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Published: January 2nd 2016
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For New Years Eve, we spent the night on Koh Phangan island which is near Koh Samui. We scrambled last minute to come up with a plan of transportation, and had taxis and boat rides scheduled ahead of time with safe and credible companies. Our taxi picked us up along with 8 other people from various resorts, and we drove over to the shore where we would catch the boat. Little did we know, we'd be standing in line for 2 hours waiting in a mass of hot, sweaty people all hyped up for the party. We struggled to stay together as a group of seven because people would anxiously push their way to the front to make it on the boat. Unfortunately, we lost our friends Bobby and Quentin, so we were separated before even making it to the island. Emma and I stuck together because I was holding her money, and she was holding the key, so we made sure to not lose each other! The boat ride over was one of the craziest rides ever. In a speed boat, with no where to sit, the whole boat swayed and rocked up and down over the giant ocean waves.
Without life vests and gripping the side rails, we kept joking, "this would never happen in the states!!" Relieved, we safely made it to shore where the chaos only increased.
Koh Phangan is even more touristy than Koh Samui, and the island's businesses exist simply for these monthly "Full Moon" parties. Venders selling buckets of booze lined the shores and streets. The party has a neon rave theme to it, so multiple people were offering to paint glow-in-the-dark paint for a certain price. Finding our way to the beach before the clock strikes midnight, we checked to see that our remaining group members were still together!
Although there wasn't a live artist, a few DJ's blasted techno remixes along the shore. Without a countdown or anything, suddenly we realized it was finally the new year! U2's hit "New Years Day" starting playing, while fireworks shot up in the sky. I reminisced of home, my memories of seeing U2 live, and the firework show I watch with my family every fourth of July.
Some very attractive blonde Swedish boy then gently grabbed my hand and asked if I'd be his new years kiss. His Swedish accent lured me
in... Not wanting to separate from the group, we left and ventured out to a new side of the beach, where we found our friend Edward. From here, we went into a few more techno clubs until becoming exhausted. At 4:00 we made our way back to the boat landing, waiting in line for another hour before taking the speed boat back to the main island. Meeting some characters in line, we had a fun time convincing people that we were NOT from America. They definitely didn't believe us, but the conversation helped pass the time.
We rang in the new year in a completely different way here in Thailand, but the experience was crazy and memorable none the less. Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2016!
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