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Published: March 7th 2007
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View from restaurant...
at Family House Bungalows, Sunset Beach, Hat Rin For too long it seemed I had been away from the beach. When travelling ideally you want an even balance between activities and relaxation. Aside from tubing in Vang Vieng in Laos and the infamous floating bar at Nha Trang in Vietnam, there had been precious little chill-out in the previous six weeks. However, after a quick blast of activities in the North of Thailand it was time to hit the islands and beaches in the South of Thailand.
First stop on the islands and beaches tour: Koh-Phangan. Koh-Phangan is home the legendary Full Moon Parties, where each month thousands of travellers gather on Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin under a full moon and daub themselves in fluorescent paint and party through until dawn. Apparently the Full Moon Party on 3rd March had attracted nine thousand party goers to Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin. Nine thousand party goers - too much! Either luck or judgement brought to Koh-Phangan on 7th March, after the full moon hordes had quite Hat Rin for Ko Samui or Ko Tao. Missing full moon doesn't mean that you miss the party in Koh-Phangan, it just means you miss the pop-concert sized party. Not is there a
Sunset
on Sunset Beach, Hat Rin party every night on Sunrise Beach, but half moon and black moon parties are also run to celebrate the other important points in the lunar calendar. The 11th March was the date of the next half moon and there was a party in the jungle to celebrate.
I travelled from Chiang Mai down to Surat Thani by budget airline flights in and out of Bangkok with One-2-Go. A bus and ferry transfer means that you can make the journey in a day. (There a quite a number of budget airlines operating in South East Asia; it is well worth considering just getting the long haul flights with the regular carriers and either booking internal South East Asia flights online or buying them through agents when you arrive.)
On the taxi transfer from the port Thong Sala to Hat Rin, I met Danny. No not that Danny! A new Danny from Holland. New Danny was returning to Koh-Pangan after a visa run to Burma. (Visa runs are where long stay travellers exit a country in order to get a fresh entrance stamp upon re-entry.) We got on and since Danny knew the ropes he seemed a good person to
Bucket
at Cactus Bar, Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin hook up with.
Hat Rin has two beaches Hat Rin Nok (better known as Sunrise Beach) and Hat Rin Nai (better known as Sunset Beach). Sunrise Beach is party beach, Sunset Beach is a quiet, narrower beach, away from the party action. Danny was staying at Family House Bungalows on Sunset Beach and so we made enquiries whether they had a bungalow another available. Sure enough, for $10 they had a basic bungalow with en suite cold shower and fan - perfect! Further more, since Danny knew a number of the longer-stay guests so it was easy to get chatting with them in the resort restaurant.
Getting back to my timetable. I had arrived on 7th March and the Half Moon Party was to be on the 11th March. This gave me plenty of time to:
sample the nightly party scene
work on my tan
see something of the island, probably via a snorkelling tour
I only managed to tick off the first item off this list! Partying hard, where partying starts each night at about 12-30am takes it out of you. Especially if you indulge in the buckets. I had previously encountered buckets in
Danny and random Dutch girl
in front of Drop In Bar, Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin Vietnam at Nha Trang, but couldn't resist their allure at Hat Rin. The quintessential bucket in Hat Rin comprises Samsong Whiskey, Red Bull and Coke in a small bucket with maybe ten straws in it. In Cactus Bar, the centre of the Sunrise Beach action, these buckets retailed at $3.5. Irresistible, well initially so anyway. There is plenty of caffeine to get you through the long night ahead and the multitude of straws means that it is easy to share. They do, however, have a bit of kick and they should be consumed slowly, preferably with supervision. (That was where Danny came in, who had the sense not to drink them.)
I did get around to a Thai oil massage. I went with Danny to the place more or less opposite our resort. Going in a pair definitely makes a massage more fun. You can chat with your friend and the girls are always happy exchanging notes. And a Thai oil massage is excellent. Since you are laid out on a mattress on the floor rather than on a table, the masseuse has more options as to how she can kneed, stretch and soothe away your muscle strain. I
Fire junggling display
in front of Drop In Bar, Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin did a Thai massage as well, which doesn't involve oil, is somewhat more mechanical and, I think, not quite as relaxing.
The 11th March came around and along with it the Half Moon Party. No pictures I'm afraid - I thought it wiser to leave the camera back at the bungalows for safe keeping. The Half Moon Party was held in the jungle, was a bit of rave, nice atmosphere and good fun. I met a guy called Ian from Essex, who also seemed to go by the name of Onion! Coming from Twickenham, I adopted the alternative moniker of Cabbage for the night (from the "Cabbage Patch"). I had hoped to catch up with Ian (Onion) in Ko Tao, but it wasn't to be - he had some great shots from the party. If you are out there Ian (Onion)... just drop me a message...
Overall, I had a great time in Koh-Phangan and look forward to going back and actually seeing some of the rest of the island and actually laying down a sarong on Hat Rin Nok.
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Mum/Laurie
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Final Blog?
I think 'No comment' is probably the appropriate thing to say to this blog. There was me expecting buckets and spades and sandcastles, not wall to wall partying. See you soon........love.......Mum