All posts tagged: Koh Phangan

How to Survive a Full Moon Party in Thailand

Full moon parties (FMP) are held once monthly on Haad Rin Beach on the island of Koh Pha Ngan (pronounced Koh pin-yawn). For the few days preceding and following the full moon, backpackers flood the island. Prices for accommodation can double or even triple. The number of attendees is staggering and the atmosphere becomes something akin to ‘frosh week.’ A typical FMP can see ten thousand people on Haad Rin, which is not an incredibly long stretch of sand. FMP around New Year’s Eve can see upwards of twenty-five thousand party-goers. With rumors of people dying during these epic parties, personal safety is paramount. Here are some tips for how to survive – and even enjoy – the experience: 1. Don’t show up too early. The whole point is to make it to sunrise! Eat a proper meal before departing for the party. 2. Establish a meeting point upon arrival. If you become separated you’re basically looking for a needle in a human haystack. In the dark. 3. Pace yourself. It’s a long night, make it a social one. …

Koh Phangan is the Easiest Place to Be

Upon arrival we were informed that no liquor would be sold until midnight following tomorrow’s election. We tried to make the point that we were foreigners and couldn’t vote, and obviously we should be able to buy liquor. We had it on good account that Bottle Beach was the bee’s knees of good beaches on Koh Phangan. So following the Full Moon party we made the north island our heading. G had convinced me that going by 125cc moped would be a dandy idea. Let me paint you a picture, two adults on a moped, with two large backpacks. We looked pretty goofy and it was uncomfortable, but doable. What wasn’t apparent on the map (on first glance) was the condition of the road leading north. In between us and Bottle Beach was a) a mountainous interior; b) jungle; and c) a road that turned into a dirt road with some steep grades. With bum space on the moped at a premium, my hips ached under the strain of my backpack as we slowly climbed …

Proof Thai Full Moon Parties are an Absolute Shit Show

Let me sum up a Thai Full Moon Party: there are a lot of dumb [expletive] people at full moon parties doing a load of stupid [expletive]. A fire rope, while highly entertaining to me, is a highly infectious idea to drunk people. Two locals stand on platforms and swing a petrol doused, flaming rope. Swinging it slow at first, they speed up until they trip the drunk foreigner. It must not have hurt enough though because many tripped. Other flaming items included fire dancers (who will gladly light the cigarette held in your lips) and fire limbo. You can climb the side of a building and then slide down a wet slide, landing on an inflatable wedge on the beach. Drunk people will often sit on the wedge. Need I paint the picture? 10,000+ people drinking buckets of hard liquor mixed with pop and Red Bull. In Thailand Red Bull has legit amphetamines in it too. Every bucket poured receives six straws. This means that for any given FMP, 60,000-120,000+ straws litter the beaches. More logistics: 10,000 drunk people and one public toilet (read: the beach). Listen …

Sawadee Ka! We Just Arrived in Thailand

  I’m backdating this entry half a week due to the fact that I’m not toting my laptop and so I can’t write in real time. We spent a couple of nights just off Khao San Road in a busy guesthouse, far enough from the noise but close enough to the action to stumble to. Double room with A/C, fan, basic amenities and clean enough for $15/night. We love Thailand already. It wasn’t long before the humidity had us taking afternoon siestas and primarily functioning after dusk. Given the 40 degree heat and near total humidity, we needed to make any beach our heading, ASAP. Quite frankly, we weren’t able to enjoy Bangkok for this reason. May as well head elsewhere, we will have plenty opportunity to return. We booked an overnight bus and ferry to Koh Samui, an island in the South. That evening we had a very social night, meeting tons of other travellers. Among the nine of us in our crew, was a German girl who mentioned that she had rented a bungalow …