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Published: October 28th 2008
Koh Pha-Ngan, Thailand
Home of the infamous monthly Full Moon Party. This is the view from our bungalow's balcony... Unbelievable!Sooo, it has been TOO LONG since I’ve posted anything to this "blog", and now Phase III is officially underway (Cory, Fede, and I are living in Sydney, Australia for the Aussie Summer, but more on that later...), and TONS has happened since my last post (Which covered the time I spent in Cambodia, in May- I know, ridiculous...), but I’m STILL going to do my best to try and get things up to speed before the summer here really gets underway. The photos may do most of the talking, but still, its better than nothing, and it will at least give you an idea of what we've been up to since then. So, without further ado... The blog continues!
After Fede and I wrapped things up in Cambodia, we flew from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and met up with Cory on May 14th... We were en route to Koh Pha-Ngan- an island off the east coast of Thailand- for the infamous Full Moon Party, and were excited to have some relaxing beach time after having spent the previous 2 months doing some heavy back-packing... Fede had been hyping the Full Moon Party as the be-all-end-all ever since we met
him back in Queenstown, so we all were pumped to get there and experience the madness.
Koh Pha-Ngan did not disappoint- it was amazing. We arrived 5 days prior to the actual Full Moon, and had ample time to get ourselves acquainted and prepared for the festivities on the night of the party. Koh Pha-Ngan is definitely geared towards the Full Moon Party and the hordes of backpackers and travelers that come to the island for that specific event. Accommodation and restaurant prices go up that week, the beach gets more and more crowded every day, and you start to see packs of people wandering around aimlessly with their backpacks on, unable to find a place to stay. The nights start off with low key music, people just hanging out, and build into a full-on frenzy complete with flaming jump rope, thumping house music, and more bucket cocktails than the law should allow (But hey, its Thailand...). From then on, insanity ensues. It really is ridiculous. We eased into the week with lots of volleyball, a beach soccer tournament, several naps on the beach, and a few warm-up parties. As the week wore on, it was incredible to see
When the Sun Goes Down...
Twilight beachtime on Haad Rin... how much more crowded the beach got as the party approached. Each day more crowded than the one before, literally thousands of travelers and backpackers descending on the island for one blow-out party. It was amazing. Before we knew it, the night of the party was upon us.
The Full Moon Party was insane- 10,000 people, crammed onto the beach; music pounding from every beach-side bar; fire dancers who had saved their best moves for this night going totally insane; masses of humanity moving in sync with the music, bodies glowing due to the all of blacklights and body paint; the full moon shining bright over the sea, casting shadows all along the sand; revelers spilling out into the surf, taking the party into the ocean- it was unbelievable. A sensory overload, for sure. I cant really even begin to describe it accurately (For obvious reasons- this IS a family-friendly blog, after all...), but I can honestly say it was one of the craziest scenes I have ever witnessed... Absolute pandemonium. Things were still going strong when we finally decided we had had enough and called it a "night"- which was about 930am, well after the Full Moon had
A Family Dinner...
Cory, Daiana, Fede, and I enjoying a nice dinner before hitting the beach for a warm-up night leading up to the Full Moon Party disappeared and been replaced by a gigantic sun in a crystal blue sky. It was RIDICULOUS.
After the Full Moon Party, we had a couple of days to recuperate before heading off to Koh Tao, another island off the east coast of Thailand, about an hour and a half ferry ride north of Koh Pha-Ngan. We were hoping to get some relief, some rest and relaxation after the insanity that was our week in Koh Pha-Ngan. Not to be... Apparently, everyone ON Koh Pha-Ngan had the same idea, and it turned out the party just relocated to Koh Tao. So be it... Cory and Fede were immersed in their PADI Open-Water Scuba Certification Course right away, so I took a couple of days to do some diving on my own around the island. We had heard that there were whale sharks in the area, and were really hoping to get to see and swim with one, but it didn’t happen. Oh well... Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, I guess, and it IS a big ocean out there. Fede, Daiana, and I took a boat ride to this private island about 30
May 20th, 2008- Time for the FULL MOON PARTY!!!
Cory doesnt know WHAT to expect- none of us do, really... The anticipation on the beach that day was palpable. Crazy... minutes off of Koh Tao one afternoon- we had heard there was an amazing private beach, some great snorkeling, etc., and it gave us an excuse to take a boat ride around the island- SO beautiful there... Anyway, once we got to the beach, we were really anxious to go swimming, as it was a scorcher of a day. Wouldn’t you know it, the first step I took into the water, I slashed my right foot open on a razor-sharp piece of coral. Luckily, it was way out on the outside of my foot, right in the meaty part of the sole behind the pinkie toe, so it wasn’t on the weight-bearing part of my foot, but still, it was a BAD cut, and there was blood EVERYWHERE. Being that we were on a private, secluded beach, not many people around, in Thailand, my expectations for proper medical treatment weren’t very high. My main concern was to get the bleeding stopped, get onto a boat back to the main island, and then figure it out from there. Fede helped out by finding what turned out to be a poor excuse for a First-Aid Kit, I wrapped it up the best
A year in the making...
