Thursday, June 10, 2010

Full Moon Party

Fluro paint, 80's headbands, dancing on picnic tables and buckets = Full Moon Party!!


27th June we took the 1.5 hour very overcrowded refugee like ferry across to Koh Pha Ngan where on docking at the pier I was immediately brought back to 22 years old again. I smiled as I remembered Jude and myself disembarking on this very pier 8 years previously , full of energy and enthusiasm as we began our Australasia trip. If only I had the energy I had then! We hopped in a taxi, bartered the price and bounced our way in the back of another rickety yute up and down some serious hills until we reached Haaad Rin Nai or Sunset Beach (the quieter side of the Full Moon Party beach area).We were definitely showing our age not wanting to be in the midst of it all! After some more hagglig we got oursleves a beach front 'bungalow' less than a 10 minute walk from all the action yet we feel like we are on a deserted private island here. The waves lap outside our door, the breeze blows (but not nearly enough to provide any relief from the heat) and the fruit shakes are good at the bar 10 metres away! The difference in price between the fan option 'bungalow' and the AC one is very noticeable in the construction materials used! being on a budget AC is not really a luxury we can afford, however the amount of natural airation there is in this shack should technically provide some air - but it doesn't. Not even the two excuses of electric fans are a help except for creating some white noise if you wanted to block out the beautiful sound of the ocean lappig , which is the only other noise you can hear here!

However ,it's a beautiful spot and once you ignore the fact that there is a 2 inch gap in the door when it's shut, that the bathroom door doesn't shut at all, that you have to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet, that the dribble that comes from the shower head is salt water, that the holes in the bathroom walls and floor are letting bugs in and that anytime a more than slight breeze picks up it sounds like the corrugated ir,on roof is going to fly off it's a lovely rustic place to stay in! The view is spectacular and sure it's only to sleep in and with the amount of dancing we've been doing on the beach that isn't much time.

Last night was Ben's last night and the official Warm-up party to the famous monthly Full Moon Party on this island. We were soon in the swing of things with a bucket of strange concoctions bought from our new best mate Pinky who gives out free hugs and fresh flower necklaces with each bucket sale !! Next it was off to find a picic table to dance on, more sea breeze and better views from up high!Considering this was the warm-up party there was quite a crowd. We danced our pants off until about 2.30 am and then headed off home to the 'deluxe' shack to get some sleep before the real thing tomorrow. The last time I'd been in Koh Pha Ngan was 2002 when Jude and I caught the Full Moon Party enroute to Oz. The party itslef hasn't changed that much but the town has got much more commercialised, lots more shops and restaurants and an unbelievable amouont of medical clinics (which doesn't bode well!) , yet it still maintains that island charm and the beaches on Koh Pha Ngan are really beautiful.

Next day we strolled the whole 3 metres from our bungalow to a clear sandy spot by the sea and there we sat until luchtime when sadly we had to say goodbye to Ben who had to start making his way home to London. The weather was heating up today and as we wandered through the town haggling for more essential supplies of fluro paint and some day-glo costumes and headbands there was definitely a party atmosphere in the air. By 9.30 we were on our way back to the beach , not expecting too big a crowd yet but thought we'd get some people watching in before things started gettting crazy. However, once we stepped onto the beach it was clear that the party had most definitely started! There were thousands of people already dancing like crazy all over the beacch, there were people sliding down slides through hoops of fire (obviously they'd already had a bucket or two!!) and there were people playing with fire up and down the beach. We made a beeline for Pinky, ignoring the hundreds of other bucket sale hagglers trying to grab our attention with offers of free stuff we definitely weren't looking for! Pinky was delighted to see us, remembered our names from last night and gave us another couple necklaces.

Armed with our bucket we headed straight for a patch of free sand / picnic table and spent the rest of the night dancing like lunatics. I'd forgotten how great a party it is, as carlsberg would say it's probably the best party in the world!! We grafittied quite a few people with fluoro paint and Irish phrases and made friends with some crazy Asians amongst others. We arrived home as the sun was getting up, tired but elated and the only negative of the night being that we were down one camera -long story but we were both safe and in a lot better shape than some of the people we'd seen along the way through the night. One new addition to the party that they didn't have last time was an official sleeping area!! This was an official taped off area with a sign that you could go for a nap in and know you'd be relatively safe or you could leave your friends there and come back for them after a powernap. Hilarious and quite ingenious!!

Next day we we chilled out on the beach again and then headed to visit some friends at their fancy resort. With a pool they were our new best mates! As things have a habit of happening our planned chill day and relaxed night turned into a bit more active as all ended up at a pool party down the beach, well when in Koh PhaNgan....!! So night 3 of parties and I was feeling like I was 22 again but with not quite so much energy!! However according to the young ones it was great that I was still 'living the dream' and they hoped they'd be back here partying when they were my age!! Not sure whether it was more of a compliment or a comment that made me feel old!! Anyway one thing I've learnt on this trip don't let anyone ever tell you you're too old to party .And if I've anything to do with it I hope this isn't the last Full Moon Party I'll see. Jude maybe we should come back for our 40th/ 50th bdays!! One last night in our beach side bungalow and then today we packed up, said goodbye to Haad Rin beach and caught a taxi to the north west of the island to Haad Yao where things are very much more relaxed.

For the same price as we were paying Haad Rin for our shack we havve a beautiful and huge bungalow, with concrete walls, clean sheets, folded towels that actually smell clean, a fan that works, a shower with hot water (not salty water!) , a sink and a toilet that flushes - we are in heavan!!! Whats more there are no nails to stand on on coming out of the floor and our balcony , although it doesn't look onto the beach is big enough to house a family of five! The beach here is also quite corally so it's hard to get any depth to swim in and the water is so hot it's not refreshing at all. After lying in a puddles of our own sweat for about half an hour we decided we needed to do something to cool down. We're far from complaining about the fab weather but with absolutely no breeze it was uncomfortably hot. We relaised the restaurant / bungalows behind where we were sitting on the beach had a swimming pool so we sidled on up and ordered 2 sodas and got the most out of our 35 baht drinks by sipping them at their pool for the rest of the day, padded sun chairs and shaded umbrellas and all!!Flashpacker style! On our way home we went to enquire how much it was to stay there as apart from the pool it looked fairly similar to our place. Not so similar in price though! At almost 3 times the amount for the basic room there we decided buying a less than 1 euro soda and sitting by their pool was a better option than actually staying there!

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