Since we started researching about Thailand, we have been bombarded with sites and information about the Full Moon Party that happens on Koh Pha Ngan every full moon. We decided that we should check the scene out, but it was in no way the reason why we came to this lovely little island.
Where we are staying is close to the Haad Rin Beach, or Sunrise Beach, which is where all the action happens. We had only ventured into town a couple of times, never during the late night scene, so we had no idea what to expect really. During the day the place is pretty quiet and relatively empty of tourists. My guess is that most people are sleeping off the night before.
The evening of the full moon started off looking iffy. Noah and I had gone down to Leela Beach, on the opposite shore from Haad Rin, and had spent the late afternoon soaking in the sun and splashing around in the warm water. Darkish clouds began to gather while we were toweling dry and I wondered if the full moon festivities were going to be a rather wet affair. I had no need to fear; the evening was the perfect temperature for a good beach party, and there was a nice wind blowing. The sky was clear and the moon was in its full splendor, shining down and reflecting off the water. It seemed to be giving a nod to the celebration that had been aptly named after it.
We walked from the bungalows dressed in clothes that we were “not afraid to get paint on,” as we had been forewarned by other travelers who were experienced Haad Rin partygoers. The big thing here seems to be florescent colors and paint; everyone gets all decked out in full moon attire, painting their bodies with glow-in-the-dark paint or florescent pink, blue, green and/or purple that amplify the effects of a black light. Noah and I opted not to paint anything but I have to say there were some pretty impressive paint jobs walking around.
We followed the steps down to the beach and were immediately bombarded by a festive and celebratory atmosphere. Music was blaring, the beach appeared to writhe to the music, and everything you could ever want to enhance your party experience was for sale. “Buckets” of alcohol are the drink of choice, mixed together in front of you with a little ice thrown in for good measure. I would guess that one bucket probably had the same potency as around two or two and a half sturdy drinks, so I’m sure you can imagine how things shifted as the evening wore on.
Also available was laughing gas, sold in balloons with a limit on the number of balloons you could purchase. Magic mushroom shakes were there if you knew who and how to ask, and the smell of pot drifted along the shore, mixing with the salty sea air. It was THE party place, that much was obvious.
Noah and I, being the old farts that we are, grabbed a beer and one another’s hands and strolled just outside the crowds, starting at one end of the beach and slowly making our way along the water to the other end. There are about five major party bars who pull out all the stops on full moon nights, and the deejays were unbelievable. We also saw fire dancers, which were really cool. They seemed to keep time to the music, and the fire left streaks of light through the air. The music was different at each scene. All of it was good party music: techno, trance, reggae, rock-there was something for everyone. There was one bar in particular that Noah and I stuck around for a while, I think it was Tommy Bar. The deejay was on a stage facing the water, while dancers thrashed around below him. He was back-lit by a giant W (not sure why, really) and he and another deejay seamlessly switched back and forth with one another, mixing some seriously good music as they went. Further down the beach we found the hippie scene, mellow dudes and dudettes who seemed content to just sit in small groups or in pairs, listening to the Bob Marley-esque music that was pumping in the background. Nearby was the “sleeping area” where blankets and makeshift beds were separated by a rope with a sign that kindly requested people be considerate of those using the space to sleep. Hehe…cracked me up seeing this area in the midst of all the thumping, pounding, blaring music and the similarly loud partygoers.
Partway down the beach we saw a small crowd gathering and then a huge metal frame seemed to catch on fire. Words appeared in the flames, and Full Moon Party, Haad Rin Koh Phangan could be seen glowing from anywhere on the beach. What was really interesting was the man situated at the base of the metal frame with what appeared to be a long stick or club. Sure enough, some idiots started to climb the fiery tower and the guard was kept busy, running back and forth between both sides chasing people down or discouraging them from trying with his stick. One guy made the climb all the way to the top, hung from a bar and did a chin up, then unsteadily tried to shake his moneymaker before he startled himself by almost losing his balance. Thankfully he was pretty skilled at climbing and was able to scramble down without falling. That was our cue to walk on.
The entire scene was madness, but it was actually quite fun. The beach wasn’t so packed with people that Noah and I couldn’t walk along, and the weather was perfect. We enjoyed one another’s company, laughed as we watched kids making fools of themselves and reminisced about the days when we, too, made fools of ourselves with such silly antics. We both agreed that we were glad we had made it through that stage in our lives relatively unscathed! We made our way away from the beach and into town to do the full moon thing and eat at Mama Schnitzels, which tasted delicious, and then we made our way home. I think we were back in our bungalows by around 3am, an early night by Full Moon standards but a perfect evening for us. Things were getting a bit rowdy and I didn’t want to end a lovely time covered in someone’s drink or knocked over by an over-baked teenager.
One of the sad things we noticed was the amount of garbage on the beach. Straws, buckets, bottles, shoes, and pieces of clothing were scattered about everywhere. It was really hard to find a garbage can so that explained a little bit why there was so much trash just thrown on the ground, but it was still depressing. We also saw kids, young kids, running around picking up stacks of buckets and collecting returnable bottles. We were told that the beach is totally clean by the next morning, and that people are hired to pick up all the trash. Some of it just drifts out to sea as well.
Sometimes there are over 20,000 people that crash this party. And this party happens year round, every full moon. There are half-moon, black-moon and new-moon parties as well. Then there are the after-parties that take place at a few choice locations for the entire day after. Haad Rin is just a party town, and the majority of the town is dependent on the hardcore partyers that stumble into town and out again. No wonder the locals seemed a bit grumpy upon first meeting them. It was a different attitude than we had become accustomed to while traveling in Thailand. Once we cracked the tough exterior and got the locals laughing we found out that they are sick of the party scene, but it is their life and how they make a living so they deal with it.
What a great way to wrap up our time here. And I’m so glad that where we are staying allows a beautiful and sweet escape from what goes on right around the corner.
-Amanda
One-2-Ten 
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