Pineing for home in 'Paradise'

White sand beaches, refreshing but warm waters idling rolling in, shimmering a cool blue green, beckoning us to wade out and cool our sweaty, overheated and sunburnt bodies. Behind us the palm trees and jungle garden of the resort. Our little bungalow tucked away among the others in a leafy tropical Eden. Breakfast (and other delicious and over priced meals) is had in an open air dinning room that looks out West over the calm waters of the sheltered bay, in the distant humid haze is Samui, the larger island in this cluster of holiday escapes. Its hot here, the sun beats down through thick humidity, thankfully there is the refreshing waters of the ocean, airconditioning in our room and the pool to give us comfort from it.

On our second nite there is a party out on the sandbar. We waded out between lanterns in the water to the sandbar, where lanterns mark out a circluar area, where there is a drinks bar, food, a bonfire and later fire twirlers. The next day we set up a volley ball net on the sandbar and played until the sun set behind us, coloring the waters in deep purples and reds.

We spend another day poolside, reading and occasionally dipping in the refreshing cool of the pool. But despite all this we are weary of Thailand and think of home. Its been a long stay here, and sure we've had some great days relaxing here, but its time for home. Rain this morning, a canceled boat trip (which would have taken us to the 5th best beach in the world) and some travel complications have made us want home even more.

This island of Koh Phangan is small and overrun with tourists and expats, an escape for many, some never going home. Everything costs just that little more than you expect. And I am sure you can get anything here for a price.

Bernie a South African ex-gangsta (or so he says) who came here 7 months ago, took a group of us out to the local cinema, (a little room with teired benches with cushions, mattresses and a phone to order food) where you can watch any movie you like. In the power outage during the film he told us he could get us anything we wanted, from pot to ladyboys (there's already three of the latter at the resort). So I gather this island offers more than a holiday to many, I think perhaps it is a haven or an escape for those who don't want to go home. But for us, we are now all too ready to make that long trek back to Down Under.