For Travel Talk on Twitter, they asked to people to Tweet their most drool-worthy beach shot. I chose this shot of Bamboo Island in Thailand. It wasn’t my favorite beach in the world but definitely one of the most iconic shots I think I took of the Andaman Coast.
I visited here on Easter in 2011 on Blue Wind’s fish tail boat tour of Ko Phi Phi. I found the tour at my hostel. For 400TB we visited Pileh Bay, Monkey Beach, Bamboo Island, Viking Bay and Maya Bay, which is where “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. We left around 9 a.m. and returned just after sunset which we watched from our long tail boat.
Leading up to the Full Moon Party I heard mixed reviews. Some people said it was the best party they’ve ever been too. Others warned me to avoid it at all cost. A few said it was really something special that couldn’t happen anywhere else in the world. And some said it was something special, it was something real, but now it’s basically the Thai version of Spring Break.
Knowing how much I like to build things up I tried to go to Koh Phangan with little expectation. In fact, as the moon grew larger during my time in Thailand I even started to get a bit apprehensive and nervous.
For every bad review I heard about the party, I heard two bad reviews about the people at the party.
“Watch your pockets,” our taxi driver from Thong Sala to Haad Rin pier warned us. “Lots of pick-pocketers.”
I heard about fights, serious injuries, drug busts, even rapings!
And this was suppose to be an event built by hippies on peace and love, but I guess Woodstock was too, which suffered similar criticism.
Despite the warnings, my apprehension and my attempt to arrive on the island with no expectations, I think the wannabe-hippy in me held on to the vision of something more.
With all that in mind came the more important logistics of money, getting to Koh Phangan on time and somehow getting off the island in one piece.
My boyfriend, Ric and I planned to visit the Full Moon Party on April 18. I originally wanted to stay on Koh Phangan, because that just made the most sense. But during my travels a few people recommended staying on either Koh Tao or Koh Samui, two islands nearby, which are “much nicer,” they told me. I took the tip and not long after some other people told me it was better to stay on Koh Phangan as getting to the Full Moon Party and back to another island is not very organized or easy.
I don’t know what it’s like to stay on Koh Phangan because I never have, but I would advise all Full Mooners to do so if they can. Doing the Full Moon from Koh Tao to Haad Rin beach was expensive (1300 B per person just for boat and taxi service with Lomprayah), long (90 minutes on a boat both ways and 30 minutes on a taxi both ways) and tiring (the party boat from Koh Tao left at 5:30 p.m. 18/4 and did not depart Koh Phangan until 8:30 a.m. 19/4).
For all the hassle and money it makes no sense not to stay on Koh Phangan. If you want to party all night you can stay in Haad Rin even on the beach. If not, there’s an entire island with quieter options that are only a taxi ride away. Plus, it’s a good looking place, so you won’t be missing out on scenery offered at islands nearby.
Once we arrived in Haad Rin, we had to pay 100 B each to enter the party area. Before getting to the beach, people eat, drink and purchase neon clothing in town. The female uniform of the Full Moon Party is face and body paint, a neon orange, pink, green or yellow loose-fitted singlet, torn jean shorts and havianas. There are plenty of cheap and tasty places to eat and even more bars to drink, but most people opt for 180-350 B buckets sold on the street.
Buckets at the Full Moon Party cost between 150 and 380 B.
Slowly partiers migrate to the main attraction-Haad Rin Beach. At first glance all I saw was a sea of literally thousands of people. I couldn’t even see a beach. Our first stop was the toilet, which was the saddest sight I’d ever seen in my life. This is probably why a lot of men opted to piss from the beach out into the ocean, which then became the saddest sight I’d ever seen in my life.
The second I entered the crowd I wasn’t hit with love or happiness, but a strong wiff of piss and BO.
After taking in the crowd and the music, I looked up to see Paradise Bungalows, which legend has it-started the whole thing. Ric and I made our way there becoming easily distracted more than once along the way. All along the beach are more bucket vendors, but even better vendors selling barbecue and cheesy pizza.
After taking down a few sticks of barbecue…
SLIDE!
A random partier going down the slide at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan.
The first thing to grab us in was a massive slide with water flowing down it that shot out onto a huge plastic cushion.
Next was a massive jump rope-but this wasn’t just any jump rope. It was soaked in gasoline and lit on fire. No doubt attracting those on something a bit stronger than booze to tempt fate. We stood with a large crowd watching a backpacker here and there try it. Two in five backpackers actually made it in to jump the rope. One in five lasted for more than two jumps. And everyone ended up getting whacked by the flaming rope and leaving defeated.
The crowd stayed steady and made it’s way onto stages and into the water. We finally made it to Paradise Bungalows, which sits higher than the beach offering a good view of the party and people having sex in nearby waters lit by fog-lights.
Paradise Bungalows at the far right end of Haad Rin Beach supposedly started it all.
One last walk down the beach would prove to be our most challenging. It was 4 a.m. at that point and while Ric and I were both still going-it was getting to that point in the night when we should’ve just gone to bed. Unfortunately, there was no bed to go to so we sat on the beach waiting for 6 a.m.-the time our taxi was scheduled to pick us up at Haad Rin Pier.
We came so close.
So close to not having one of those famous Full Moon casualties I had heard about. Some people lose their camera, some people lose their purse, but I topped them all and lost…my boyfriend.
Don’t ask me how. I can’t explain it. But to make a long dreadful story short-we somehow reunited at Thong Sala Pier around 7:30 a.m., where our boat was scheduled to pick us up at 8:30 a.m. That hour of being exhausted and hungover in the heat was one of the worst in my life.
Altogether Ric and I spent 6,000 B on what was inevitably just a really good night out that went on into the early hours of the morning. So whether the Full Moon Party was worth it to me, I’m not so sure. But after all the talk, it’s something I would have regretted not doing while in Thailand.
Everyone’s experience of this world-renowned party will be different. In fact, the party is probably whatever you make of it. But if you come expecting peace, love and happiness parading on a pristine beach-think again. You’re more likely to run into Scandinavians painting each others’ tits, piss heads relieving themselves on the Gulf and someone whose lost everything except his or her swimsuit.
