Fotografen auf Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan is known abroad for one thing, the Full Moon Party on Haad Rin, and most of the island has nothing to do with it. Away from that south-eastern tip it is green, hilly and slow, with coves reached by dirt road or longtail boat. Bottle Beach on the north coast is the classic hideaway, reached by boat from Chaloklum or a steep jungle trail, with a viewpoint on the ridge above looking down on the whole curve of the bay. On the north-west coast, the islet of Koh Ma is tied to the beach at Mae Haad by a sandbar that surfaces at low tide, so a couple can walk out across the water — the tide table decides when the session starts. The east coast around Thong Nai Pan faces the sunrise. Phangan is half an hour by boat from Samui, the easy add-on for a honeymoon or an elopement that wants jungle and empty sand rather than a resort lawn. It shares the Gulf's calendar: the best weather is from about January to August, and the heaviest rain falls from October to December.