Thailand: Full Moon Party
On Tuesday afternoon, Anna-Karin, Tom, and I took the afternoon bus out of Krabi to Surat Thani. It was a rainy day, and to our chagrin we had to endure the wetness through the roof and floorboard of our rickety bus. Upon arriving in Surat Thani, we sadly said goodbye to Tom, who is headed back home to his job, before boarding our overnight boat to Koh Phangan. This boat, or ferry, consisted of two levels of numbered cots lining the floors where you plop down and attempt to sleep the night away. After a couple sleeping pills and my trusty earplugs and eye mask, I was out for the count and dreaming.
We arrived in Koh Phangan around 5:00 am, hopped on a saangthaew, and headed to our Family Bungalows, where Julz had so kindly reserved a room for us the day before. He showed us to our small room, which was currently being occupied by Jay, a guy from San Francisco, and we immediately fell asleep.
Once we were all awake, Anna-Karin and I got the chance to really meet Jay, a Swiss girl Sarah, and Aimee, Julz's girlfriend who had just arrived from New Zealand. Julz had met Sarah and Jay on his trip from Tonsai to Koh Phangan. After realing that most of the accomodations on Haad Rin were now full, Sarah, Jay, AK and I decided to share our tiny (bathroom-less) bungalow and it's one teeny bed for the next few days. After breakfast, we all went to the beach, where we tossed around the frisbee, swam to keep cool in the intense heat, and started getting excited about the energy that was coming from all the other people on the beach.
That evening, after dinner, the six of us went to a Reggae bar, where we got hold of glowing, flourescent paints, and the next thing we knew, we were all covered in temporary tatoos and other nonsense. We were having a terrific time on this night before the full moon party, typically the night most people take it easy due to the following night's festivities. However, we were so excited to be there that we could not help but enjoy ourselves. At midnight, the streets went wild as the Thais began to ring in their New Year with the great water festival. Thais were standing on the street corners, shooting water pistols and dumping the contents of their water buckets onto the heads of passersby, as well as throwing about handfuls of baby powder.
After all the paint and water madness, we went down to the beach, where Julz impressed the crowds with his amazing fire staff spinning. Unfortunately, an erratic, firey poi ball (also used for fire spinning...it's a ball attached to the end of a chain) flew out of the darkness and pounded Julz right in the temple. Within minutes, he was stumbling around and mumbling nonsense...sure-fire signs of a concussion. The others helped him to the emergency clinic while it was my job to find the motorbike and take it home. I immediately fell asleep, and the others arrived back later. Fortunately, the next morning Julz was feeling much better; however, he had a huge doctor's bill with which to deal.
We spent much of Thursday back on the beach with thousands of other people, Also, this was the official day of the New Year and its Water Festival, so you could not walk three feet without getting soaked by the giddy Thais and occasional foreigner running about the streets, armed with Super Soakers and other water-holding devices.
By 8:00 pm, after a day of lazying around in anticipation of the evening, we were beginning to get our second wind and feeling the excitement of the Full Moon Party. I had heard that as many as thirty thousand people descend upon the beach at Haad Rin each month, and I heard that this was going to be one of the biggest full moon parties in ages because of the coinciding water festival. Around midnight, we drove motorbikes from our bungalow through the mad streets of Koh Phangan to the booming beach at Haad Rin. Thousands of other people our age were also making the mecca to the beach.
As we were nearing the end of the street and preparing to cross through a sandy alleyway onto the beach, I immediately felt myself shiver and the goosebumps popped out on my arms as I was hit with the sights of thousands of sweaty people dancing, music from tons of bars blasting catchy music, brightly colored lights and strobes flashing over the white sand, and of course the beautiful white moon reflecting off the swimmer-filled ocean. It was definitely a sight worth seeing, and we immediately jumped in with the crowd and joined in the dancing.
Around 4:00 am, tired and sweaty, we walked down to the quiet end of the beach to relax, where we met David, a friendly Swede, and together we all went for a swim in the ocean. Soon, the sky began to lighten with a soft pink glow, and we settled on the beach to enjoy the gorgeous sunrise. After the sunrise, David and I wandered over to a huge group of rocks over the water at the far end of the beach for another morning swim. Finally, around 9:00 am, we walked back along the beach towards town. Amazingly, in the mid-morning heat and sunlight of 9:00, there were still hundreds of people dancing on the beach and in the bars. We had breakfast, and then I finally crashed in my hammock at the bungalow.
Friday afternoon, after a short sleep, we all took advantage of the incoming clouds and, feeling quite tired and lazy, we all chilled out at our bungalow for a bit before AK and I headed down to the beach for a swim. David and I threw around the frisbee around sunset, just as a steady rain began to fall on the sand. That evening, once the rains had subsided, we all had one last dinner together before lying on the beach and watching the stars. Finally, around 2:00 am, I made my way back to the bungalow, settled into the hammock (as I refused to share a bed with three other people!) and crashed for the night.
I was determined to have some kind of game plan as to what I would do with myself until I meet Chris on June 1st. Even though I do not necessarily have the money to do so, I began liking the idea of going down to Malaysia after the Full Moon Party, and I even have some friends down there that I was planning to meet in Kuala Lumpur on the 15th. However, I received an email from my pal Cooper, informing me that there would soon be an opening for a female bartender at his workplace on the beach in Sihanoukville, cambodia. I decided it is an offer I cannot pass up, so on Saturday morning, after bidding a sad goodbye to all of my friends, I hopped aboard an overnight bus to Bangkok. I arrived around 4:00 this morning, checked into a room at Ranee's, and slept until 1:00 pm. I am planning on taking a bus to the Thailand/Cambodian border tomorrow as I make my way to Sihanoukville for the next phase of my trip!
