Koh Tao

We arrived in Koh Tao on a mission: to find a cheap, clean bungalow with a hammock and a view near a bit of a nightlife scene. Mission impossible? Never. However, it took some perseverance and sleuthing skills.

On arriving into the Mae Haad harbour by ferry from Koh Phagnan, we took a truck taxi into the south of the Island, to June Juea Beach. It was small and cute with just a few resorts, and our bungalow had a killer view – up a killer set of stairs.

The beach seemed a little too deserted and isolated for our tastes, so after settling in we went for an exploration walk up and over the hill to the next bay to see if there were more bars and restaurants to visit at night. Our prayers were answered – Chalok Baan Kao was a picturesque beach with everything we had hoped for. Ringed by large gray boulders, soft white sand and aquamarine waters, it also had more people with cool little places to hang out.

Ben spotted a perfect bungalow with a large patio, hammock and an amazing view of the bay, and after confirming with the owners at Taraporn Restaurant that it was available, we headed back to our beach with plans of moving there the next day. That night we chilled out at our secluded spot, with a drink at the funky little bar on the sand.

The next day we made the final hike down the steep stairs to our bungalow (thank goodness!) and headed over the hill to our new abode. There we spent the next few days fully enjoying the hammock on our patio and relaxing on the beach.

We would venture into the small town for our meals, and hang out at one of the very cool beach bars, Babaloo, at night. The owners put a very creative effort into the hangout area, with funny details like a microwave fish bowl and glow-in-the-dark décor. We spent a night there giggling away while exploring all the funny little features.

Every night one of the locals working at the bar would put on a fire show – it seems like all Thai are really good at playing with fire!

After three days of bliss, we packed up and headed north to Sairee Beach for the next phase of our Koh Tao adventure: Patricia’s parents, Paulo and Lucila, were arriving for two weeks of Thailand fun!!

We arrived at our home away from home for the next nine days, Coral Grand Resort, and were shown to a great bungalow right on the beach - pure luxury. Thanks Mama and Papa Branco!! As we settled in to wait for the arrival of our sponsors we received word that their luggage got left behind in Tokyo and they would be waiting in Bangkok for one more day. We made the best of our entrapment in paradise and when they arrived the next day we greeted them with much excitement and enthusiasm!! It was so nice to be with family again, we enjoyed every minute of it, with lots of fun and laughter.

We spent the time with a mix of activity and relaxation. We got our first day started off right with a yoga class at Shambala, a pretty little studio with excellent instructors. We ended up going there almost every morning, enjoying the feeling of getting back in touch with our flexible side.

Paulo’s goal was to complete his Advanced Open Water Diver course and he invited us to join him in the underwater adventure. We went to various dive sights, including a shipwreck as part of our deep dive experience.

After completing our course (yay!!!) Paulo treated us to a fun dive, which also happened to be his 100th dive – congratulations, dad!!!! If we keep up this pace of dive instruction we’ll likely end up as super secret underwater ninjas or perhaps grow a set of gills.

It was an incredible experience to share with him, and we look forward to many more amazing dives in the future.

If you are wondering what Lucila was doing with her time while we were on the two day course, no worries – she got into full relaxation mode with reading, yoga and daily massages – one day even two hours in a row!! We love Thailand prices. Patricia joined Lucila whenever there was no scuba diving and achieved complete bliss with one hour oil massages to the sound of the waves, the feel of the ocean breeze, and a nice cup of tea afterwards while looking out over the view.

Not surprisingly, the massage ladies were very sad to say goodbye to Lucila at the end of the trip, who had become a regular customer during our stay.

One day we put on our walking shoes and hiked from Sairee beach along the coast, with the final destination of Chalok Baan Kao, where we had stayed previously. It was a beautiful walk, over boardwalks and through resorts, with gorgeous views of the water. We made frequent stops for lunch, pictures and swimming breaks.

Another day we took a taxi across the island into the picturesque Tanote bay, with a beautiful beach for swimming, surrounded by boulders, and a cute restaurant complete with little ducklings wandering about. Never grow up little ducklings - you’ll end up on a plate!

Meals were always a fun affair, and one of our favourites for lunch and coffee was a laid back restaurant by our bungalow where we…well…laid back. The comfy pillows encouraged a resting pose, and we spent hours just sitting back and catching up with good chats.

For snacks we would have our favourite treat, barbequed corn from a friendly little Thai man who would grill it right up on the beach on his portable grill. We got to like his smiling face so much that by the end we would order food even without being hungry!

