Thailand: Detour

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Koh Phangan to most people means just one thing: full-moon parties and all their attendant ugliness, sleaze and lagered-up backpackers. But Haad Rin, the site of the parties, is just one beach—and Koh Phangan is a big island.

Journey to its eastern side, and the skull-pounding throb of techno music begins to fade. Tong Nai Pan's gentle twin crescents offer all that Koh Samui's spin doctors want to sell you but can't deliver anymore: pristine seas, often deserted beaches where giant, rounded boulders squat upon powdery white sand and, best of all, blissful silence.

I visited Tong Nai Pan for the first time six or seven years ago, mind and body wearied from too much full-moon madness. It was low season and there was hardly a soul about. You could swim out 50 meters from the beach and still the water was scarcely over your head. Look down, and you could see your wriggling toes through the limpid sea. It felt like crawling back into the womb—except with cold beer on tap.

My friend and I, deprived of sleep, attempted the two-hour roller-coaster-style drive from Haad Rin in a cheap rental jeep, and almost came to grief. To get to Tong Nai Pan, it's far better to take the daily ferry from Koh Samui or hire your own longtail boat and arrive relaxed. In terms of places to stay, the best pick is Panviman, tel: (66 77) 238-544, a small hotel with bungalows perched on a hill above the beach. Rooms start from around 1,500 baht ($36), depending on the season.

I return occasionally; my friend became hooked. He visits at least twice a year, and says it keeps him sane. "Things are changing fast on Samui and Phangan, but Tong Nai Pan hasn't lost its charm," he says. "It's the most peaceful place in the world I know, an amazing place for reflection and introspection." And you won't see a single glow stick on the dark side of the moon.