Feb 7-18 2023 |
Set off from Chumphon for 3-hour highway drive to Don Sak (near Surathani), to catch the Raja car ferry (also renowned as the stingy backpacker ferry, where you can save a few baht by travelling twice as long, or something like that). It was good to be heading back to KPG after about 28 years. And as expected, things had changed, though not as dramatically as expected.
Haad Rin beach is still the same - stunning - though there's more concrete and development, but no MacDonald's or anything horrifying like that, as I was expecting. Tommy's - the place I stayed on my first trip to KPG in 1992, where there was a single communal shower, and the staff were so out of it on "something" that they couldn't understand I was trying to pay my bill after 1 week, and where some thoughtful person fed the pet monkey a psychedelic - is now a $75 per night resort with a waterfall in the garden. In general, the prices on KPG are really high, not great value IMO, and accommodation can be a challenge - I moved many times as the places only offered 2-3 days due to pre-bookings. Unfortunately, the once vibrant KPG rave vibe didn't seem to be there anymore, certainly not in Haad Rin, though I was told it is still happening at secluded beaches accessible by boat only, where they fly in DJs from Berlin and the likes for extended bookings. I rode my bike around the island, and the other side seemed pretty cool, with a new-age yoga vibe.
After a few days on KPG, I left my bike and some bags at the resort (Apple AirTags stashed therein) and caught a people-only ferry to Koh Tao - my first-ever visit to the island. Gotta say, KT is impressive, with a scene more akin to KPG in its glory days, but also very quiet. The stay and 6 dives with Hydronauts was superb (see separate update coming in the Dive section of my blog).
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