The Thai people on the islands were all incredibly friendly, and with a “Sabai dee ka” and little salute with hands in prayer pose, we felt very welcome indeed. As the end of our time on the islands drew near, we made sure to enjoy every single second of the beautiful weather, beaches and restaurants.

All the rich, spicy food may not have been too good on our stomachs, as by the end we all got a little sick, but thankfully after a day of taking it easy we were back on our feet and ready to head to Bangkok for four days of big city fun.

Bangkok, get ready, here comes the Branco-Mills family!!

Koh Phagnan

We left Vietnam on a high of adventure and wonderful experiences, and were looking forward to winding down a bit on the island beaches of the southern gulf of Thailand. We flew into Bangkok from Hanoi and then took a domestic flight into Koh Samui, the largest and most developed of the island chain that includes Koh Phagnan and Koh Tao. We knew that Thailand would be beautiful just by the flower-lined pathways and fancy bathroom aquarium that greeted us at the airport.

The plan was to begin our adventure on Koh Phagnan to explore the beaches and then make our way onwards to Koh Tao. Patricia’s parents Paulo and Lucila were to meet us in Koh Tao, travelling half way across the world for some fun diving and beach adventures, with a final stop in Bangkok for some shopping (!Patricia)(~Ben). We had fifteen days to explore before they arrived, and we did so with pleasure.

Given Koh Samui’s refined edge and large resorts, we opted for the mix of relaxation and party on offer at beautiful Koh Phagnan. Based on a tip from a cool couple we met in Zanzibar, when we arrived from the ferry we hopped on one of the many local “taxis” (basically a truck with benches and sometimes a roof added on the back, a fun experience on its own!!), and headed up north to the beach called Mae Haat.

We checked into a super laid back resort called the Royal Orchid, where for 300 Bahts (9 USD) a night we stayed in a small, basic bungalow with fan and cold shower with a view of the bay and neighbouring Island. The porch had a hammock, and we were sold.




The beach nearby was very pretty with shade from the trees and blue water with reefs for snorkelling. We soon developed a routine where every morning we would go to breakfast at a nearby restaurant on the beach, having a coffee and looking out over the water. Since this place had the best food on offer, we would return for dinner, enjoying the Thai cuisine and slowly developing a taste for the spicy-ness. We visited many beaches on Koh Phagnan but this ended up being one of our favourites.

Some of the days we spent just lounging on the beach, always with a break for a fresh coconut, and Patricia would treat herself to a heavenly Thai massage, six dollars for one hour (yay!). In the evening we would head out for a jog, braving the heat to get a bit of exercise after doing nothing all day. One of our jogs took us to the next harbour town, Chaloklum, and another to the nearby beach, Haad Salad (whose name always made us grin). Both of these beaches had whiter sand and were more developed than Mae Haat, and we were treated to some amazing sunsets.

Despite the exploration, one of our favourite activities was just hanging out on the porch, chatting and relaxing in the shade, surrounded by swaying palm trees.

Koh Phagnan is known for its moon parties – most famously the Full Moon Party - but some entrepreneurial spirits also started the Half Moon and Black Moon parties which have developed a good DJ lineup and a strong following. We decided to embrace the full island experience and left our place in the north to head down to the party zone in the south for a night in order to attend the Black Moon party and check out the Full Moon Party beach of Haad Rin (minus the 10,000 revellers). We stayed in a quiet bungalow near to the rowdy Coral Resort where there was a “warm up” party for Black Moon, giving us a nice chance to meet some people and slap on some glow-in-the-dark body paint. After making our way through the entrance path and down to the beach, we were impressed by the decorations that came alive in the black lighting to create a full neon world.

We danced all night to the music put on by local and international DJ’s, sweating it up with the rest of the crowd until the early hours of the morning. It definitely made us think of and miss all of our fun crew back home, who would have loved the party and danced the night away with us!!

Heading south for two days also gave us a chance to explore Haad Rin Nai and Haad Rin Nok, where there is a small town with some shopping and cheap good local food, and the big white sand beach. We had some delicious Pad Thai at a local eatery where as usual the whole family hangs out, alternately working in the restaurant, taking care of the children or just relaxing. We also got a chance to play some two-on-two beach volleyball, really fun and challenging (even though we were playing against two young Thai kids – they were really good!!).

Altogether we spent ten days on Koh Phagnan, and we took the opportunity to visit many of the beaches on the island with long walks along the concrete and dirt roads. Everyone and their grandmother were using scooters to get around, but on our first day we unfortunately had to assist a guy who had just fallen off his motorbike, and the nasty injuries were enough to turn us off completely from renting scooters. Because of the many steep hills on the island, we got laughed at when we asked whether there were any mountain bikes for rental (the answer was “No! haha” each time). Fortunately, we really enjoy walking as this is the best way to get to know an area, but we definitely got a lot of curious stares along the way as we were passed on all sides.

