The short ferry ride to Ko Pha Ngan was awesome - beautiful day, top deck on the boat and a sea breeze - it was hold on to your hats all around...
When we arrived at our resort, after welcome drinks, we were taken up to our apartment in a tuk tuk - the Panviman was set into the clifftop, with lots of little hills and dips and all of the accommodation set apart from each other. The kids loved the fact that you needed a tuk tuk to get around...
Even better was that they had upgraded us to the jacuzzi suite - it was absolutely mint, a huge, modern 2 storey apartment with the balcony set high over the bay and an uninterrupted view of the sea beyond.
The landscape was really similar to the Abel Tasman with the bush coming right down to huge rocks jutting out of the sea.
We set out to explore the resort and have some lunch, then wandered around to the pool and back for late afternoon sun at the beach. Pretty happy with the serenity....quite a change from Chaweng beach!
The next day we woke to another beautiful day so after a great breakfast buffet (go the banana rotis with condensed milk) it was more of the same, lots of pool time and then a tuk tuk to Thong Nai Pan Yai for the day where we soaked it up and finished with a family massage listening to the surf....
Then it was home to enjoy sundowners on the balcony and chill ...
The next day, after more of the same we made it to the village just outside the resort, Thong Nai Pan Noi and tried out another restaurant for lunch, where the kids discovered strawberry and oreo smoothies.....then hung at the beach until it was pinacolada time back at our beach.
We even managed to cut some shapes on the sand after dinner at the Stone Beach restaurant when the musicians played Sweet Caroline, Dancing Queen & a couple of other beauties
The following day was the much-awaited storm - we had picked a good day to do the Thai Cooking course and managed to rustle up a pretty good Thom Kha Gai, thai fish cakes, red curry and Thom Yum Gai which we then shared with the kids for lunch.....Bill's red curry took a lot of muscle in that mortar & pestle...I'd love to believe we will replicate these dishes at home but chances are we'll just get thai takeout...
After that lunch it was time for a work-out at the outdoor gym.. then down to the village for local fruit shakes
Our last day was fine again so we hit the pool where there was high excitement watching a green snake stalk a gecko and then hang around the trees above the pool, then wandered into town to have lunch.
Later we made it up to the view point and the Strait of the Cliff for some final selfies and last views.
Then it really was Final Night Dinner in the village where we took in all the sights and smells before heading homeward.
I never made it around the cove to Bottle Beach where Bec and I had spent those lovely languid weeks all those years ago. Next time....
It was an early start for our homeward bound extravaganza: Van, boat, van, plane, plane, taxi. We savoured the last of the warm wind on the ferry and before we knew it we were at Ko Samui airport, luggage checked and ready to go.
Then all of a sudden we were at the pool in Singapore swimming and shouting in a tropical storm!
Harvey says: Ko Pha Ngan was the perfect way to end our massive holiday. It was a nice tropical island, isolated from the hustle and bustle of the modern age. It was very traditional with lots of beach huts. We didn't stay in a beach hut though, ours was more like a mansion! It was massive - on two storeys, it had one jacuzzi bath, one power shower and 4 beds - also with a view overlooking an amazing bay. We were five minutes walk from the beach and the pool and went down there every day. It was an amazing time at Panviman, I loved our stay there. I'm really going to miss being away on holiday.
Zoe says: I loved Ko Pha Ngan so much because it was sooo sooo hot. We stayed at such a nice resort called Panviman. The breakfast buffet was the best one I have ever tasted - the thing I liked about it was the condensed milk and chocolate sauce and waffles. The pool was quite cool and we even saw a snake and we found the best dinner place ever with oreo chocolate and strawberry smoothies. I was sad to leave Ko Pha Ngan.
Amelia says: Ko Pha Ngan was such a nice place to have our last stay because it was like our whole trip was leading up to this hotel - our apartment in the resort was the best one on our whole trip. It had a balcony looking over the spectacular view of the ocean and it was so huge - it even had a downstairs. One of the places that we went to dinner had oreo yoghurt and strawberry milkshakes - man were they delish! Our pool was really nice - we once saw a wild snake slithering beside the pool. We saw it trying to suck up a lizard! The tuk tuks are a great invention because you could never get carsick on a tuk tuk because they are so open and fun - they are specially designed for going around the curvy roads of Panviman. I was so sad to leave Thailand because it had been such a nice break from Winter and medieval cities. The breakfast buffet was soooo delicious - my favourite thing was condensed milk and banana pancakes - that is my new favourite food but I don't think Mum can make them as good as they can. I wish we could have stayed there longer.
