Another Beautiful Island...And a Massive Party - Koh Phangan

February 1-7, 2023

Sawasdee khrap,

After exploring Khao Yai National Park north of Bangkok, I had a long travel day towards Koh Phangan, a beautiful tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand. The travel actually took a couple of days with my spending most of January 31 getting from Khao Yai to Surat Thani, the port city where the ferries depart to Koh Phangan, via bike, train, plane, and bus. In Surat Thani on the morning of February 1, I caught a bus from the hotel to the port, then took a two-hour long boat ride on a gross, industrial ferry to Koh Phangan, and finally rode on a songthaew, or a taxi adapted from a pickup truck, from the port of Thong Sala. The trucks have two rows in the back facing each other, each with space for five or six people crowded in. The songthaews even have luggage racks on top, which consist of a Thai guy making sure all the bags don’t fall off by holding onto them and sparingly using straps.

(I realized I didn't have any photos of songthaews, but this one I found online looks very similar to all the songthaews I rode in Thailand.)

Upon getting dropped off in Haad Rin, the bustling town on the east side of the island, Mel and I still had to find accommodations. We hadn’t been able to find anything reasonable online because we arrived just a handful of days before the monthly Full Moon Party, a massive party attended by 5,000-30,000 people (mostly backpackers) every month. I’d read a blog saying it was normal for everything to be booked online, but it was possible to find a place to stay by walking around to different hostels/hotels and asking in person, so we did that. We walked around for about an hour and checked with several places in the area, and eventually found two accommodations that could host us for our stay. We dropped our bags off at the Haad Rin Resort, our first hotel, where we had a bungalow for two nights with a great location and a modest price. After some lunch at the Tommy Resort, the place we’d booked for the rest of our stay, we felt like we were finally finished with the travel saga of the last day and a half and ready to relax.

In the late afternoon, Mel and I bought some beers at 7-Eleven and a volleyball from a vendor on the beach. We were drinking on the beach and peppering (a term for hitting a volleyball around) and were about to stop playing when some Europeans invited us to play with them on their makeshift court. We couldn’t turn that down, so we played with them for another hour until it was dark.

At night, the beach comes to life as several bars set up comfy seating with bean bag chairs in front of performers, typically fire spinners. We went to one of these bars, got some drinks and food, and watched the fire spinning show. The bar was really set up for comfort with servers coming right up to our bean bag chairs on the beach and asking if we needed anything else anytime we finished food or a drink. It was a great way to ease into the island the first night.

The next day we rented a big motorbike we could both fit on and drove to Haad Yao beach, on the west side of the island. We swam, played volleyball, and got lunch at a café with relaxed vibes and good Western and Thai food. The west side of the island has more of a western hippie/yoga character to it, which is cool but also feels a bit pretentious in some places. I thought there was a nice mix at Haad Yao beach with the trendy cafes and restaurants but also plenty of locals selling wares and massage services.

We were feeling a bit lethargic after lunch and decided to get oil massages right on the beach, which was a great decision because the massage was the best I’ve ever received; I was in such bliss when I was lying on my back that I nearly fell asleep. The masseuse was very talented and the massage platform was in this wooden shelter right by the ocean that was enough removed to have a little bit of privacy while still offering the views and sounds of the ocean.

On the way out to Haad Yao beach, we’d driven mostly along the coast. We drove back through the jungle route in the middle of the island, which was very different from the beach but equally stunning in its own way. We stopped at an attraction called Paradise Falls, but I think the waterfall must be more exciting in the wet season because it was pretty lame when we saw it and barely trickled into the stream at the bottom. I hiked around there to see if the waterfall had more flow upstream (it didn’t) before heading back.

We stopped at the hotel room before going out to another beach bar called Boombayah for food, drinks, and fire spinning in the evening. There are parties all over the island that locals advertise with fliers, with the frequency and intensity of parties increasing closer to the Full Moon Party. We were mildly interested in checking out one of them, but we realized the walk was along a road that would be difficult to walk on since we’d share it with cars, so we walked back towards the beach.

The highlight of the night was on this walk when a couple adorable puppies started following us. They stuck with us, lagging behind at points and then sprinting as fast as their little legs could take them to catch up. Whenever one of them fell behind, we’d wait up so the puppies could stick together. Finally after walking with them for 15 minutes, we stopped at 7-Eleven and the puppies ditched us for some other folks, which was a good thing since we were heading to our room.

The next day, we checked out of the Haad Rin Resort and in to the Tommy Resort, a luxurious hotel right on the beach with beautiful bungalows, a pool, and a restaurant and bar. We hung out at the pool for a good chunk of the day, having a leisurely brunch while it rained outside.

In the late afternoon, we went into town in search of some fun drinks. After finding some, we took them to the beach and relaxed there, taking in and enjoying the scenery, from the clouds to the waves. We spent the rest of the daylight peppering, swimming, and just lying on the beach. We watched a bit more of a fire spinning and music show before going back to our room and then swimming in the quieter, more peaceful pool at the Tommy Resort.

The next morning we headed back to the west side of the island for a yoga class. The resort had a very Western feel to it with cute hammocks and chairs for lounging, an entirely vegan café, and a ton of white people that were very into yoga. It was an interesting environment that I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to stay at for too long, but it was a nice spot for a yoga class and a meal.

The class was challenging and we’d both worked up a good sweat during it so we went to the nearby Mae Haad beach. The beach itself was very crowded, so we snuck into one of the big pools nearby since there were tons of open chairs and barely anyone was using it. We only had a little bit of time in the sun before it started pouring and we went home.

