Ban Hat Rin

Koh Phangan

I'm writing this the next day and to be honest it was a blur so I'll say as much as I remember.

The day started off late, so we grabbed some food and then booked our travel onto Koh Tao for the next day. We then headed down to Chaweng Beach for a couple hours. Whilst Alfie sunbathed, I took to the water and after messing about in the waves my new mission was to swim as far out as the bouy. This was great fun going out as the tide gently pushed me out and all I had to worry about was avoiding any potential jet skis. Reaching the flag I now turn around and fight against the tide swimming back to shore. Out of breath I eventually make it back to Alfie then sit on the beach, unintentionally letting the waves fill my swim shorts with sand. Looking down at my foot, it seemed at some point I must have stepped on a squid and my toes were covered in thick black ink, that wouldn't come off nomatter how hard I scrubbed.

Eventually we head back to our hotel grabbing an ice cream from 7-11 for 1/10 the price as on the beach. We get showered and changed ready to head to Koh Phangan for the famous full moon party. We're eventually picked up from our hotel by a van and we head over to the pier before jumping on a speedboat. I can confirm this speedboat had earned its name, we were flying. Arriving on the island for sunset, we take a back street off the pier to avoid the superficial entry ticket and explore a little before finding some food.

After grabbing a double dinner of overpriced food, we head to a store and grab our first Chang of the night, starting slow as it was a long long night ahead of us. The beach was still relatively quiet, as the party didn't properly get underway until closer to midnight. We walk up and down the beach seeing what we were in for, and our hopes for some dance classics or white girl tunes (my favourite genre) were dwindling as the heavy repetitive thump of electronic music filled the beach, taunting us with Sweet Dreams before it went back into electronic fuzz. This was until the sweet sound of Murder on the Dance Floor boomed from the speakers. The party had officially started for me. Dancing like a fool I was ready for the rest of the night.

We then headed off the beach to grab the first of many famous Thai buckets - a small bucket filled with nothing but spirits and mixers. This is (unsurprisingly) when the night starts blurring. We eventually meet with Sam and join some people from his hostel. The beach was now packed with thousands of people dancing under the light of the full moon. Music blared up and down the beach, with a new micro party every 30 meters at a different bar on the beach. Coloured lights flooded the crowds and the ocean with people jumping over flaming ropes & performers throwing balls and sticks of fire.

I ended up paying way too much for UV paint and I didn't even get a picture! The atmosphere of UV paint and clothing was pretty cool. Eventually I'm pretty done out around 4am and I head to 7-11 (which was completely rammed) to grab some biscuits - my new favourite snack in Thailand - before heading over to the pier. The pier was maybe the most chaotic place on the island. Hundreds of people wanting to get back home trying to push their way forward onto the boat. Fights were breaking out and drunk, high, or both partiers were shouting at the staff. Eventually I get onto a boat and sit right at the front. Speeding through the water, alot of people were screaming and shouting every time our speedboat bumped but I was chilling enjoying the wind drying the sweat off my hair under the light of the full moon.

We dock on Koh Samui, where transfers from pier back to hotels were a bit calmer than the pier on Koh Phangan. Luckily, I make my way into a van heading to my hotel, probably skipping ahead of the intended queue. Getting back to my hotel, I knock Alfie awake and he lets me in before I shower the UV paint off and sleep for a couple of hours.

The full moon party was fun, definitely a fun experience to have but I think I'm done with parties and alcohol for a while. The beach was full of empty bottles, buckets, and straws and looked like a dump by the time I left, although the next morning there is a massive cleanup effort which would have been nice to stay for - seeing the beach in the sunlight & help clean it - but I had to get back to Samui.Read more