I Heart Full Moon Party

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Well after what can only be described as the best flight of my life (upgrade to business class- my hero!) I arrived in the sweltering heat of Bangkok. All I really did there was travel in taxis and sleep. Anyway, another plane ride, a bus and a ferry later I was in Koh Phangan- and that place is cool.

I mean, the drinks come in buckets (which look eerily like those small buckets kids make sandcastles out of), all pubs and restaurants show either episodes of friends, simpsons or family guy, and tackiness abounded all around. But its beyond that- the weather's wonderfully warm without being too hot; the water is sooo nice, and there were some Australians staying a few rooms down from us which could (in typical Aussie fashion) always be called on for a good night out.

I had a bit of a relapse from whatever virus I had in Fiji, but to my surprise and delight recovered after just one day.

For all those ignorant beings who have not before heard of the Full Moon Party, it is basically a gathering of backpackers from around the world (though I swear most of them were Irish) to celebrate what is supposed to be the most beautiful full moon in the world ('supposed to' being the key phrase). I was here for the 'slow' season, meaning there was a mere 7,000 people crammed on one beach, dancing and drinking the night away.

But I'll tell you what, I'd love to see the 10,000 that is supposedly there in peak season, because the beach was literally crammed full of people right down to and into the water. And that sort of influx of people meant a few changes from the standard good night out that is Koh Phangan:

Firstly, we waited over an hour for dinner to come. That's alright though because they were playing 'The Beach'' and I actually got to see the end. Then, there was the fact that everyone looked like a tool- wearing matching fluoro "same same"shirts, with pink headbands and absolutely covered in fluoro paint. Roger decided to get into this trend as a joke by buying a bright orange shirt which he cut up, and getting 'disco disco disco' painted on him in fluoro green paint. Which as you can imagine, pulled off the look quite nicely.

The night was, in short, fun. Only at 7 in the morning did it seem appropriate to go to bed, and even at that point there were more people on the beach than the average night.

In general though Koh Phangan is ultra relaxed. Days were spent either at the beach or the pool, and nights on the beach with a bucket or too, lazing on these cool triangle cushion things- and dancing of course. You could get a good sized serving of fried rice for 50 baht (that's less than $2 folks), and the most beautiful crepes on a street corner for 30 baht ($1). There were dogs everywhere and you could literally here the buzz of electricity down the street, but Koh Phangan was great, and a perfect start to my trip.

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Photos

Drinking from a bucket
Finally, something cooler than teapots!

The Aussies (and Katie)
This was taken at Full Moon Party, notice the hords of people in the background.

The Crowd of Full Moon Party
The worst quality photo ever, but trust me, there were heaps of people.