For some reason you are able to spend many days here. Its probably the fact that everyone is in a constant flux of hangover-ness and never want to bother moving onwards in their travels as the thought of getting in one of those horrible buses just makes them want to vomit.

We could almost spend our whole trip in Thailand, especially in a laid back town like Chiang Pai. But there’s more of Asia to see, so we took a plane to the border town of Udon Thani to cross into Laos and get into Vientanne.

After realizing 2.5 weeks just passed us by as we did practically nothing in Pai we started to feel we should get out there, somewhere, and see/do something! After some humming and hawing we decided to drive ourselves to Soppong, spend a day, and then drive back.

I never expected during our travels I would be standing in the Koh Samui airport waiting to see my parents faces on the arrivals walkway. But there I was, waiting for their delayed plane and feeling quite excited.

Here are 5 reason why we loved our time at Haad Salad, Koh Phanang. We are sure we will be back one day in the future!

But if you want somewhere that has a 3KM long white sandy beach with small bars playing Reggae and Rock, a beach that you can stretch out on and not sit near anyone for 50 meters, this is it. We saw many families here with small children, and it’s defiantly the kind of place that both kids and parents can relax at without having to worry about the little tikes.

The bed was comfy, there was free wifi, the owner is one of the most friendly of all guesthouse owners we have met, great food, (the coconut shrimp is superb, but skip the french toast), and to top it all off she LOVES cats.

…They just got back from Phayam and couldn’t express enough how much of a good time they had and how excited they were for us to be going there. We also met another older couple from the Netherlands who also just back back from the island and stated how they have been going there once a year for the past 8 years!

Le Jardin is a privately owned guesthouse that prefers long term rentals with many people returning for 3-6 months each year to escape the winters back home, and it feels like a community exists here. Each night a large group of whom we assume are regulars gather together to eat dinner with each other and spend days relaxing around a pool.

When we went on a visa run to Malaysia, we booked at the StayOrange (a Carleton Hotels) brand. What a mistake!

Don’t these images make you want to stay here?? I know they sure make me want to go back. On top of this beautiful place, the staff are amazing, the food is divine (GREEN CURRY FOR THE WIN!), the blended drinks are mouth watering, and the free wifi actually WORKS!