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Published: January 27th 2007
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This isnt so much a travel blog as a series of bad decisions and bad luck. I travelled up from Krabi in anticipation of the monthly full moon party, hearing lots in particular about the december one. In this journey I fell victim to the old 'advertised travel times dont really mean anything' chestnut thats pretty typical in this neck of the woods. I was due to be in Koh Pha Ngan at 18:30 but was still waiting for the ferry at 22:00 as a result of the coach driver stopping off 3 times for hour long breaks cashing in on his commision with the local eateries. Not the end of the world, there's always plenty of card games going about in these instances to pass the time (most of it spent arguing over different rules in different countries). One minor problem was getting to Haad Rin (the main part where the party is held) at midnight, not really the time you want to be looking for a place. We managed to find a place eventually and consoled ourselves with the idea that we might be able to catch a beer before the bars close. Heading across to the bars, the
Another view from the hut
I didnt take my camara down to haad rin in case I lost it so not many photo's.... island hit us. The beach was pumping, there were bars and people everywhere, this was one of lead up parties to the full moon event itself which was not taking place for another 5 days. I love Koh Pha Ngan.
These parties last till the morning and often a sunrise swim is too much to resist. This was my first mistake as, in my enthusiasm, I managed to cut my feet up pretty badly on the coral, though from the state of the cuts I may as well have been jumping on broken glass. Naturally I figured the wonder that is the human body would ensure the cuts healing themselves in good time and so decided I'd ride it out. There were lots of beach parties to attend and if I had any pain it wasnt a problem that one of the thai whiskey buckets couldnt solve and I'd be getting back to the funk in no time. It was party time afterall, but I wasnt totally ignorant; everynow and then I would 'sanitise' the cuts by pouring neat alcohol on them - except one morning when I didnt have any alcohol handy I poured aftershave on the wounds
thinking the alcohol ingredients would act as a great cleaner. This hurt like hell but surely the pain meant that the alcohol was working?
Another party and another sunrise swim, I hadnt learned my lesson. In normal circumstances I usually dont take my cash card on nights out in case it gets nicked (stories of theft are constantly circulating around full moon time) or I lose it in some escapade. I'd stuck by this principle on this particular night until I was running low on money and so decided to jump on my newly hired scooter to go and pick up my cashcard to ensure a longer night. The laid back attitude of the Thais is typical when renting anything. After taking my passport as a security measure in the scooter place, they asked if I'd ever ridden a scooter before. "Nope" I said wondering whether this might be a problem. "Ah you be alright" she said as she threw me the keys. And I was, after the initial 20 minutes anyway when I had a bit of a unnerving problem turning left. This kind of thing would shock health and safety enthusiasts back home but this is what I love about the place. Everything is always fine and everyone takes responsibilty for their individual actions, there's more trust. "If you break it just get it fixed yourself before bringing it back" she said as I left.
So after picking up my card and narrowly avoiding the stray dog that always jumps me on the hill I heard a popping noise and noticed my tyre had blown. Bugger. I parked it up somewhere and got back to the party thinking I could deal with it later (I'd have to find another way of avoiding that dog). All of this precided the sunrise swim in which I stripped down to my boxers and trustingly laid my clothes, with my valuables in, on the beach. Big mistake. I got out to find that my stuff had been tampered with. Immediately a local grabbed my arm and starting pointing and gesturing me down the beach. I followed him to a group of westerners and a confused girl holding my phone before asking if it was mine. She said some guy had just dropped it in front of them. It was only now that I checked my trouser pockets and noticed my debit card missing. This walk along the beach might have been a decoy. I was gutted, at this point I mistakingly believed briefly that the cash card was my only means of obtaining money.
I hobbled back up the hill (the wounds still giving me jip) to my hut where I had some pound sterling and dollars for such a scenario. I've found that I'm excellent at hiding things from would be thieves as it took me about an hour to find my money. After annoying some family and friends by ringing them at an anti-social hour to get my card canceled, I set about searching for the scooter. It took me another hour just to find it, the happiness apon this discovery was then blighted by the realisation that the scooter keys were also missing from my pocket. The bastards! To add insult to injury I went back to the scooter place for a spare key only to find the place closed and that they'd gone on holiday, according to their neighbour. I wondered about my passport.
Luck was not being my friend and, after a week of increasingly painful feet, I decided to visit the doctor. A new addition to keep my spirits up was the arrival of an ear infection which would eventually render me deaf in one ear - "Have you been swimming recently?". The doctor then took a look at the now yellow, and incredibly painful, wounds and diagnosed infections; "Very bad". They would have to clean them which entailed picking and scrapping all the wedged-in sand out with tweezers and smothering the wounds with what felt like acid. This was excruciating. They had to repeat this every day for 5 days (everyday the doc saying;"1 or 2 days"). My only way of dealing with the pain was to laugh histerically or hum nervously, they were treated to the 'Rainbow Show' theme tune more often than not, I dont know why. I guess the aftershave didnt work after all. I was stuck there and had to spend the remainder of my time there on crutches with my feet bandaged. Funnerly enough I blended in more than ever, every second person on this island seems to be bandaged somewhere, most from scooter accidents, they call them the 'thailand tatto'. There was always someone else in the doctor's to swap stories of idiocy with(mostly fire related). Although the impartial hearing could sometimes make the conversation a little laboured as I dont have the best of hearing as it is.
To be honest, of all places to be stuck, Koh Pha Ngan is not a bad place to be. A beautiful place with beautiful weather. Lots of bars and restaurants all showing the latest pirate films for those recovering (Bond and Borat everywhere). As for the full moon party itself, it was simply the best party I've ever been to and difficult to explain. It was incredible. The beach was alive with people all partying to whatever beach bar they were nearest. There was even a safe spot dedicated to those unconscious from over indulgence so that nothing untoward could happen to them. I spoke to a guy who had already carried 3 people there. It seemed like everyone was having the time of their lives and it was all you could do to soak the magnitude of the party in. A walk down the beach meant witnessing all kinds of moods and music. Unfortunatley for those hoping to ferry over for the night, the wild storms by day meant that their party was cancelled.
Koh Pha Ngan is one of my favourite places so far and it certainly wont be my last full moon party, I had a blast. Though I might give the sunrise swims a miss in the future.
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Fran
non-member comment
booooo
Jimbo, Bad luck re the late bus, the wounded feet, the robbery, the flat tyre, the deposited passport, the mad dog, the wrong date for the party, the lost scooter keys, the ear infection, the foot infection, the deafness etc Blame it all on the full moon. Do you mean you sang the theme tune from Rainbow the kids programme? Bet you were feeling less Zippy and more Bungle in that doctor's surgery......... Where's the entry on Tokyo and get writing on Sydney asap!