Blogs from Ko Pha-Ngan, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 125

I’ve always said my life is a bit of a contradiction (that’s right I’m a living oxymoron) but no where is that better illustrated than Thailand. It was a fairly impulsive decision to leave Keys in Laos…… in 6 weeks traveling I’d see no beach so with everyone one we talked to heading towards the Full Moon I decided some R&R with some sun, sea and…… sand mixed in would be just right. Besides the Full Moon I was desperate to get back to The Sanctuary, a yoga retreat I visited 5 years ago on my first trip to Thailand and vowed to return to one day. My original plan was to head straight to the Sanctuary, but I arrived later than I thought in Hadd Rin and trying to get a long tail (it can ... read more

It was with a bit of trepidation that we approached Ko Pha Ngan, an island infamous for its full-moon parties. It's all well and good to be considered a "backpacker haven," but as any morally superior traveler meandering around Thailand discovers, if Khao San Road is the first and foremost backpacker destination... You'd do well to avoid any places that try to follow in its footsteps. However, despite my best intentions, I found it very hard to do anything but fall in love with the island. True, it is incredibly touristy and over-run with all sorts of backpackers, including those that most sane people avoid at all costs, but it's also indescribably lovely. Although the touts and pushy businesspeople are here as well, the vibe is altogether much more laid back than other places we've encountered ... read more

ok so as the title suggests i've made it out of bangkok at lon last and it was an interesting couple of days to say the least, i orgionally didn't leave and then met up with a german guy and his friend and we hung out and it was all good until the german, baron, went a little nuts, i new the kid wasn't right but to cut what could be a long story short i got woke up a 6:30 to a knock to my door i open and there he is looking manic and hes says 'we have to leave' well the only place i was heading was back to my bed. then he said 'ok but tell your friends to stop talking about me!' what friends i'm travelling alone. this was one of ... read more

We came here after Ko Tao and managed to get ourselves some good accomodation and cheap so glad we got here early. However the whole week has been a blur, Andy got food poisoning the first night we arrived which was not very nice. But it only lasted a day or two and he felt beter in time to meet up with everyone that we met in vang vieng. Since then its all been a bit hazy as they are bad influences to say the least!! Alot of alcohol has been consumed and after our 3 week break (in an attempt to get healthy again!) Our bodies do not seem happy about it. Saturday was the full moon, it was crazy 20,000 people partying on a beach til sunset!!! Really is a recipe for disaster. It ... read more

After landing in Bangkok and meeting up with Kym (YAY!) we headed down for a night on Ko Samui and then to Ko Pha Ngan for the purpose of this little island getaway.. Full Moon Party!.. After a night in a Ko Samui bungulow under the flightpath of all planes heading to the island (the palm trees by the pool shook as planes flew overhead about every hour - on the half and quarter hour if we were lucky!) we were ready for a big night out fuelling ourselves with homemade vanilla and redskin vodkas from the balcony of our tree house villa! Full moon party attracts about 15-20,000 people (largely the israeli, italian and french community!- and they all know how to party!) is set on Had Rin, a stretch of the southern coast and ... read more