August 18: We have arrived on the small paradise island of Koh Phangan. It is located about 3 hours from the mainland by ferry and 20 minutes from the neighboring island of Koh Samui by speed boat. The temperature feels slightly cooler than in Bangkok because the fresh sea breeze continuously blows with moderately strong winds.

We are hungry after bus and boat trips. We enter the first restaurant we find. On the way in, Sabina asks (in Swedish) “Should we sit upstairs or downstairs?” Before any of us can answer, we hear a familiar tongue behind the bar answer (also in Swedish) “here you can sit exactly where you want”. There sits another Swede, not as pale as us, but still a fellow countryman whom we can ask with great interest about what he does there. It turns out that the man had gone tired of the squirrel wheel of 9-5 work and mortgage. In order not to become bitter about life, he had chosen to move here and do something else. In our opinion, a pretty wise decision that maybe more people should dare to make, before they become bitter about life.

With food in our stomachs and water bought at 7-Eleven, we jump on the bed of a Toyota pickup that will take us to our next accommodation at Bottle Beach. The first part of the car journey goes calmly and pleasantly, we see more and more greenery and the roads become narrower. After a while it is time to change cars. Where we are going, the taxi cannot drive, four-wheel drive is needed. Said and done. After just a few minutes in the new car we understand the reason. The road, which consists of packed sand/mud, is bumpy, winding and the hills up and down are very steep! We bounce around in the back of the truck for a good distance before we arrive and see the sea.

The picture that meets us when we get out of the car and make our way down to the beach is like something out of a travel magazine. The beach is long and white, palm trees sway at the edges, the sea is turquoise and in the background you can see green, lush mountains. A paradise on earth. Here we will be able to relax and just enjoy!

There are two hotels on the beach and another one that is being built. We have booked a ”family villa” at one of them. The villa has the jungle in the background and a short walk down to the beach. From our villa we can see monkeys in the trees, lizards climbing around the houses and the occasional stray dog ​​running around. The villa actually only consists of one room with two double beds, a bathroom and a loft with another bed. Enough space for the five of us. Out on the veranda there is a hammock where you can lie and enjoy the warmth and the sea breeze.

//Sabdreas