Exploring Koh Pha Ngan by motorbike

After the lazy day yesterday, James & I were determined to make the most of today. We awoke up a reasonable hour, ate breakfast, and headed up the dirt lane to rent 125cc motorbikes. The cost of the rental was about $5US/day (150 baht). They didn't come with any petrol, so we cruised up the road until we found someone with a barrel of petrol outside their house. The cost was 40 baht/liter (about $1.30/liter). For those of you wondering how many liters are in a gallon: 3.785 liters/gallon. While we were riding around the island, I noticed an old temple without any signage - so we pulled in and had a look around. There was an older monk tending the grounds, but that was the only person that we saw. Maybe everyone else was taking a nap to studying somewhere... We snapped a few photos & then hopped back onto the motorbikes.

By this time, my stomach was starting to growl. We stopped at a roadside cafe, where I had fried rice & a beer for $3US. After gorging myself (which become customary at every meal), I waddled back onto my motorbike & we went in search of a waterfall.

The place was busy - there were about 20 motorbikes in the parking lot & several tuk tuks. Most of the people were near the bottom of the falls, just hanging out or swimming. We decided that since we had plenty of time, we would try to climb to the top. There were several nice pools along the way, and so we were moving a a leisurely pace. By 4:30, we turned around without seeing the top. The sun would set by 6pm, and we wanted to return to our bungalow before dark. I didn't take any photos, but there were large potholes on the paved roads, and washed out areas on the dirt roads. We wanted to avoid any nighttime collisions with the uneven road surface.

In the evening, we ventured across the sand bridge to Ko Ma. Each day during low tide, a small bridge would form as the water pulled backwards into the sea. We had seen people walking over the day before, and we decided to see what was over there. We found a killer restaurant - I don't remember the name and I don't know if it had a name. It was the only restaurant on the tiny island. The food was decent and the atmosphere was spectacular. The tables were low, so you sat on the floor on small pillows (it reminded me of home - with the exception of the warm breeze & the sound of the ocean waves). The entire restaurant was made from wood, and there were no windows or doors. Perhaps the best feature was music - they were playing chill lounge music, which added to the atmosphere of hammocks, eating on the floor, and Thai dudes with dreadlocks. I regret no taking any photos - I always went over to the restaurant without my camera or bag. We would return each evening for the next 4 nights...