Day 8 Off to Koh Phangan

Today we said goodbye to Koh Samui and headed to the quieter neighboring island of Koh Phangan. But first, we have to tell you about our highlight. Joe was actually able to drive to the bank, which is only 15 minutes away, and easily pick up the ATM card that had been kindly withdrawn for us. No forms, no being sent in circles 17 times, as would have been the case with us. He showed his ID and already had the card in his hands. Many thanks to the great staff at Peace Resort who helped us.

So our day (Samuel's and mine, Joe already had the bank action) started at 10:22 a.m., we walked to breakfast still half in our pajamas, Samuel actually in his pajamas, what the heck, it's our last day anyway, so it can be embarrassing:-) After that, we quickly packed and were already picked up by a taxi to the ferry. There we met our friends Angie and Markus and their sweet little whirlwind Adriana, with whom we will be on the same beach for a week. The 30-minute crossing was calm and pleasant. At first, we were a little unsure if we would actually get our luggage back and if it wouldn't continue to Koh Tao, as it was simply thrown together in a seemingly chaotic way, but apparently, they know what they're doing, because the whole luggage was already waiting outside in a pile when we disembarked. We took a shared taxi and in 20 minutes crossed the island to the north to our beach Haad Yao at the Sun Moon Star Resort. As feared, the vehicle is not my favorite means of transportation. So much fresh air during the ride can't be healthy;-) I immediately took the opportunity to sit up front with Samuel when two more people got on the taxi. That's me;-) On the ride, we relaxed. Everything is much more relaxed on Koh Phangan, hardly any traffic, even though there are already some luxury resorts, the simple bungalow complexes with the chilled backpackers still prevail.

Our resort was a little further from the beach than we thought, a little cumbersome without a buggy probably over time. The bungalow itself looked very nice at first glance, but not so much on the second glance, as we noticed in the evening, and unfortunately not clean either. But on Koh Phangan, that's quite normal, we were expecting it and we will definitely feel comfortable here over time.

We immediately went to our friends and after dinner, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the chill Vegga Bar on the beautiful Haad Yao beach. Samuel was tempted by the new beach toys to sit down and play in the sand. At first, he didn't want to go into the water anyway and he'll certainly have sore muscles tomorrow. He kept his left foot in the air most of the time so that it wouldn't touch the sand, our little monk! There is no pool or any alternative here, so I hope he will eventually make friends with the beach and the sea. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the time and especially the sunset. Markus and I even did a mini photoshoot right away, it's never boring with Markus and Angie:-) Just for a change, only with the phone, because we haven't unpacked our important camera with the 3 vital lenses once. But it will definitely be used for the shootings that are already planned:-)

Finally, our little monk dwarf actually went into the water briefly up to his knees and today we were able to finally go into the water and swim in peace. After that, we sat together at the beach bar for a while.

Since our little one couldn't fall asleep during the day, probably due to excitement, we went to our room earlier than usual, where we noticed how many gaps our bungalow has and unfortunately the showering also ended in a catastrophe. The reviews still mentioned how old the fittings are and I even said to Joe at home... who cares about the bathroom fittings... well, apparently it's not that uninteresting after all! The cold water couldn't even be turned on and the hot water suddenly couldn't be turned off anymore. Our bathroom and room turned into a steam bath within minutes. So there is definitely enough scorching hot water here;-) Fortunately, it could be repaired quickly and we were immediately given adhesive tape to make the windows and door at least somewhat tight. There you go. Mosquito danger averted. Since we were immediately informed about the danger of dengue fever upon arrival here as well, it probably sounds funnier than it is for us right now. Especially because the mosquitoes seem to really like me, that has always been the case. We already have a bag with 7 different mosquito sprays in the hope that one of them will work.

But we are happy to be here and are looking forward to two weeks on the beautiful island. Whether we will experience a lot, just chill or have a lot to talk about... we'll see. Love to all of you, Karin & Joe & Samuel.