Long Bay Resort - Koh Phangan

It was easy to leave Bangkok behind me as we boarded a flight to the south eastern region of Thailand, but the journey was going to take a day. An hour plane flight, a two hour bus ride, a two hour ferry ride, and then a forty- five minute taxi. We had been in Bangkok for just two days and were still adjusting to the time zone and the travel time seemed gruesome. I remained positive because I knew the result would be a bungalow on the soft white beach of Haad Yao. We had stayed here before, seven years ago for our month long honeymoon. The resort is a step up from the others on the beach. It has a pool, beautiful landscaping, and the bungalows have air conditioning and hot water showers. Now under new ownership, it also has much friendlier staff. In general, the Thais are some of the most gentle people one will meet. However, working in a demanding tourist environment can take its toll on a person, especially when travelers are demanding and rude. I noticed very little "please" or "thank you" from foreigners. It hard for me to understand because the Thais are stereotypically very kind, modest, and humble. So, I can sympathize with the locals that get tired of grumpy travelers. In any case, I was excited to be back at our old beach and my spirits remained high. Our bungalow faced the ocean and Gabbie and I embraced the view. We also began to wind down into vacation mode. We both swam, read, got massages almost daily, and ate some of the best Thai food I have ever had. When Gabbie booked the bungalow online she clicked the button that included dinner. Under new management, this came to the staff as a surprise, and it needed to be worked out. Boy did we end up getting the better half of the deal. The chef was instructed to give us a nightly traditional Thai course meals and with this he was allowed creativity. Every evening, dish after dish came out, and we could never finish them all. Fish, chicken, seafood, dessert, the hogpoge of traditional Thai meals allowed us to try dishes we would never order. Man! They were each delicious. During the day, we would take our rented motor scooters, drive into town and stop at roadside attractions. Gabbie even got to feed an elephant who's trunk traced her neck and torso, anxiously awaiting a small green banana. Elephant snouts are quite large and wet with mucous, but their enormous floppy grey ears and amiable eyes make your forget the gross and embrace the love of a towering mammal that longs for a piece of fruit. They are playful and I wish I had one or two as a pet. Another motor scooter journey led us to one of Gabbie's old acquiantances in the village of Chaloklam. She had two sons now and another baby on the way. We ate banana pancakes with chocolate and drank a beer. She updated us on all the gossip as her son played with Gabbie's iPhone video camera. We later departed and promised to see her in less than seven years. Our stay at Long Bay lasted five nights and we were more than acclimated to the painless island life. Our next desination, The Santhiya Resort and Spa located on the north eastern tropical jungle hillside of the island.