Partying at Full Moon
Koh Phangan is one of Thailand’s well known islands, mainly because of its full moon parties, not to mention the black moon parties, the half moon parties…..any excuse for a celebration really! My first experience of Koh Phangan was for my birthday, which is December, unfortunately, so there were loads of holiday makers and the island was absolutely packed - its probably the busiest time of year. For some silly reason I thought that there would be some spiritual side to these parties so I got a shock when I got there.
I barely saw any Thai people, just loads of disrespectful foreigners throwing bottles at peoples houses, fighting and shouting and I hated every minute of it! I went back to Koh Pahangan a few times but not at the peak season and the parties were brilliant, less people, and travellers rather than hooligans on holiday.
Sunrise beach, where the parties happen, is lined with bars each playing a different style of music so there is bound to be something for everyone. I even took my Mum to a full moon party and she had a great time! The beach is covered with UV decorations, fire dancers and loads of people dancing and there is a fabulous vibe. The party usually goes on until about 8am but there is usually an after party on somewhere else so ask around if you want to stay up - if you have had any Thai Red-bull I guarantee you won’t be sleeping (its illegal in most other countries as its so strong.
Watch out for broken glass on the beach and getting on the wrong side of any of the local people (believe me, you will regret it!) and when you have to take your shoes off when you go into a shop (out of respect in Thai culture), take your shoes in with you as someone stole my flip-flops (they were really cheap flip flops but very comfortable!) but luckily I managed to find a pair out of all the discarded ones on the beach!
Read about more celebrations……..
February 7th, 2008 at 9:49 am
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February 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
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