FULL MOON PARTY, Koh Phangan

Having made my way south of Thailand, the last few nights I have spent on the island of Koh Phangan. The resort has its own swimming pool and has its own private beach. The pictures below try to explain the beauty of this amazing island and what I have had available to me. Its a bit different to the scenic views the M25 has to offer!!

Well, enough of rubbing in the views and the weather. Today is most probably the main reason for me coming to Thailand, and the thing I have been most looking forward to. Every month, Koh Phangan is famous for one thing and that is the Full Moon Party. I checked the dates well in advance to make sure I was in Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party. It is estimated that 20-30,000 people flock the island for the Full Moon Party. Backpackers and tourist alike from all over the world and the surrounding islands make their way to Phangan for the world’s largest beach party. This is also the time the locals begin to rub their hands, thinking MONEY MONEY MONEY!! Accommodation is more than double the normal price so I made sure I booked early, still paid twice as much though.

The Full Moon Party takes place on Haad Rin Beach, about 15km from where I was staying. The night before a group of us went down to the beach for a few drinks. Instead of having only a couple of drinks we stayed out all night, and even got the chance to see the sunrise. The night before also known as the warm up party was crazy, there must have been at least 10,000 people, and I couldn’t even think of imagining what the Full Moon Party would be like.

Well today was the time to find out exactly what the Full Moon Party had to offer. Having tarted myself up I was ready and looking forward to a crazy night/morning out.

 

We started the night around 6pm, where we started drinking in the resort. Having enjoyed a few cocktails and whiskeys, we looked up into the sky and saw this.

 

This was the sign for us to head down to Haad Rin and see what the hype and excitement was all about. The place was buzzing and there were people everywhere. I don’t think, since travelling I have seen so many backpackers in one place. It was heaving!!

The atmosphere was incredible and I knew I was going to be in for one hell of a night. However, one thing I did notice was loads of people carrying buckets around. Surely they can’t be building sand castles during the Full Moon Party. Can they?

How wrong I was!! You know the saying bigger is better, well in Thailand they serve alcohol in buckets. Yeah exactly, buckets!! Basically for about 300baht (5 pounds) you get a bottle of Sang-Som (local rum) a can of coke and red bull. Mix that all together and then start drinking from these buckets, which is exactly what we did for the rest of the night. I never thought I would be holding a bucket without a spade on a beach.

No thanks, I’m taken!! But thanks for the love!!

On the beach were open topped bars/clubs where you could go in and out from buying drinks and hearing different  music. It was crazy, something I have never seen before. Along the beach were these illuminous tattoo huts, where you could get a tattoo. So, like everyone does I got a snake tattooed up my neck. Don’t worry Simran its not a real snake, sorry I mean’t its not a real tattoo.

We ended up staying on the beach to see sunrise again, that’s 2 nights in a row!! It was a great experience and definitely worthwhile. Its by far the best thing I’ve done in Thailand, in fact, that alone would be a good reason to come to Thailand again. I decided to stay in Koh Phangan for another night after the Full Moon Party. I would say to relax, whereas others would say to recover from the hangover!! You can decide!!

Next stop was Koh Samui, just south of Koh Phangan.

Signing off for now, Shah.