16. The (Koh) Tao of Banana Rock

After the madness of Koh Phangan I needed a break. A break from the partying, the people, the noise and commotion. The boat to Koh Tao was a short journey and there were plenty of amazing small islands to watch as they passed by the scenery. Windblown and awestruck once again we hit land and I met up with a friend Derek who had been working on the island as a DJ for several months.

Derek not working

He showed me the hotel he was staying at and I snapped up a room right across from a hard-court soccer pitch which would be hosting a tournament featuring players from Koh Tao and other islands of the region.

These guys were good

Mr. J's

I was bottom left, Derek was by the blue bin

After getting settled I took a look around and quickly decided this was far more my speed. It was in places like Koh Tao that really allow me to reflect on what an incredible trip this has been. From the giant and sheer cliff walls of Phuket with its incredible views, the atmosphere of islands like this and Phi Phi, even the craziest moments of Phangan were awe-inspiring, any backpacker or traveller looking for a soul cleansing journey will likely find whatever it is they want in Thailand.

And then Derek told me about Banana Rock.

No words

I wasn't sure this place existed until I actually saw it, but it took a 20 minute ride on a largely hilly and winding road to get there. I only dropped the bike once on a steep dirt road but managed to save it before metal met earth. Scaring my passenger enough (another Canadian with some stirring words tattooed on her thigh) to walk the rest of the 50 metres, we arrived at what looked like just another slightly off the beaten path resort area.

Words, thigh

Unbelievable view

I had figured out earlier that if you walk into any resort or unfamiliar area like you have been there all along they won't pay any attention. The minute you start asking stupid questions and raising a scene you will be asked for a key or room number or anything similar. This has come in handy getting into a few different resort pools and places I probably shouldn't have been in the first place.

I don't think this type of elusiveness was even needed here. We walked through the resort and approached a tree-house like structure at the back, looking like it was built straight up from the ocean on stilts from the trees in the close area. We climbed up to the second of three levels where there were a few tables and a help yourself type of fridge with beer, pop, and juice. They had a small bar area with staff (I think?) that prepared some fairly special coffees and other assorted drinks. Our group, which included four Canadians and three Germans settled into the living room area for the day.

As we alternated between climbing up to the top level to "drink tea" or "coffee" and relaxing in our cozy little hut we watched the sun set on another perfect day. These types of moments were the reason I took the journey. The blissful high of the ocean breeze wafted through us as the night melted in and everything would fade to black once again.

I'll be back Ko Tao,
Daniel Double-u

Mr J's philosophy (Click on picture to enlarge)

Sounds legit

To: You

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro" - Hunter S. Thompson 

You meet all kinds of people travelling. 90% of the time they are the best types of people. Resourceful backpackers full of knowledge and wisdom. Artists, thinkers, philosophers, and folks that generally know how to have a good time. 

In the two months of travelling so far I have met some from all walks of life. Several are on a more spiritual trip, looking for answers that their previous environment couldn't provide. There are those that just needed a break or a vacation as we all do at some point, without the intermissions from life the monotony can start to chisel away your being from the inside. I know a few people who desperately need to escape. Certainly, I did. There are those seeking adventure and the adrenaline junkies who get their fix in the skies, mountains, streets and waters of the world. 

There may be aspects of each that everyone fits into at some point in our lives. Humans are entirely strange and this does not exclude myself or you or anybody. Every damn one of our kind is messed up to an extent, there are just varying degrees to which we are willing to admit this to ourselves. 

It is this strangeness that makes us awesome and if we all thought and acted in a "normal" manner this world would be an incredibly boring place to be. People are beautiful, and although there may be some moments where they act in a heinous and horrible fashion, the experience in life comes from the unpredictable and unexpected. If we choose to embrace the weird and random moments, everything becomes much more vibrant and interesting. 

This is the most important lesson gained from my trip so far. Accept the strange, welcome the weird and understand the random. We all have weaknesses and strengths, it is how we navigate the twists and turns of our shared experience that make this crazy journey one worth taking.  

To all the friends I've met along the way, not just on this trip but the whole way, you are most likely amazing. There may have been times where we haven't seen eye to eye or slights have been made, but I'm genuinely thrilled to have met you. Without the worst in people, nobody would appreciate the best. 

Progressing to conclude the trip and wind it all down, the lessons will continue to come I'm sure. But we are all fucking amazing at some points and moments, it might just be a matter of finding those moments and never, ever letting them go. 

