Koh Pha Ngan: The Trilogy Episode I

We arrived in Ko Pha Ngan on the night of December 30, on what seemed to be the lonnnnngest ferry ride ever. I was expecting 1 hour and it ended up being 4+ hours. I was so excited about getting to the beautiful beaches that it seemed twice as long, too. When I finally arrived there weren't any sketchy tuk-tuks awaiting us, instead there were sketchy taxi trucks. They were flat-beds with benches in the back, one on either side facing each other. And they cram as many people as possible, often times with people hanging on the back as well. It's actually kind of impressive. Our taxi dropped us off at our accommodation on a tiny little dirt road with trash piled up on one side and a funky smelling canal on the other. I was a bit worried. But as I rounded the corner and entered the Coco Gardens Bungalows I found myself in a beautiful little paradise. It was dark so I couldn't see much, but what I could see looked like perfect. Palm lined beach, sun deck and beach bar lit up with twinkling lights, and waves lapping at the shore just meters from our bungalow.

Our first day was December 31st and I was perfectly content with lying on the beach all day until nightfall when we planned to head to Haad Rin beach for the notorious Full Moon Party. After several days of pounding the pavement in Bangkok it was nice to relax and soak in some rays.

Felt like my own private beach

Beautiful bungalow 8

Nothing but fun in the sun

Every month during the full moon, there is huge celebration on Haad Rin beach. December's full moon coincidentally fell on New Year's Eve, so the celebration was expected to be bigger than ever. Haad Rin was quite a hike from our accommodation as we were staying on the western shore and it was on the southern most part of the island. Pretty much everyone on the island was heading in that direction so traffic was heavy and we were afraid we might miss midnight! Luckily we made it with thirty minutes to spare. Using my time wisely I spruced up with the prerequisite body paint and purchased myself a bucket! (I have no idea why or when this started, but the standard drink during the full moon party is a bucket filled with a mean hangover inducing mixture.)

Full Moon

Buckets and paint

The beach was vibrating with excitement. It was both the most exhilarating and overwhelming experience. There were thousands of people, from one end of the beach clear to the other; there were multiple sound stages all pumping out their out beats; there were fire throwers spinning and twirling their blazing batons; and at midnight there was the best, most amazing fireworks show I have ever seen, hands down. I have never been so close to fireworks before-they we shooting them off less than a hundred meters away at the end of the beach. The result was breath-taking and totally sketchy because several of the fireworks went of prematurely, showering the crowd with sparks, smoldering embers, and for an unfortunate few, burning shells.

The fireworks and music were great but my favorite part of the night was the lanterns. They are meant to commemorate the victims of the 2004 tsunami which devastated many parts of Thailand.

At one point during the night there were dozens of them floating up into the night sky. Watching them disappear into the atmosphere was magical.

In summation, what can one find at a full moon party? Thousands of painted people dancing on a beach, drinking buckets; and an amazing fireworks/pyrotechnics show. One can also find hundreds of singular flip-flops who've lost their mates in the mayhem. The not so attractive side of the event is that the beautiful beach is just desecrated beyond belief. There is so much litter all over the beach, it is really disheartening. Despite that, I am still glad I went and had an experience unparalleled with any I've had before.