On the rocks (no, not booze)

We flew to Koh Samui on Tuesday evening and got a room at Mae Mai Home on the Mae Nam beach there. Apparently the caretaker was confused with the time we would be arriving and had it in his mind that it would be 1800 hours instead of 8:00pm. So, when we arrived at 9:00pm, he was saying we were rude for waking him up out of his sleep. Once he calmed down and realized his mistake, he was great. He showed us to our room of two twin beds and a rollaway cot which Lisa termed the "diaper bed". It was a cot mattress covered in plastic, so every time I moved throughout the night, it made a great deal of noise. Anyway, all we were doing was getting up the next day to travel by ferry to Koh Pha Ngan.

Unfortunately, the ferry we wanted to take was not running due to the rough seas, but there was a backup plan. We took the high-speed catamaran to Thong Sala and then met our taxi to take us on a one-hour, jarring ride through the jungle to Thong Sadet. Better buckle up for safety, Flash!

There we checked in at Mai Pen Rai bungalows - the place Staci has affectionately called On the Rocks for three years now. It is an appropriate name given that the bungalows are literally carved partially out of the rocks surrounding them. Our bungalow #30 consisted of a queen bed and a loft with two twin beds. The bathroom is a work of art! We spent an hour that afternoon and all the next day on the small beach there. At night, we would climb the rocks to eat at Silver Cliff restaurant. That was a workout, although well worth it given they served the best Tom Kha Gai soup that I have had to date.

The next morning, Friday the 14th at 9:30am, we boarded the Thong Nai Pon longtail boat ferry at the beach there which took us directly back to Koh Samui. On the way we passed Haad Rin, a very nice beach where tons of people were gathering to celebrate the half moon that evening with a huge "magic" fest. Even though our stay on Koh Pha Ngan was short, it was well worth the trek there.