I cant wait to meet the rest of you,

Daniel Double-u

14. Koh Phangan saved my life. (Part 2)

The full moon was in full swing, people were hanging from rafters. Everywhere along the stretch of beach that has seen some of the biggest parties in the world you could feel the vibe, left and right, up and down.

The moon is full, and the lights are on 

At this point these were the only passable pictures

After meeting up with a giant crew of Calgary-based crazy people, we set out to light the Had Rin beach up. Getting separated about 18 times, I just gave up on the fact that I would be hanging out with any dedicated group of anyone and found a tiny staircase to go chill in for a bit and take some pictures.

To the beach

Paint up 

Whatever is going on here is awesome

Eventually I found people I knew, had a great night and then before I knew it the next day had awoken me on a wooden deck/bed. In all a good night, full moon parties are cool to experience but in the end it’s a giant beach party, ko phi phi had already shown me plenty of those.

The half-moon party was a different beast altogether. Those that have been to Shambhala music festival have experienced the Fractal Forest in all its glory. I can’t lie and tell you that the half-moon was better, but the vibes and the setting came as close as you can get without the unbelievable amount of production and work that goes into the Fractal. And they played some jungle, which is pretty rare in the top 40 EDM land of Phangan.

Fractal-esque

But you can't top Fractal

So I danced, and drank, and took pictures. And then it was time to leave the island and never go back. I will miss many of the people that I met there, but that is not the type of atmosphere I wanted this trip to turn into.

Between the full and half-moons Ryan decided it was time to make the journey home to Canada. Bon Voyage man, it was about as much fun as I’ve had in my whole life.

What a champ

I set my sights on Ko Tao and never looked back.  

To the next step,

Daniel Double-u

The Irish are fucking cool though

Koh Phangan almost killed me (Part one)

Koh Phangan, where do I start?

Home to the famous parties, the girls are all gorgeous, met some of the most incredible people on the trip so far (possibly anywhere). I partied, lived, enjoyed, and drove harder than anywhere else on the trip as well. This can either be taken as a positive or negative depending on the time of day, and subsequently the amount of booze or levels of hungover I might be feeling at the time.

There were side effects, I needed a vacation from this vacation afterwards. Luckily Koh Tao was in the wings for that. Physically and emotionally one human should never consume the amount of booze that I did and be alright. I sure couldn't keep it together near the end of this particular island.

Sure, could have taken it easier, but what is the point in the home of the full moon, the half moon, the jungle party, and any other excuse the island could come up with to get you as wet as possible, (and rinse your wallet as much as possible)?

Getting there was easy, as Macgowan and I took off once again from our Canadian Consulate (Jen and Dean's place in Phuket), it was about the easiest transition yet. The boat was nice and there was only sunshine on the horizon.

Best boat ride so far

That moon is getting pretty full

We decided to stay in a dorm the first night, Ryan will have to fill you in this night as I had about two beers and slept until 6 in the morning. The next night we ventured into Had Rin (Full moon central) to see what we could do for rooms.

Koh Phangan is not all bad

Wise advice

The View

Div telling Ryan to go f*** off (presumably)

As we wandered through random communities, getting progressively more frustrated, eventually I moved in the right direction. I must have looked lost and crazy but as I was drifting from side street to alleyway a beautiful blonde girl called me in an english accent from her patio, "what are ya looking for!?"

Babe

"Umm, you." I thought to myself and stumbled wearily over like a lost puppy, which probably did me a favour. (soon finding out about her soft spot for sick dogs of any species).

This ended up being my home for the next two weeks. Billie Tyler was nothing but as hospitable as anyone I've ever met and I want to take this opportunity to thank her for letting me stay for nothing but a fixed sink (hopefully) and a few dollars for the dogs she was looking after (big heart on this one).

Bungalow

A side effect of meeting Billie was meeting not only her friend/roommate Bridie, and a friend in Bernd, but meeting two of the most stand-up guys I have ever met. Byron and Ryan get a whole blog post later so I won't go on about their champ level quite yet.

Champions

Another side effect of meeting Billie was I asked her to marry me (I may have been a bit sauced), I'm a sucker for a girl with blonde dreads I guess, but you would be lying if you could meet this girl and not at least get a halfer. So why not take it as far as you can and see what happens?!? I might have proposed a bit for the laugh, she is a stunner though so who knows what drunk me was thinking at the time.

Stunner

But I digress... in part two we party,
Daniel Double-u

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS PIG!