One day we set out to the neighbouring beach of Haad Yao, which took almost three hours to reach as we missed the direct route. The beach had a nice long stretch of white sand, lots of resorts and restaurants, and we scooped a few loungers to hang out in for the afternoon.

After taking a day to recover from our long walk, the next day we set out to Bottle Beach in the northeast of the island, which at present can only be reached by boat or by foot over what was described as a “dirt trail” in the guidebook, beginning at the end of the concrete road. Most people take the boat from the nearest town, Chaloklum, but we wanted to get a bit of exercise so we decided to hoof it all the way. Picturing an easy walk in the forest, by the time we had arrived at Bottle Beach it had taken us 2.5 hours of hard trekking up and down hills, and the “dirt trail” was more like a steep, never-ending path up roots and rocks to the top of the hill before descending even more steeply down the other side. The path was well marked by plastic bottles so thankfully we didn’t get lost, and we were often rewarded for the hard work with beautiful views of the ocean.

It felt incredibly good to finally arrive at Bottle Beach, and the white stretch of sand with cute little beachside restaurants made it worth the hike. After lounging in the shade for a bit, a storm hit, so we hung out in one of the restaurants to enjoy watching the downpour from a dry spot.

When the sky cleared we took a long-tailed boat back to Chaloklum, and with the sun shining it was a beautiful ride…Ben was giggling all the way because our captain was sporting the latest fashion in helmets – must be good protection against the water and sun, we guess!

We had planned on having dinner in the fishing village of Chaloklum, and beforehand enjoyed some appetizers and a beer looking over the splendid beach when another downpour drove us for shelter.

After more than a week in Koh Phagnan, we decided to head over to Koh Tao to explore some of the less known beaches before meeting up with Patricia’s parents. Pack up again, and onwards!

Sapa

Taking the overnight train after using so many buses in so many different countries was a very comfortable and fun experience. Despite the institutional paint colours, the cabin was spacious with four comfortable bunks and air conditioning. We also lucked out with our bunk mates, two friendly German medical students who were quick with a smile and fun to talk to while the train chugged away to our next destination – the rolling hills in northern Vietnam.

We arrived in Lao Cai early morning and were driven by van for the 1 hour climb through a winding route that led to the picturesque village of Sapa. We would stay one night while working that day to bring our trekking adventures to life. Our guesthouse (Luong Thuy Family Guesthouse) was more what we had expected – friendly service, cool little rooftop restaurant and amazing view of the emerald-green rice paddies covering the hills, a distinctive feature of Sapa.

We perused the streets for a tasty and affordable breakfast and settled on the White Lotus hotel buffet, a simple decision that led to an incredible next four days. While sipping away on our coffee we noticed that the front desk guy was very friendly, always smiling and offering advice to guests so we decided to approach him about trekking options. We immediately took a liking to Phi and after his careful listening he laid out a great plan at a great price that would see him act as our guide over the next four days and three nights of homestays with villagers in the surrounding mountains. With all of our “hard work” already completed during breakfast we took advantage of the rest of the day to explore Sapa’s colourful markets and people.

The most visible ethnic group in Sapa are certainly the Black Hmong wearing their distinctive dark clothing with detailed embroidery, amazing silver jewellery and woven baskets carrying food for market or souvenirs for tourists. They are a very, very persistent group who will follow foreigners all around town if given even the slightest opening. After all of our traveling it really wasn’t a problem for us, but it became quite hilarious to watch the Hmong waiting just outside hotel lobbies for the unwitting wide-eyed tourists to emerge.

After lunch, we took a walk down to Cat-Cat village (Black Hmong) to see the sights and the small waterfall. It was a reasonably long descent and given the option to ride back up the mountain on motorcycle for about a dollar, we eagerly hopped on board. Patricia’s driver was a real speed demon and although she was thrilled (mostly by arriving in one piece) it is likely to have been a once in a lifetime event for her. One dollar well spent!

In celebration of still being very alive, we grabbed a set menu on a patio with local Lao Cai beer to wash it down.

The next morning we arose eager to begin the trek and enjoyed one last look over the valley from the guesthouse restaurant. Nice breakfast spot!

After meeting with Phi and setting out on the winding dirt trail, the first trickle of sweat began, slowly turning into a waterfall that didn’t stop for the next four days! Seriously, this was the most we’ve ever sweat in our lives. Fortunately the fantastic views and local experience that Phi provided had us entertained and amazed throughout. We sometimes had local company on our walks and as we made our way along we passed by the many stages of development of their colourful hemp-based homemade clothes.