Back at the Tommy Resort we took a nap and then got dinner, coffees, and some drinks to get ready for the Jungle Experience party. This was the night before the full moon, so we were expecting it to be a pretty big event and we weren’t disappointed. The party didn’t even open until 10pm and we got there shortly after. The festivity started on the ride over when we shared a songthaew with some rambunctious Australians singing American pop songs at the top of their lungs. There was a big group of them and they were keen on getting everyone else to join in. It was a lot, but I appreciated their energy and enthusiasm.

(I think being able to channel as much passion and energy for anything as the guy in the back playing the air trumpet might be the secret to happiness in life.)

Once we got to the party, the entry was expensive, but it made sense because there was so much set up involved. Jungle Experience was basically a music festival with body painting, fire spinning, a DJ, and a Muay Thai arena with legit fighters.

I watched the Muay Thai for an hour or two while talking to some Australian, who gave recommendations for when I visit. The fighting was awesome; it was an entirely different level from the tourists we saw fighting at Koh Phi Phi.

The fighting ended at midnight and Mel and I got a bucket, similar to the ones from Phi Phi Islands, with dark rum and pineapple juice from one of the many vendors at the party. The bucket was disgusting and tasted so strong that we chose not to finish it and saved it for later so we could improve it with fruit juices from 7-Eleven. The party was fun but it got crowded and we’d seen everything so we left around 2. The party was still getting more crowded and I’m sure many of the people stayed until sunrise. The ride back was crazy as we got in a songthaew so crowded with ten other drunk people that some people even had to hang off the back of the truck.

The next day was the day of the Full Moon Party. The party is a massive ordeal with thousands of people flooding into the relatively small town and beach and partying all night, so we knew we wanted to have energy for it. We didn’t do much during the day besides swim in the pool and ocean, shop for some clothes, buy some snacks to be able to easily access in the room, and attempt to take naps.

We went out to the beach around 7, just as it was getting dark, and it was immensely more crowded than it had been the past several days. Even the section of the beach by the Tommy Resort that was typically quieter was full of bodies since there was a DJ performing. The livelier party section of the beach by the fire spinners was so packed that it was difficult to walk around.

The grand spectacle at this section of the beach was the fire jump rope, which consisted of a couple locals dipping a giant jump rope in gasoline and setting it ablaze, then partygoers running in and jumping over the rope for as long as they wanted before running out. It was tough to watch since some of the tourists were clearly too incapacitated or not coordinated enough to be hopping into such a dangerous game of jump rope. There were some near misses, and even some fleeting contact between the fiery rope and skin, but the locals did a good job of swiftly moving themselves and the jump rope to get it off any potential victim. Still, I could envision a horror scenario where the rope got wrapped around someone and there wouldn’t be much the local rope swingers could do quickly.

After watching the jump rope for a while, we ventured into town and found some free body paint. While we were painting we talked with some English tourists who’d been traveling for a few months and they gave us advice on New Zealand and Australia. It was nice to find a slightly quieter enclave to have a conversation, since the beach was deafeningly loud and not conducive to talking.

After town, we went back to the room to recharge, which was a nice perk of staying so close to the party. We used our supplies from 7-Eleven to make a tasty bucket for ourselves and drank in the comfort of our room for a stint.

When we went back out to the beach about an hour later, it was even more crowded. The music was too loud and we couldn’t hear anyone if we tried to talk. We got some chicken kebabs on the beach, but they were small so we went into town for chicken schnitzel sandwiches after. We got those back to the room after struggling through the crowds in town and regrouped in the room again.

At this point our energy was diminishing because of all the crowds and chaos. Additionally, we became bummed at all the trash littering the beach and sea because of the party. We decided to rally one more time and took a volleyball out to the beach, where it was light enough from the full moon and man-made lights to hit around. Several drunk people joined us, and the level of play was awful so the ball frequently found its way into the ocean. We talked with some weird, drunk people and eventually went to the left end of the beach, where it was slightly calmer (at least enough for some poor people to attempt sleeping there). Mel and I hit around there for a bit longer with ourselves then a couple others before getting tired and going to bed around 3.

The party was worth seeing, and the fire jump rope was especially cool. Still, I preferred the vibe of the beach and town on the nights leading up to the Full Moon Party, when there were still parties going on, but it wasn’t overflowing and it was easier to find chill places and talk to people.

Monday was our last full day on Koh Phangan and we spent it relaxing and recovering from the party. We got breakfast from a nearby smoothie shack and then relaxed by our pool and played volleyball and swam at the beach. In the evening, we took a taxi to Amsterdam Bar, on the west side of the island, to see the sunset. It was a gorgeous view with a backdrop of mountains across the Gulf of Thailand. The atmosphere was laid back with a pool at the bar and views of the serene ocean and mountains. Perhaps it was a little too laid back, as we didn’t get the food we ordered for over an hour and a half before asking for our money back and leaving. We got dinner, instead, at the tried and true Tommy Resort.

We learned on our last day at the resort that breakfast had been included the whole time, so we took advantage of that and wolfed down a big breakfast before our big travel day. The hotel provided a shuttle for us to the port and then we took a stuffy ferry to Surat Thani. This ride was rougher than the ferry ride over because the ship was closed off to the outside so we didn’t get any breeze. We waited at the port for half an hour before this bus that looked like a janky trolley train took us to a minibus. We crammed in there and drove to this tiny transfer station that, shockingly, had vegetable fried rice that was some of the best food I’ve had all trip. That was the highlight of the long travel day for me. We transferred to another bus and got to the bus station around 5pm. Our flight from Surat Thani got delayed and we didn’t have enough time in our Bangkok layover to get food, so we just had snacks for dinner. At 11pm, we arrived in Chiang Mai, wrapping up a long 13 hours of travel. I’ll write about Chiang Mai in my next entry. Khawp khun khrap (Thank you) for reading!