Koh Phangan, Thailand: The Full Moon Party

On July 16th we left the island of Koh Tao, Thailand and boarded a boat for the island of Koh Phangan: the location of the world famous Full Moon Party.

The party takes place on Haad Rin Beach on the island of Koh Phangan, which is said to be the 3rd best spot in the world to view the full moon. The party originated in the mid 1980s when a group of travelers spent the night dancing to trance music under the full moon on Haad Rin Beach. It quickly gained in reputation by word of mouth and eventually gained global recognition as being one of the biggest and best beach parties in the world, bringing from 20,000 to 30,000 partiers to Koh Phangan every month on the night of the full moon. The experience of attending a Full Moon Party has been called the “ultimate party experience”. The party starts after dark and continues until the sun rises the following morning. Partiers dressed in fluorescent colours and covered in fluorescent body paint spend the night dancing to R&B, dance, trance and pop on the beautiful sandy beach, drinking buckets of alcohol while the waves crash gently onto the shores behind. We actually planned our vacation around the date of the party because this was a party we did not want to miss!

When we arrived on Koh Phangan on July 16th (the day before the party) we didn’t know what to expect of our next 4 days on the island. We decided to check out the beach and party area during the day to scope out the scene. Everywhere we looked all we could see were young people in their 20s and early 30s. I’m pretty sure we didn’t see a single person outside of that age range that didn’t either work at a restaurant, hotel, store, etc. There was not a single family or child in sight, they had all cleared out in preparation for the party.

The town reminded me of Vang Vieng, Laos: home of the famous tubing party down the Nam Song River. If you didn’t read my Vang Vieng blog post, tubing in Vang Vieng is one big party where people ride down the river drunk in inflatable tubes, stopping at bars along the river where they pick up buckets of alcohol. It is another major party destination in Southeast Asia. I actually saw many people in Koh Phangan wearing Vang Vieng tubing souvenir t-shirts. Vang Vieng has totally been taken over by these tourists, all in their 20s and early 30s, and every establishment is tourism related.

The area around Haad Rin is very similar. All the restaurants, bars and shops cater to the tourism industry. They have lots of restaurants that continually play episodes of the TV show “Friends” or “Family Guy” where tourists spend hours catching up on their favourite episodes. I saw similar bars in Vang Vieng and I found it so strange to see a bar where everyone was facing the televisions watching “Friends” for hours upon hours!

Another thing we noticed is the abundance of medical clinics all throughout the streets, and the number of injured people walking around. I had seen more people in crutches during my few days in Koh Phangan than I had cumulatively through my whole trip!

Even though the Full Moon Party took place the night of the 17th, the nights leading up to the party had massive pre-parties, which we decided to take part in. I can honestly say I have never seen so many people all in the same place in my entire life!

Our Full Moon Experience lasted 2 days, as we joined the pre-party on the night of the 16th as well as the real party on the 17th. Both nights were quite different though, and we actually enjoyed the pre-party on the 16th more than the real party on the 17th.

On the 16th, even though there were massive amounts of people, the crowd was a bit more manageable, and it was easier to dance and mingle. On the 17th the night was pure madness. The island only has accommodation to support about 2/3 of the party-goers, so about 1/3 of the partiers come on boats from other islands just for the night of the party. The party on the 16th was exclusively for the people with accommodations in Koh Phangan who decided to party on both nights, while the 17th is everyone from Koh Phangan plus hundreds more people who came across on boats. These extra people made a world of difference and at least doubled intensity of the party.

Regardless of the number of people, we had fun on both nights.

Buckets of alcohol are the drinks of choice at the Full Moon Party, and you could purchase them with different combinations of alcohols and mixers from booths along the beach:

The beach was lined with fluorescent accessories for purchase:

Swimming to cool off was an absolute must after dancing in the crowds of people.

The beach also provided people a sleeping area:

In addition to the crowds of people dancing, there were also bubble waterfalls and slides:

Being the biggest beach party in the world also brings some negative impacts and dangers. The party is known for it’s dangerous drug culture and potent buckets of cheap alcohol. We were warned of all the dangers of the party including the potential for theft, injury, and most seriously: the potential of having our drinks drugged without our knowledge. We were aware of these dangers, and made sure to take necessary precautions while partying.

It is impossible sum up the sheer party madness and energy that makes up the Full Moon Party. I believe it is a party that each person needs to personally experience to fully understand the impact and extent of the experience. All I can say is that we had a great time, it was an unforgettable experience; one that I am happy I had, but I would not necessarily choose to have again. We survived the Full Moon Party safely without any injuries or losses, and we gained lifelong memories and the chance to tell people “I experienced and survived the madness of the Full Moon Party”.