It is sad, really sad, but my time in Thailand is coming to its end. In only three days I will fly back to Germany and leave this fantastic land behind. Maybe it is this thought or yesterday’s experiences that gave me one of my best moments—at least of my island trip—today.

Yesterday I did an all-day long trip to the Ang Thong marine park. It was really nice. We went snorkeling at a lagoon, did a short kayaking trip and had nice lunch on the boat that brought us to to the park. The nicest moment of the tour was just at the end of it. We stopped at the visitor center. From that we had the opportunity to hike to a viewpoint that has—according to my travel guide—one of the most beautiful views in Thailand. So I did not hesitate for a second and went there. It again cost me a great amount of sweat and right before the end some climbing skills, but the view was definitely worth that.

View over the Ang Thong marine park.

While this tour was a good experience, at the same time it was really not an individual experience. On our boat alone were more than 50 people and we were by far not the only boat there. Just when I came back from the viewpoint all other boats had already left and we were more or less alone on a beautiful beach which made sure that we had a nice ending of our trip.

Today I started another hiking trip, this time to the next beach in the north. It is called Bottle Beach and is supposed to be one of the nicest beaches on the island. I really enjoyed this two hour trip as I could walk by my own pace, stop or take pictures just as I liked. After arriving there I was not quite exhausted enough to go into the water straight away, so I looked for another destination. I found a nearby viewpoint on my map and decided that this would just be the right amount of workout I would need.

The ascent to the viewpoint was harder and steeper than I thought, so I arrived on the top after half an hour quite exhausted. What awaited me there, however, was simply the nicest thing I experienced on Ko Phangan. The viewpoint was just a big rock you had to climb on. Sitting on that rock I had a magnificent view to Bottle Beach with nothing but air underneath my feet and wind around my head.

View over Bottle Beach on Ko Phangan.

On the way back to the beach I was in quite a blissful mood knowing that I just had the best ending I possibly could have had. And you know that you should leave right at the best moment…

Now back to the title of this article: Which of the views do you prefer? I already made my decision. And this time, it not all about what you can see in the pictures.

View over the Than Sadet beach on Ko Phangan.

No, that is not a picture from a postcard. I actually have been on that beach today. And with that, welcome to Ko Phangan!

A couple of days ago I found a bungalow resort that had just one room left, so I did not think twice and booked that room. The resort is located on the northwestern part of the island on the Thong Nai Pan Yai beach. It is not on the beach you see in the picture but one beach to the north. As it is located at the end of the beach it is very quiet around here which I really enjoy.

After a long and exhausting bus and ferry combination I arrived on the island yesterday in the afternoon. On that day I did not do much apart from taking a short swim in the sea and then going to bed early. Today, however, I had one of the nicest days so far. After breakfast I started a hiking trip to the next beach to the south (the one in the picture). That took me about an hour and a great amount of sweat. During the hike I stopped at a small bar on the hill that had this magnificent view and also a delicious mango shake. I then continued my walk to a series of nearby waterfalls. They seem to be quite famous around here, because several kings, including the current one, visited them and left there signatures carved in stones there.

As soon as I finished the small sightseeing program I proceeded to the beach, took a swim and then had a spicy mango salad at a restaurant. After that I felt refreshed enough to go all the way back. On that way dark clouds started to appear in the distance so I stepped it up a notch. Just when I was ten meters away from my bungalow it started to rain. This is what I call perfect timing!

So far it really has been great here. The temperatures are just right: Hot and sunny during the day so that you enjoy taking a swim in the sea. In the evening it gets a bit colder so that you do not really need an A/C in the bungalow (which I do not have anyways). For tomorrow I booked a tour to the Ang Thong area, a marine national park, that will include snorkeling and more swimming on exiting beaches. Now sun comes out again, so I might go for another swim. See you soon!