Koh Pha Ngan

I'm not sure what to say about Koh Pha Ngan exactly, but I will say this - overpriced shithole. Don't go there. Unless your idea of a good time is sharing a beach with thousands of gym junkies and club tarts, drinking buckets all night, and then nursing a hangover in the heat all the next day. Even the Thai people working there seemed so over it, moping around all day trying to take money from the stupid tourists.

So I've had my fill of that now, I couldn't stomach the thought of wasting any more time or money. Phi Phi was so much better, I think it's because people go there to do things other than get wasted. I'm back in Surat Thani now, thankfully, eating food at about a quarter of the price and relaxing in my air-con room ready to push on towards Bangkok tomorrow. Presently I couldn't care if I spent new years alone, in some backwater town between here and Bangkok, I think it would be preferable to Pha Ngan.

I did read some good books while there;

Conflict: Journeys through war and terror in South East Asia - By Nelson Rand.

This is a very readable and interesting look at some of the military conflicts simmering in the region. The historical information is succintly condensed, and interspersed with anecdotes from Rand's time spent embedded with forces from both sides. The author covers the final days of the Khmer Rouge, as witnessed on the frontline - alongside Cambodian Goverment Troops in Anlong Vengh. He trudges through guerilla camps in Burma with the Karen jungle militia, documenting their struggle with the military Junta.
Later he tells the story of the H'mong people, who were recruited by the Americans in the war against communism. To this day there are H'mong people hiding in remote jungles trying to avoid extermination by Pathet Lao. In the final chapter he gives a summation of the conflict in Thailands troubled southern provinces.

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

A dark and revealing story about the new India. I really enjoyed it, worth every cent.