Fede had been hyping this party ever since we met him back in Queenstown, and now, its finally here- THE FULL MOON PARTY!!! I could, and then hobbled down the searing boardwalk to get on the water taxi back to the main island. Once there, I located a medical clinic that has to see these kinds of things all of the time, for they had everything necessary to clean and sterilize the cut, cover it up, and tape the bandages down so that no dirt or anything could get into it. I bought some cotton balls and bandages to replace the ones they dressed it with, and was good to go. I was so thankful I found that place- I thought I was going to be stuck with an infected foot that might put my travels on hold for awhile, unable to go scuba diving, much less even walk around, etc., but the ladies at that clinic knew exactly what to do to get me back on my feet. I was scuba diving again in a day or two, and this massive gash on the bottom of my foot had started to heal up nicely in the next several days. We spent the rest of our time in Koh Tao relaxing on the beach, playing paddle ball, reading in the shade, and soaking
Are you SURE thats chicken??
The vendors were ready- this buffet literally ran for half the beach... Mystery Meat for everyone!!! up the sun. Again, before we knew it, it was time to move on to the next stop- the Perhentian Islands off the northeast coast of Malaysia.
We took the ferry back to mainland Thailand, hopped on the overnight train to the Malay border, shouldered our backpacks and crossed over into Malaysia, and then hired a taxi (1.5 hours- $20. Try getting that in Chicago...) to drive us to the port where the ferries depart from to take people out to the Perhentians. An easier moving day than it might sound- the sleeper train was great, save for some crazy Eastern European guy who started accusing us of smoking at 3am (Who's smoking?!?! NO SMOKING!!!!- too funny...), the hike across the border was a bit rough (HOT), the taxi was easy, and we only had to wait an hour to catch the ferry out to the islands. We waited for the boat at some random seaside "restaurant"- 45 minutes for a chicken sandwich = ridiculous. At last, the boat arrived; we hopped on board, and were headed out to Perhentian Kecil, the smaller of the two islands.
The Perhentian Islands are fast becoming one of the major "stops"
Care for some local flair??
Body painting artisits setting up along the beach for the Full Moon Party. There were HUGE blacklights set up everywhere, which would cause this fluorescent paint to glow in the dark. We felt obliged to participate... along the backpacker's circuit of SE Asia. Word has gotten out, and it wont be long before these immaculate islands go the same way as those in Thailand already have. For now, they’re still significantly calmer, much quieter, and still considered "off the beaten path". Paradise, Heaven on Earth, Eden- call it whatever you want- Perhentian Kecil is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Lush green forests blanketing towering peaks, white sand beaches stretching between rocky outcroppings that rise to guard the bays, crystal clear waters teeming with sea life, slowly changing from a pale blue to a dark indigo as it gets deeper and deeper off the shore- it was incredible, absolutely stunning. After the madness of Thailand, this was EXACTLY what we needed. It was almost like out own private island- one we shared with maybe 100 or 150 other people, but it really felt like it was just a few people hanging out on this amazing island: taking it easy, watching the waves roll in, utterly content to just breathe the fresh air, watch the gulls soaring on the wind, and smile, knowing that you are indeed in Paradise... X-Games frisbee sessions, dinner at
the Panorama Restaurant, banana smoothies at lunch- I don’t know if I’ve ever been more relaxed in my life. Fede and I signed up to take our Advanced Open-Water Scuba Certification Course at Turtle Bay Dive Shop, and before long, we were diving twice a day, seeing and interacting with some of the most amazing marine life I’ve ever witnessed. Hands down the best diving I’ve ever done, and that includes Australia, Fiji, and both the east and west coasts of Thailand. On one dive, we saw something like 5 sea turtles, a juvenile eagle ray, several barracuda, bamboo and black-tip reef sharks, heaps of fish, amazing coral- it just went on and on and on. We also did a wreck dive at the site of this massive cargo ship that sank there several years ago- again, absolutely incredible. We were able to swim into the ship's cargo bays, exploring the interior and experiencing something totally different than any other dive I had ever been on before. Massive schools of fish everywhere, lionfish, more bamboo sharks, stingrays- on and on and on. Soooooo good! Before we knew it, our course was over, and we were certified Advanced Open-Water Divers. Its
weird- the scuba diving got addictive really quick. The day after we completed the course was the first day we hadn’t been diving in the past 4, and it felt like something was missing. I wanted to get right back in the water again, but decided to take a break. Regrettably, we didn’t go diving again after that... We were trying to stick to some sort of an itinerary, and we had already spent about a week longer on Perhentian Kecil than we had intended. It was HARD to leave that place- the first place any of us really had second thoughts about staying longer and foregoing something else we wanted to do later on down the road. It was THAT good... In the end, the previously-laid plans won out, and we boarded the ferry back to the Malaysian mainland to continue our trip. I remember being on the transfer boat that morning, looking back at the beach, the island, the dive shop, still not sure I wanted to leave. We all loved that place...
I entitled this blog "Neverland" because that is exactly what it felt like. Our time in the islands was like being in a
My arms...
It might look good now, but it HURT later on. Read: Chemical burns. Apparently I have sensitive skin... Who knew?? Ah well, it was worth it for one night... magical place straight out of a favorite movie from your childhood, out of some worn storybook, one that never gets old, no matter how many times you read it. Neverland- thats the closest I can come to describing it. A place where the hardest decisions you have to make are "Should I toss the frisbee around, or should we play paddle-ball?", "Should I take a nap in the shade, or should I knock out another chapter of this great book I’m reading?", "Should I go scuba diving in some of the most unreal waters on earth, or should I go on a private boat ride around this amazingly beautiful island?" Those 3+ weeks were literally unreal. A care-free existence that wasn’t weighed down by anything more meaningful than "What are we having for lunch today?" and "Should we grab a drink and settle in to watch another amazing sunset?” Every day a new adventure in the sun, whether that be lazing around on the beach, or playing beneath the waves. Amazing.
Neverland. I want to go back...
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