phangan buri

My hotel for the last leg of this rather epic holiday has been just what I needed.

The Phangan Buri resort is clean, comfortable, modern and set just off the beach. It affords stunning views, a lovely pool to relax and chug beer in, and is very affordable. My room contains a huge bed, peaceful air conditioning, a tv with an extensive sattelite network and even a computer with internet access. At this stage of my break, where all I want to do is relax, it is perfect.

The crowd staying here has predominantely been a young one - drawn to the island by the full moon party. There are a lot of Australians, which is understandable given that it is not expensive to get here from down under and doesn't take long either. It has been another group of travellers who have intrugued me during my stay.

I have been struck by how it would appear the majority of British travellers here do not seem to be on holidays or six month to a year breaks. Most seem to be university students away for three months over the summer. And there are a hell of a lot of them. As I listened to their extensive travel plans, I made a mental note never to believe any tales of student debt woe ever again. I don't recall such trips being commonplace when at uni, but as I reminded myself today, I started 12 years ago . We now have a situation where people can borrow more - assuming Daddy isn't paying - and indulge themselves more. The financial consequences can be worried about later. For now, it's all about a daily diet of sunshine and Singha beer.

Some of these people are pricks, quite frankly. As I listened to them talk inane shite whilst splashing around in the pool - most of which consisted of nothing more than a description of how drunk they had been the previous evening - I wondered if I had been as obnoxious when I was a student. Then I recalled things like a web site I once ran that was dedicated to stories about getting drunk. Perhaps I was. I am sure, however, that I was not as stupid as some of them. I overheard one guy regailing other people in the pool with the story of how he spent three years at college, from which he emerged with one 'A' level - in media studies. He is now on a 'gap year' before going to university, which considering his academic record, probably isn't what most people would classify as being a university at all. Wanker.

Ok, ok. I'll stop ranting now. Maybe I'm just bitter about being 30 and having the best years of my life behind me...

Tonight (Saturday) is the last one of this trip. Tomorrow I catch a boat to Ko Samui, a plane to Bangkok, another to Singapore, where I then fly back home to blighty.