Experiencing the daily happenings of life around each bend was thrilling – it was definitely in our best interest to clear the trail occasionally for the local children and their oversized transportation. In their younger years the kids are responsible for taking care of the buffalo, an incredible sight to see as they have their way with the big beasts.

We spent each of the three nights with a different local family from various ethnic groupings found in the mountainous north of Vietnam. Each was incredibly generous in their hospitality and in their sharing of copious amounts of rice wine during and after each special dinner. The first night was spent with Mo’s family in Ta Van village (Dzay ethnic group). At the end of our trekking day we headed down to the river for an amazing swimming session and relaxation station on the rocks. So refreshing!

That night after dinner and the plentiful rice wine, we trudged off to the Bamboo bar co-owned by a Dutch man and local Vietnamese lady who had done a nice job in setting up the atmosphere and stellar background music. We met their two young staff who the owners not only provide with work, but also sponsor in school in the hopes of helping them and their families get ahead in life.

Our sleeping accommodations were usually mattresses with bug nets laid out on the top floor of a wooden house built on stilts, with the family living on the main floor, their rooms separated by curtains. When it comes time for a family to build a house, the whole community will pitch in and help over the years to complete the construction.

Another feature of the adventure that made it memorable was participating in chores with the homestay families. They live a simple life, but exude happiness with a strong sense of family and community - very inspirational in their perspectives.

Patricia turned out to be pretty adept in a rural kitchen and soon learned how to make homemade spring rolls, stir frys and soups – always over the fire. Although language was a barrier at times, the offer of assistance was universally welcomed and Ben jumped in to help with the chore of removing corn from cob for pig feed. Unfortunately his hands were unused to village work and the ladies young and old had a good laugh at the blisters he endured throughout the process. Nice try city boy!

Day two saw us trek by more incredible scenery of rice terraces and mountains as we descended to the village of Ban Ho, where we would stay with Quoc’s family for the night (Tay ethnic group). Remembering the feeling of refreshment we felt the day before, we asked Phi about a swimming spot nearby. He brought us to near the local waterfall where a natural rock pool provided protection from the fast moving current and also great opportunities for cliff jumping. It was a very picturesque spot.

On day three we trundled through a village with the ladies of the area who had just been to a town meeting. Hustle and bustle on the streets! We also got to see the local clinic and were given a tour by the welcoming staff of the basic provisions and services provided. This day involved a lot of slipping and sliding in the mud along the steep trails.

Phi spent almost the entire time leading Patricia by the hand while Ben skidded and hopped along behind with the familiar and always well provisioned red backpack. Our valiant sherpa finally blemished his perfect record on a particularly steep section when losing his footing he managed to flip over to protect the clothing attached to the exterior of the backpack and as he slid down the hill he delivered a perfect strike to Patricia’s feet. She was bowled over and the two came to a slimey stop. Fortunately both clothing and trekkers were unharmed during the making of this episode.

Thanh Phu was our final stop that day and a homestay with the Nam family (Xa Pho ethnic group). As swimming was not an option in this village, we spent some time walking through town and then relaxed in the shade in front of their home. The tiny local kids provided some great entertainment as they strolled through proudly with their prize for the day – an enormous jack fruit.

That night we sat down with Phi and the family to quite the spread including the very delicious plantain, fish and sour rice soup. We got the recipe, but making your own sour rice seemed a tad bit dangerous without the right know how. As usual the rice wine began, but this time it really didn’t stop. Our hosts were in a particularly good mood and after polishing off more rice wine that night than water during the day we were presented with the prized “reserve”. This was a brown colour liquid that was derived from a type of root. It is apparently expensive and only comes out on very special occasions. With the host offering for us to stay for weeks and even months with their family without having to pay a thing it was clearly a very special occasion!

How many times we said “Mot-Hai-Ba….ZO!” (1-2-3 Cheers!) that evening was a mystery, until the next morning, when it was clear that it had been said too much. Patricia, Ben and their host, Nam, were feeling the effects and so the next day became a lazy affair. Phi knew that we would be taking the overnight train back to Hanoi that night and so he wisely suggested that everyone take advantage to get some extra napping. And so our last day was spent enjoying the company of our host family and the sounds and sights of the village, watching people perform their crafts.

We can’t thank Phi enough for arranging an experience that was more than we could have ever hoped for.

As the amazing engine of fate would have it, our German friends hopped aboard the same train car as us despite having gone to visit a completely different town on a completely different schedule. We smiled at the coincidence and shared stories from our bunks as the train bumped along back to big city Hanoi.