Koh Phangan 17th-19th April: no full moon party

Just a few words about this next stop: Koh Phangan is the middle island between Koh Tao and Koh Samui. It is really beautiful in terms of landscapes, but most people don't do justice to it: it is actually a party island where the wild full moon party (on the beach) takes place once a month. If it's not a full moon, there's the half moon festival, a jungle party, or a pool party. Our plan was to experience the full moon party on the 17th of April, relax for a day, and continue our journey. However, at our second-to-last stop we were informed that we had aimed for the wrong date - it was on the 19th of April (our booked departure day...).

But first, let's go in chronological order: at 9 o'clock in the morning on Koh Tao, we took a free (yes!) hotel shuttle to the pier.

After a more relaxed journey with the cheap ferry and a very adventurous pickup ride over bumps and hills, we arrived at our bungalow in the very south of the island (where the full moon party was supposed to be)...

Thai Dee Garden Resort welcomed us with a cute bungalow in a green environment.

However, our supposed upgrade room (wow, we had 3 beds) was very sparsely furnished and equipped with only a fan and thin curtains.

Since we didn't have a safe, I finally got to use my travel lock:D

Half-starved, we sat down in the next restaurant, where my mango sticky rice appetite cost me a fortune... we visited the nearby 'Sunset Beach' for the sunset. There was not much swimming there - instead, we had a photo session on a rope swing.

For the climax of the sunset, we spontaneously sat in hammocks in an amazing treehouse bar above us:) 

The next morning, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast in the amazing treehouse bar: local fruit porridge, banana peanut butter toast, and a delicious iced coffee.

At 1 o'clock, we met up with the guys at the main beach, where swimming (except for tiny stinging jellyfish) was very possible. After a little snack, we moved to the small south beach 'Leela Beach'. It was significantly less crowded there.

 At the beach, there was a completely romantic dinner set up, where we later saw a couple during sunset.

We enjoyed the sunset from a plastic pier that stretched far out into the sea.

We postponed our planned treehouse breakfast because it was closed, and instead, we had it at a neighboring hotel restaurant (also by the sea). Again, we had porridge and a delicious iced latte. With a cheap pickup taxi, we went to the ferry to the mainland.