Ko PhaNgan - that's more like it!

Having hated Ko Samui, I wasn't particularly hopeful for Ko Phangan. After all, the island is best-known for the full moon parties, what I can only imagine must be a nightmare of thousands of drunk 20 year olds. No thanks!

Luckily, all the noise and nonsense is largely confined to the SE of the island. In the NW, where I was headed, are quieter beaches and villages that attract families and chilled out types, and almost everyone is in bed by 10:30. Bliss!

I based myself on Mae Haad, a long beach and sandspit connecting the tiny island of Ko Ma, backed by a tiny village (it's less a village than it is 7 hotels, 5 restaurants, and 3 shops). The beach has a fringing reef, meaning the water inside the reef is frequently only knee deep, and warm as bathwater - perfect for lulling about. Walk out past the reef for proper swimming. The reef has big areas that are mostly dead rock, but also has some half-decent live coral on the half closer to Ko Ma.

The main beach, backed by hotels, is swept every morning and kept clean: expect mid-grain yellow sand. The sand spit is not swept, so has a lot of driftwood, seaweed, and a bit of garbage.

The sea in front of the spit and the part of the beach closest to the spit is sandier, and makes for easier access to the sea, but you'll have to swim over the reef here (at low tide you'll have barely more than a foot's clearance, so swim very carefully and shallowly to avoid damaging the coral (or cutting yourself). The sea on central part of the beach is initially rocky, opening out to a sandbar. A narrow path has been cleared, to allow boats access. When using this path, don't step off the clear area, as I noticed quite a few sea urchins on either side of the path. The sea on the inland side, in front of Maehaad Beach View Resort is rocky all the way to the reef.

Accommodation-wise, the bulk of the beach's length is taken up by Ko Ma Beach Resort. Wang Sai's restaurant takes up a small chunk of what's left, with the cabins of Maehaad Beach View Resort taking up the final piece, at the rocky end. All the other hotels are either facing the harbour (around the corner from the swimming beach, on the other side of the sand spit), or one or two streets back from the beach.

The reality is that, unless you can afford one of the most expensive rooms at Ko Ma Resort, your accommodation is not going to be right where you swim anyway, and none of the accommodation is more than 5 minutes to the good part of the beach, so it doesn't really matter where you chose to stay.

The food in the various restaurants is mostly touristy stuff (not much chili in evidence) but I thought Big O had the Thai food that tasted most like Thai food, and Wang Sai has a lovely beachfront location, and makes a nice garden salad.

Ban Chaloklum at low tide

When you're bored with reading a book and lying in the sand, or paddling about in the sea, you could walk along to the fishing village of Chaloklum (about 40 minutes away, including a quite steep hill, going over the headland). Otherwise, this is a nice place to chill, and do not very much.