Koh Phangan: North west serenity

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I've been on Phangan a couple of days now. I certainly picked the perfect location (by accident though). Caught the ferry over from Koh Samui, ended up being seated next to a couple of Canadian guys. I swear if I'd lit a match the whole boat would have gone up. They reeked of stale beer. Anyway all nose hairs and long legs....funny. I also saw my first ladyboy. Hair in bun, eyebrows perfectly plucked and tissue-stuffed boobs to boot...When I finally arrived in Phangan my ride seemed to have gone astray and I ended up flagging a pick-up and was eventually dropped at the end of an unsealed road.....There wasn't a soul in sight.....

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I heard it before I saw it - the gentle lapping of waves against the shore. Up ahead were three perfect rows of rustic Thai-style bungalows  surrounded by a neatly clipped lawn and small tropical garden beds....When I finally stood on the shore of Haad Salaad in Koh Phangan's north west I was agog. What a place.

gobsmackingly pretty from its aqualine water, right down to its lush tropical toes

A swathe of white sand fringed by swaying coconut palms, and water reminiscent of Blue Lagoon. Anyway I'm feeling decidedly Brook Shields-ish, and my skin is now more cafe au lait than pasty beige. The beach is close to a kilometre long, and about 150 mts out there is a reef. Unfortunately at the end of the monsoon the water is still a little murky, but have still managed to see some marine life. The parrot fish are gorgeous! At any one time I've only seen a handful of people in the water or snorkelling. I have managed to get three more nights at another resort. This time I'm in pole position - absolute beach front with a hammock slung enticingy across the front deck. This place truly is gobsmackingly pretty from its aqualine water, right down to its lush tropical toes.