Koh Phangan has forced me into holiday mode. I lie by the pool. Jump into the sea. Drink Chang Beer. Every now and then I wander off to find something to eat, unless I just grab something easy from 7-Eleven. Andy is either a good or a bad influence on me, depending on how you look at it. He never seems to have anywhere he needs to be, takes everything at a relaxed pace, and is incredibly easy to spend an evening talking to over a beer.

Meeting Point: The Pool

One afternoon we’re lying by the pool working our way through a “5 for 4” beer deal that I bought for us. We don’t really have a plan for the day, but we talk a bit about going to a nightclub later. While we’re lying there, one of the hostel staff walks over to a couple of girls sitting a little way from us. I overhear him asking two British travellers whether they want to buy tickets for a large festival happening that night. They’re not entirely convinced. The tickets are pretty expensive.

After the staff member leaves, we end up talking to the two Brits. They’re in their mid-twenties and have been travelling for ten weeks. We all agree that we’d like to experience one of the island’s many festivals, but tonight’s one seems overpriced. More or less the rest of the afternoon and evening disappears into beers, small talk and relaxing by the pool.

Almost as if we’d planned it in advance, we all get up around eight in the evening and decide to go out for dinner together. We find a Thai restaurant and order pad thai. Ruby and Hanna have a couple more days on Koh Phangan before continuing to Phuket. Their trip is almost over, with only a week left before they fly home to England. The conversation flows effortlessly for hours as we make our way from the restaurant to a small party hostel. Before we know it it’s one in the morning, and the hostel bar closed an hour ago.

The Last Open Nightclub

None of us are really ready to call it a night, so we head to the nightclub that’s still going full throttle. We stand outside for a moment but can’t really tell what’s happening inside. There’s an outdoor area with a bar that isn’t particularly busy. Apparently the real party is indoors, so we buy a couple of drinks and head inside.

It’s a dark room packed with people gathered around a raised stage where a large band is playing. The volume is absurd. I’m honestly not sure whether they’re playing music or whether we’ve just walked into eight people all going completely wild on separate instruments. I can see there’s a singer, but I have no idea what she’s singing or whether her microphone is even working. There’s a constant bass drum pounding away, just enough to make it possible to keep time with the music.

Apart from the music, the room is a blur of flashing lights, dancing people, waiters delivering drinks and clearing tables. In one corner is the bar, which somehow manages to both take orders and serve the right drinks despite the chaos.

After twenty minutes, I’ve had enough. The band leaves the stage and is replaced by a DJ. The noise hasn’t gone down at all, but now the spectacle of young Thais headbanging with their own instruments is gone as well. I step outside. My ears are ringing. The others join me soon afterwards. Without anyone saying it out loud, we all seem to agree that it’s time to get away from the noise machine.

Skinny-Dipping

I don’t know who suggested it, but someone suggested we go for a swim. Everyone immediately agrees that it’s a brilliant idea, and after a quick stop at 7-Eleven we head towards the beach.

As we leave 7-Eleven, a group of dogs in the parking lot become interested in us. A couple of them wander over. I’ve seen them around before, and one morning I watched a woman feeding them on the beach, so I’m fairly comfortable having them around. Even though they’re curious about us, they’re mostly busy chasing each other around. There are about six of them.

As we walk towards the beach, we’re escorted by the dogs. Apart from watching them, we haven’t really interacted with them. Hanna patted one that came over and sat down in front of her, but that’s about it. Even so, we’ve apparently become the most interesting thing happening in their nightlife. They follow us all the way to the beach. Some run ahead of us, while others walk alongside us as if we belong to them.

We reach the water, take off our clothes and leave them in a pile that’s now being guarded by a group of dogs. They don’t touch our things after we head into the water. They simply run around playing in the sand while we step into the dark sea. There’s a little light from the moon, but only enough to make out each other’s silhouettes. I guide us around the reef so we don’t end up stepping on large pieces of coral in the dark. The water is still warm even though the sun has gone down. The breeze, on the other hand, cools us down beautifully.

A Dog’s Best Friend

Hanna starts getting cold, so I head back in with her. Ruby and Andy are still enjoying themselves, so we leave them in the water. The dogs are still playing in the sand around our things. The friendliest ones wander over for scratches and attention. Hanna and I head back towards the hostel with the dogs following behind us. We settle into a couple of lounge chairs and continue talking while the dogs keep us company.

A couple of the white dogs practically throw themselves onto their backs and offer up their bellies if you so much as stroke them on the head. There’s also a brown dog that I decide to name Scooby. He climbs onto my lap. He nibbles at my clothes, but after a lengthy discussion I eventually convince him to stop. At least for five or ten minutes.

After spending some more time with the dogs, we decide to head back to 7-Eleven to buy a late-night snack. Naturally, the dogs come with us. I buy a small bag of dog food, and on the way back I feed them. Back at the hostel we settle into the lounge chairs once more, surrounded by a group of happy dogs, talking until morning.

It’s around half past six before Hanna finally looks at me and says she needs some sleep. I have to admit I’m running on very little energy myself, held together mostly by a desire to hold on to a strangely magical moment for just a little longer.

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