We arrived in Koh Phangan around 5:00 am, hopped on a saangthaew, and headed to our Family Bungalows, where Julz had so kindly reserved a room for us the day before. He showed us to our small room, which was currently being occupied by Jay, a guy from San Francisco, and we immediately fell asleep.
Once we were all awake, Anna-Karin and I got the chance to really meet Jay, a Swiss girl Sarah, and Aimee, Julz's girlfriend who had just arrived from New Zealand. Julz had met Sarah and Jay on his trip from Tonsai to Koh Phangan. After realing that most of the accomodations on Haad Rin were now full, Sarah, Jay, AK and I decided to share our tiny (bathroom-less) bungalow and it's one teeny bed for the next few days. After breakfast, we all went to the beach, where we tossed around the frisbee, swam to keep cool in the intense heat, and started getting excited about the energy that was coming from all the other people on the beach.
That evening, after dinner, the six of us went to a Reggae bar, where we got hold of glowing, flourescent paints, and the next thing we knew, we were all covered in temporary tatoos and other nonsense. We were having a terrific time on this night before the full moon party, typically the night most people take it easy due to the following night's festivities. However, we were so excited to be there that we could not help but enjoy ourselves. At midnight, the streets went wild as the Thais began to ring in their New Year with the great water festival. Thais were standing on the street corners, shooting water pistols and dumping the contents of their water buckets onto the heads of passersby, as well as throwing about handfuls of baby powder.
After all the paint and water madness, we went down to the beach, where Julz impressed the crowds with his amazing fire staff spinning. Unfortunately, an erratic, firey poi ball (also used for fire spinning...it's a ball attached to the end of a chain) flew out of the darkness and pounded Julz right in the temple. Within minutes, he was stumbling around and mumbling nonsense...sure-fire signs of a concussion. The others helped him to the emergency clinic while it was my job to find the motorbike and take it home. I immediately fell asleep, and the others arrived back later. Fortunately, the next morning Julz was feeling much better; however, he had a huge doctor's bill with which to deal.
We spent much of Thursday back on the beach with thousands of other people, Also, this was the official day of the New Year and its Water Festival, so you could not walk three feet without getting soaked by the giddy Thais and occasional foreigner running about the streets, armed with Super Soakers and other water-holding devices.
By 8:00 pm, after a day of lazying around in anticipation of the evening, we were beginning to get our second wind and feeling the excitement of the Full Moon Party. I had heard that as many as thirty thousand people descend upon the beach at Haad Rin each month, and I heard that this was going to be one of the biggest full moon parties in ages because of the coinciding water festival. Around midnight, we drove motorbikes from our bungalow through the mad streets of Koh Phangan to the booming beach at Haad Rin. Thousands of other people our age were also making the mecca to the beach.
As we were nearing the end of the street and preparing to cross through a sandy alleyway onto the beach, I immediately felt myself shiver and the goosebumps popped out on my arms as I was hit with the sights of thousands of sweaty people dancing, music from tons of bars blasting catchy music, brightly colored lights and strobes flashing over the white sand, and of course the beautiful white moon reflecting off the swimmer-filled ocean. It was definitely a sight worth seeing, and we immediately jumped in with the crowd and joined in the dancing.
Around 4:00 am, tired and sweaty, we walked down to the quiet end of the beach to relax, where we met David, a friendly Swede, and together we all went for a swim in the ocean. Soon, the sky began to lighten with a soft pink glow, and we settled on the beach to enjoy the gorgeous sunrise. After the sunrise, David and I wandered over to a huge group of rocks over the water at the far end of the beach for another morning swim. Finally, around 9:00 am, we walked back along the beach towards town. Amazingly, in the mid-morning heat and sunlight of 9:00, there were still hundreds of people dancing on the beach and in the bars. We had breakfast, and then I finally crashed in my hammock at the bungalow.
Friday afternoon, after a short sleep, we all took advantage of the incoming clouds and, feeling quite tired and lazy, we all chilled out at our bungalow for a bit before AK and I headed down to the beach for a swim. David and I threw around the frisbee around sunset, just as a steady rain began to fall on the sand. That evening, once the rains had subsided, we all had one last dinner together before lying on the beach and watching the stars. Finally, around 2:00 am, I made my way back to the bungalow, settled into the hammock (as I refused to share a bed with three other people!) and crashed for the night.
I was determined to have some kind of game plan as to what I would do with myself until I meet Chris on June 1st. Even though I do not necessarily have the money to do so, I began liking the idea of going down to Malaysia after the Full Moon Party, and I even have some friends down there that I was planning to meet in Kuala Lumpur on the 15th. However, I received an email from my pal Cooper, informing me that there would soon be an opening for a female bartender at his workplace on the beach in Sihanoukville, cambodia. I decided it is an offer I cannot pass up, so on Saturday morning, after bidding a sad goodbye to all of my friends, I hopped aboard an overnight bus to Bangkok. I arrived around 4:00 this morning, checked into a room at Ranee's, and slept until 1:00 pm. I am planning on taking a bus to the Thailand/Cambodian border tomorrow as I make my way to Sihanoukville for the next phase of my trip!
posted by Tiffany Joiner at 6:45 AM
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