Alison: For those of you following our blogs closely (hello Mum), you will notice that we have been to Ko Phangan before. Unfortunately, last time, we missed the phenomenonknown as the Full Moon Party. Since we have been travelling, many people have told us that this is a party that cannot be missed so wemade a special effort to go. We arrived a few days before the party and stayed in a bungalow on a really gorgeous secluded beach. The bungalow was very basic but it was actually on the beach and had a balcony with 2 very comfy hammocks so we were happy. Pre and post party we did absolutely nothing. We just swung in our hammocks or slept the whole time so I won't bore you with that! This blog will just focus on the main event...the Full Moon Party!
Apparently the parties first started in 1989 in a place called Paradise Bungalows on Haad Rin Beach. The party was that amazing that every full moon, they would have another one. The party now is absolutely huge and between 10,000 and 30,000 people crowd on to the beach every month. Every sort of person imaginable goes and everyone seems to have a fantastic time. We were dubious about whether we would enjoy it but we were pleasantly surprised and ended up loving it! The beach is probably about 1km long and it is lined with proper bars as well as makeshift bars selling buckets of cocktails. There is so much going on that it is difficult to explain what it is like. It is really a sight to behold.Different sorts of dance music blasting out from everywhere, people dancing like maniacs (Nigel showed off some of his funky moves), fluorescent body paints and jewellery (I couldn't resist some spectacles and a few bangles!), fire shows, flaming skipping ropes, giant flaming signs, and much much more! One of the busiest places on the beach was a bar on a hill called Mellow Mountain which sold unusual mushroom flavoured shakes. People here were having a particularly good time here, not sure why........;-)
The party goes on all night and all the next day and night as well!! We managed to stay until about 5am and it was just getting light when we arrived back at our bungalow. We had heard many bad things about the party before we went but we didn't witness any of the antisocial behaviour we were expecting.There were quite a few people sleeping the alcohol off on the beach and people peeing in the sea (not just men!!) but we didn't see any fights or any serious situations. All in all it was a really feel good party and everyone just had a fantastic time. I would definitely recommend anyone to go and see it and have a bucket or four!