Another night another town it's time to burn this disco down

---

26-09-12 to 02-10-12


Soooo, I didn't get to update the blog for Koh Phangan until now, 5 days after leaving. Here goes a test of the old mind cogs...

After spending the most chilled out 5 days on Koh Tao I landed on Koh Phangan on the 26th after catching a ferry at around 2pm. Like I've said before, the organisation of island hopping in Thailand is mad! I bought my tickets in Chiang Mai in the North and was told someone would be there to meet me. One thing I've learned whilst in Thailand is to take all info/advice with a bit of salt and remember to add your own common sense!! I was hanging around the 7-eleven store waiting for my taxi (as I was kindly told) only for loads of taxis to be milling around asking for more money!! Took the situation into my own hands and started asking people what tickets they had and which boat company they're with (there's at least 4 working the islands) and eventually met 2 guys who were heading the same boat time as me so we eventually find the pre paid taxi and head down to the Koh Tao pier. Had a chat with the 2 lads, Andy and Josh. Everyone from Koh Tao is Heading to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on the 30th. Checked in and just fell asleep on top deck!


My hostel was a right mare to find!! Road names barely exist so ended up going into a bar and asking around whilst Andy an Josh headed off to their hostel after agreeing to meet them later on the beach for a beer. Found my place and checked in okay after paying 500 bht deposit for sheets. Yep, sheets!! It was because on Full Moon night everyone gets neon painted up and it stains the sheets so they make sure you shower at silly o clock in the morning!

Once I'd checked in I was shown to the local bar that the hostel is affiliated with called Outback. Met the bar staff and another lad from Nottingham there. Tried the sang som Thai rum which wasn't that bad in a glass of coke (more on sang som later!). A thunder storm started whilst drinking and having said Id meet Andy and josh at the beach I headed down there with Nottingham in tow. Had a few vodka and sodas before hitting the buckets at Cactus bar on the beach. By this time the rain had stopped and people dancing all on the beach and the tables..if this was what the full moon party would be like there would be noooo disappointment!! The buckets i'm talking about are what everyone drinks around here because they're so cheap. For about 200 bht (£4) you get a quarter bottle of spirits, a mixer and a couple of Thai red bulls (like syrup in small bottles, or liquid speed!!) all mixed in a plastic beach bucket!! Absolutely nuts, best idea ever!! You need to haggle to make it more fun, always start off asking for more red bulls but at a cheaper price..usually works!! And the Sang Som local rum (like sailor jerrys, same same but different!!) They were obviously even cheaper...dangerous after 2 or 3 of them...the night descended into bouncing on tables to the tunes that reminded me of Miami, kinda house/pop with some utter shite mixed in for good measure!! Think i met up with andy and josh but its blurred with meeting them on full moon night too!! Somehow made it home at about 5.30am and collapsed in bed.



Thursday 27th

Woke up the next day at noon, can of coke laying on the sofa but couldn't deal with the heat so went to sleep in the A/C dorm room until 5pm!! Doh!! Felt slightly better so went for food..ended up in a Thai bar that just played Family Guy on repeat (was on every day I was there, all pissing themselves reading the subtitles!!) Thai nachos are crap. Chopped pepper, Doritos and some cheese..sorted the hangover out at least! Back at the hostel met with a group that came over from Phi Phi..Jamie, Noel, Grace (can't remember others names just now, sorry!) but we ended up watching Hangover 2 which is based in Bangkok and just what I needed after the night before!!



Friday 28th

Every day leading up to Full Moon involves a party somewhere near Haad Rin, which is the beach the Full Moon happens on. Today was a pool party at one of the resorts. We went wandering around the shops and stalls during the day, hundreds of neon wifebeater V.E.S.T's, cheap buckets and random fluorescent stuff to wear. We found a shop that had full size mop and bucket buckets with a bottle of spirits with 10 redbull!!! One between 3 back at the hostel playing drinking games before we went out. This is when I met Toon (pronounced, Tone, the Dutch version of Tony) who was a laugh...ended up knocking around with him and another girl called Pia (from Germany) plus Scottish Jamie and Noel whilst on Koh Phangan. Went for dinner with the Phi Phi lot who met loads more of their mates, must have been about 15 people there! Ended up going via the Reggae Bar for a few drinks before the pool party. Cool bar covered in glow paint scribble and signatures. Pool party at Coral Bungalows, by the time we got there we were pretty smashed...time to get the big Changs in and watch the mayhem descend! None of us really dressed for jumping into the pool, didn't think it would be that big a deal. Down to boxers and back flipping in the pool after the next Chang!! People getting thrown in left right and centre, if not people then peoples clothes were lobbed in..crazy night that didn't end there!! Decided after to head to the beach to carry on..more buckets and bouncing on tables at Cactus bar..maybe this is when I actually met And and Josh for first time since boat and not Weds night, I can't remember!!

Home to bed at 5 am. Job done.

Saturday 29th

Woke up on Saturday feeling terrible, went for breakfast and got stitched up with Thai hash browns..basically fried cubes of spud!! Went to the beach with Toon and Pia and did nothing but chill and go in the ocean for hours. I'd decided to just watch the football and go to bed that night. Still hungover feeling like crap I couldn't think of anything less exciting than getting smashed to minimal techno in a jungle.

Who was I kidding, when am I ever going to drink buckets and listen to minimal techno in a jungle!!!

