"PARTYIN IT UP OR A TRIP WITH T ..." a Ko Phangan Travel Page by alvis

Arriving late (almost an hour) for our bus we are thrown on the back of a later bus. Leaving Khao Sarn Road it takes around 12 hours from Bangkok to arrive at Surit Thani arriving at around 7 in the morning. Getting off at Surit Thani, after the worst sleep ever (freezing my nuts off with aircon and squashed on back seat by the reclining chair in front) I feel like dirt. Theres already a lot of people waiting for the boat and after getting our tickets we bounce on the boat. After, I think a 3 hour boat ride we arrive at Ko Phangan. The sun was great throughout the entire boat journey and I got some sunbathing done on the squashed deck. As soon as we find our bags and get off the boat a tropical rainstorm also arrives. Wasn't a great start to our romantic getaway to Ko Phangan.

For those who know Ko Phangan, you know it is not best known for a romantic getaway and more for the complete opposite. The reason we were at Ko Phangan was that we decided to go for a trip to the Southern Islands of Thailand. My suggestion was to go to Ko Phi-Phi (Yes, from "The Beach") and the girlfriends suggestion was to go to Ko Phangan. Not being able to decide on either, we decided on going to both.

On arriving we got straight onto the back of the taxi / truck and made our way, up and down the biggest sloped hills i've ever seen and finally arrived at Haad Rin. Not having been to many islands, I was amazed it was quite surreal driving on the bumpy roads under the palm tress and arriving at such a perfect beach. Haad Rin beach was not too packed and the sea was blue, people are playing volleyball and it was the closest thing I had seen to paradise. Haad Rin is the perfect place to stay on Phangan, staying elsewhere you will have to get a taxi / truck anytime you want to do something decent. Arriving at Haad Rin we went in search of a nice cheap place to stay and after 30 minutes of searching we realised Haad Rin was completely booked up. The reason for it being booked up was that the next night was full moon night which is the big event on Haad Rin beach, and comes every month.

Luckily the girlfriend had brought a user guide with her so we phoned up a beach resort a few miles from Haad Rin and booked ourselves a beach hut for the night. It was such a relief to get to the hut after a terribles night sleep and being soaked in a tropical rain storm. We payed 500 baht for a nice hut with, enclosed, outside bathroom and air-con. We moved to the non air-con huts after the 1st night which cost 300 baht. There was nothing to do in the area we stayed other than the restaurant at our huts, so we found ourselves getting taxi / trucks to Haad Rin twice a day. This cost 50 baht per person each way so (for the 2 of us we were paying 200 baht for each trip to Haad Rin).

Haad Rin is the main beach on the island and has got anything you need i.e. games rooms, massage parlours, internet / international phone calls, trip / flight bookings, scuba, restaurants, 7/11, and unfortunatly lots of clothes shops. During the day we spent quite a while in clothes shops buying towels, bikinis, etc. and squeezed in enough time to have a decent meal in the restaurants and go lie on the beach. The beach itself is decent though it can be a bit messy in mornings after the big parties Phangan is famous for. Before we returned to the hut to get changed for the night we got a quick meal and bought a bottle of Sangsom, bottle of coke, tin of red bull and bag of ice in a bucket.

Getting back to the hut the girl takes around 2 hours to decide what to wear then has a sleep. Meanwhile I throw my Sangsom, coke etc. into the bucket and get stuck into my 1st bucket of the night. After a while the girlfriend wakes (around 11pm) I finish my bucket and we are off for the 1st of many nights out on Haad Rin beach.

(Nights out 2nd Chapter)

Taking a weeks holiday with the girlfriend I found myself squashed in a car with my girlfriend, Gigi (her best mate) and 4 thai friends. After a visit to Krabi we drive across from the West Coast of Southern Thailand to the East Coast. After staying in a small fishing village just outside Surit Thani (where Gigis family lived) we left the next morning for the boat to Ko Phangan. This boat was not the same as the usual tourist boats and people who seemed surprised to see a white guy (farang) on board were amused when I was speaking terrible Thai.

Arriving at Ko Phangan we did the same as before, got into a taxi / truck and made our way to Haad Rin. On arrival we went in search of a hut and this time we found some that still had not been taken. We arrived the day before the full moon party again 2 months after our 1st one. Staying at Haad Rin it was so much easier to get about with a short walk to plenty restaurants, the beach on our doorstep and parties at our door. We were paying 700 baht a night and it was worth it with no need for taxis we saved money, though the hut we stayed in was quite creepy. This time we were not here for a peaceful time we were here for the full moon party.

THE FULL MOON PARTY

On the night of the full moon the famous full moon party begins. This event happens on Haad Rin beach and the music and people will be arriving at around 5 to 6. As it gets dark you will see boats holding hundreds of farang and thais arriving from the other islands. The entire beach is covered with people and finding a seat or getting inside a bar/ club is quite hard to do. It is also hard to find a toilet and if you do you may be asked to pay so you'll see most people paddling into the sea. There will be a lot of poi shows which are flame throwers and are worth a look also lots of glow sticks and a psychedelic feel to most of the celebrations.

There will be music played out from the bars across the entire beach. Whatever your musical taste you are bound to find it from R&B, rock, Psychadelic house (a favourite), techno, progressive house, oldies, and I even heard some hardcore and unfortunatly drum and base. The music blends as you walk from 1 part of the beach to the next so you will be able to choose the best music as you walk down the beach.

If you are there for the drink and drugs you should be able to find a lot of this here. A favourite is the bucket (Sangsom, coke, red bull, and ice) costs 150 baht all over the beach. You are also likely to be offered drugs as a couple of guys asked me "ecstacy cocaine? or you can go get mushy tea in a few places" . Also the drunken girls are quite easy, when the girlfriend left me alone for bout an hour I found a blonde girl grabbing me and falling round me. Another thai girl caught me walking back to my hut asked me "want me to suck your ****, want me to make you ***." I did decline.

The parties go on all night and all the next morning if you are up for it. These days everynight is a full moon party and you'll find big parties every night in Ko Phangan.

I didn't expect a trip to Ko Phangan to be the best trip for me and the girlfriend but it turned out being a great holiday. We had the best of both worlds getting to party and use the facilities at Haad Rin then leave it all behind and have a relaxing time at the beach hut.

For a party it really is the best place i've been to including 2 Ibiza trips and many others.If you are worried about missing the full moon party it does not matter every night is a party night in Ko Phangan and there is no way you will be dissapointed. It really is 1 of my favourit places in Thailand and it was better than my expectations of crap music and annoying clubbers. There is a very laid back, hippy feel to Phangan.