The Koh Phangan Full Moon Party

The Koh Phangan Full Moon Party -is legendary, there is hardly a back-packer anywhere traversing the globe right now that has not heard of this crazy little islands reputation when the moon is full.

Koh Phangan is situated in the gulf of Thailand and is the little sister Island of Koh Samui (Thailand’s third largest island) and Koh Tao (a dive mecca). Koh Phangan first came to realize its place in Thai folklore way back in 1987 when a small group of hardened backpackers, threw a birthday party one for one of their friends.

They had such a ball dancing on the beach, deserted as it was then, drinking and singing songs. They decided that they would all each return the following year at the same time to reunite and party under the full moon once again.

Eventually word got around that a party would take place every full moon and the more people that came the merrier it would be. It attracted a few hippies and back packers at first, who in turn would tell their fellow travellers about this little paradise island beach party, sure enough Koh Phangan Full Moon Party blossomed.

Following the successful movie The Beach, the island has grown even more popular and every month you can expect at least 20,000 people to flock to the Full Moon Party. The party generally takes place on the beach at Haad Rin and has now developed into a monster of loud rave-dance-hip-hop and all other music, combined, a riot of sound. There are many bars lining the beach area.

Alcohol can also be bought on the beach at little huts, there are fire dancers and jugglers, showing off their skills to the music, people laid out cold through too much drinking and other substance abuse no doubt. There will be people selling things that they should not be selling so be wary of such traders and watch your valuables.

Don’t be shocked if you stumble upon a couple or more, frolicking in the sand barely clothed, the place is not for the lighthearted and is a sure fire eye opener to the virgin traveller.

The beach in the day time is like any other paradise beach in Thailand, offering sun beds and places to eat and drink with massages and jet ski and Para-sailing going on all around. You could be anywhere in Thailand, it is not until the night time when all hell breaks loose.

The island does not have an airport, so the main route in, is by ferry. There are ferries leaving them mainland Surat Thani every day, there are also ferries from Koh Samui and Koh Tao. The price of the ferry tickets vary from where you buy them, so better to shop around. During the Full Moon Party there are ferries going every hour to and from Koh Samui.

Buses run every day from Khao San Road in Bangkok to Koh Phangan, buses take you as far as Surat Thani or drop you at Chumpon and from there you catch the ferry over to Phangan. It’s a long trip down form the capital, so stocking up on provisions for the trip might be wise.

During the Full Moon Party it is not uncommon for the genuine party goer to be offered drugs, drugs that are illegal in Thailand and purchasing these drugs is a punishable crime. It is well known that the local jails of Surat Thani are more densely populated just after a Full Moon Party.

The laws in Thailand can be very severe for the drug pusher or drug buyer. It has been noted that there are unscrupulous people, which will first sell drugs to the naive foreigner party goer, and then run to the police in search of a reward for being an informant that someone has drugs.

As with anywhere, where there are large crowds there is crime, so although Koh Phangan is a beautiful island, it does have a very seedy side to it, especially if you go looking for it. Be warned the locals and in particular, the police, do not stand for trouble from anyone, and will crack down hard on all who break the rules.

Thai jails are not pleasant places and it may take more than a humble apology to get out of one, the secret is obvious really, don’t break the laws in the first place.

Thailand has so many beautiful places to see and it has so much to offer and for people to enjoy Koh Phangan is certainly a paradise and has many people returning year upon year.

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