So, we jumped in a cab to the jungle around 10ish..after a few hostel beers and met with a few others in the jungle. It was nuts, kinda like the Glade at Glastonbury but a bit nuttier and a lot more people! A few hours in it started raining but with zero shelter it was t-shirts in pockets time until it passed, crazy night dancing around to whatever minimal techno is (still not sure!) Glad I went along in the end, what an experience.


Sunday 30th


Sunday was full moon day. Once a month when the moon is full there is a full moon party on the beach. Not just a bar or two, I'm talking the whole length of the beach...10-15,000 people going mental to all kinds of music coming from each bar. On new years eve there can be up to 30,000 people there!!
A few of us had booked onto a boat trip during the day which took us north up the coast to some snorkelling spots and secluded beaches and another waterfall (not as good as NZ or Fiji waterfalls, mind). Jumping off huge cliff rocks was a highlight, plus just getting out of the commercialised and touristy Haad Rin and checking out quieter resorts made the day worth while.


Back at the beach at 6pm the party was starting up, hundreds of stalls line the streets leading to the beach with bucket sellers and fried food stalls... We headed back to the hostel where I fell asleep for an hour or so..mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Bearing in mind I had to be up, checked out and on a boat back to the main land at 10am, I wasn't looking forward to that journey...
Headed out for dinner with Toon down the usual shortcut when we were stopped by a bunch of Thai locals demanding we pay an entrance fee to the full moon party. It's a well known scam and we said we weren't paying as its a free party and as Toon tried to walk past they got real eggy and started shouting in Thai and squaring up.. We just said we wouldn't pay and walked back the way we cam the long route which didn't have people asking for money. Good job there were other people around otherwise we would have been battered!!!


Bit of food and a few beers back with the hostel group we all headed down the the local bar with shit loads of neon paint and a bucket... Got my arm painted up all weird and headed down to the beach. I can only describe it a mayhem, organised mayhem!! Thousands of people up and down the beach dancing to an array of music at all the different beach bars..we walked up the north end to the huge flaming 'Koh Phangan Full Moon Party' sign and just bounced around different bars drinking as we went.. Ended up at one place that had a water slide down from the roof to the beach..we climbed to the top and had amazing views up the beach, never expected it to be like that! Spent ages trying to meet the 2 guys Toon met earlier in his trip and who we saw at jungle but way to many people to meet up.. Back at Cactus bar bumped into Andy and Josh which was incredible given the amount of people that were around, including the gyppo Thai pick pockets!!!


They were right sneaky fuckers. I'd been warned about it being dodgy buying pre made buckets as they lace em with stuff to make you pass out then rob you. But these pick pockets were in gangs of one guy with one or two girls. The guy would spot a wallet being put away or a bulge in a pocket and point the target out to one of the girls who would head after them to try and dance with them whilst fishing around in their pockets!! They were easy to spot aft a while, just look for e Thai's who aren't drinking and are constantly looking down..sneaky bastards! I caught one girl rooting through this ladies bag that was behind her so I tapped the Thai girl on the shoulder and shook my head and the old 'no no' finger wag... Scarpered like a rat up a drain pipe!!


I lost Toon at about 4am, hung around with Andy for a bit then was so hungry I made my way back to the hostel with corn on the cob and pizza in a bag. Think I slept at 5am as I remember Toon being back at the hostel looking for me and heading back out but I was done and ready to die.

Monday 1st October


Woke up at 9.30am in a whole world of pain. 3 days drinking buckets and Chang until morning and now I'm faced with checking out, getting a taxi to the pier, a 4 hour boat back to the main land, a half hour transfer bus to the coach station, a 2 hour wait for my bus followed by a 10 hour bus ride north to Bangkok. I don't want to elaborate any more than to say I wish I had flown down to the islands cos that was a pain in the arse!!!!

Tuesday 2nd


Finally arrived in Bangkok at 5.30am, haggled a tul tuk to the rail link and got the train to the airport. 7 hours early. Good job though as I'd done nothing for Japan so I jumped on the Internet and researched some areas and booked a hostel in Asakusa, and older district North East of the city. Got my flight, extra leg room for the tall westerner..love Thai airways, second time they've done that. Watched 2 films and woke up in Tokyo! Figured out the rail system (kinda, could only work out how to buy single tickets so If I transferred at a station I needed another ticket which just got annoying after a while).
Followed the directions I was emailed to get to the hostel but got lost towards the end, where some old drunk guy wouldn't stop staring at me then started to follow me! I jumped into the nearest 7-eleven and asked as best I could where the hostel was, the guy takes my hand and shows me through the back door..start to shit myself at this point... But winds through and leads me out the back door to show me a huge neon sign of my hostel..best sight ever!! Checked in and jet lagged I stayed up reading sports websites n stuff till about 3am and finally went to sleep.


All in all an awesome trip to Thailand. From the madness of Bangkok, to the laid back cooking and trek on Chiang Mai, to lazy beach days on Koh Tao rounded off with 5 days of drinking on Koh Phangan. Met some cool people along the way, ate some brilliant food too.
Time to start writing up Tokyo as I'm adding the finishing touches to this blog at 10pm on the 5th Oct, the night before I fly home!! Woop!!! Will probably write up Tokyo when I'm back in the UK as I've got a 6.30am start to get to Narita Airport for my flight back at 11.30am Japanese time.


Mouse x

---