko Tae Nai, got out, and pushed the kayak onto the sand. The island looked much more beautiful from afar than it actually was. There was seaweed everywhere and an incredible amount of garbage. I actually thought we would stop there for a swim and relax for a while, but we really didn't feel like it afterwards. We walked along the beach as far as we could, took some photos, and then headed back. The way back was really tough; we had to paddle against the strong wind, it was really intense. I felt like I was making minimal progress. At the same time, my arms and legs were in incredible pain. But stopping was out of the question; the waves would have only pushed us back. It felt like an eternity, and the beach just wouldn't get closer.

Eventually, we finally reached the point again where the waves were pushing us towards the beach and it calmed down, so we took the opportunity for even more photos.

After returning the kayak, we continued to Secret Beach. The journey there was more adventurous than anything we had experienced so far. It went steeply up and down, and I was already worried about the way back.

When we arrived at Secret Beach, we realized that it wasn't so 'secret' after all. The stretch of beach itself is relatively small - on one side a few beautiful rocks, but completely crowded with people. The waves here were a bit stronger than at our beach, but not too high. We didn't stay long because we somehow didn't like it there.

Next stop, Koh Ma. A sandbank at Mae Haad Beach leads directly to the island of Koh Ma. Unfortunately, we were there at the wrong time of day. Since it was high tide, the sandbank was covered and we couldn't cross it. There was also a lot going on here, partly because of the hotel right there. From the friends we spent the evening with yesterday, we got the tip to visit the Three Sixty Bar nearby. The journey there was even more intense than the previous ones.

The Three Sixty Bar is located at the top of a hill. It was beautifully designed, and there were hardly any people at that time. We had a 360° view - simply fantastic. We could also see Koh Ma from up there. Slowly, the sandbank became visible again. We treated ourselves to a cappuccino and some food on-site. We were both still very tired from the kayak and used the time up there to relax. After that, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then to the night market, which only takes place on Saturdays. Lots of shopping and food. We also found a few little things there. ;-)