I arrived on to Koh Phangan after a choppy couple of hours on a boat which was made all the more worse by my stinking hang over and my two broken toes, I was so pleased to see dry land and even more pleased that I was on the island which is famous for one thing ... the full moon beach party. Trying to describe the buzz that surrounds full moon is impossible, travellers spend days trying to get there for one night, one party, on one big beach. Obviously new years eve was not an actual full moon but true to form thousands of people were piling off of boats when I arrived all excited for the next couple of nights. I was staying at a nice beach resort about 20 mins away from Haad Rin which is where the party would be, to stay in haad rin is cool but its a bit intimidating as its known that before during and after the party its so full of people they act like a plague of locusts turning the normally sleepy town into a mentally ill mans dream, nothing is left unturned and chaos commenses. Thefore my lovely quiet beach was perfect, I could hop on a tuck tuck van when ever I wanted and join the madness or chill out on the beach instead.

On the run up to the party more and more people started arriving at the hotel but I was a bit disapointed as they all appeared to be Top Shop thailand girls (imagine top shop has been sick on a load of prettyish girls and they have all gone on holiday together - who wears a waist coat to the beach?!) but me and kimberley made the most of it and enjoyed ourselves as much as possible anyway. The day before the party we were sat on the porch of our adorable little beach bungalow when it occured to us we hadnt neoned up yet - everyone knows you have to be covered in neon to go to full moon its kind of a given - so we headed into Haad Rin for some light shopping. Haad Rin as expected was a hive of activity, everyone was shopping for their full moon outfits, buying UV paint and ridiculously bright sweat bands which you couldnt wear anywhere else but there and me and kim fit into the crowds perfectly. After a few hours wondering around comparing this neon pink full moon t-shirt with the previous and almost identical neon pink full moon t-shirt we were all shopped out and after a brief 3 hours stop in a pub which sold amazing pie and mash accompanied with cold cider and reruns of friends it was time to go back.

The following day was the big day, we spent most of it on the beach sun bathing and jumping in the sea when the heat got too much, but before we knew it it was time to get ready and getting ready takes quite a long time when you need to paint yourself neon. Me and Kimberley joined 2 other english girls from the hut opposite us and we sat on their porch drinking and painting away, by the time it was time to go I had a massive pink star covering most of my face and full moon related phrases and pictures covering my arms and legs, I was also wearing a blindingly bright t-shirt with the phrase "Not drunk but not Ok" on it and an already tipsy grin on my face.

We arrived at Haad Rin quite late, the town was buzzing with hundreds of people all walking the same direction as us - towards the beach! You could feel the atmosphere of the party before you could see it and the noise of the massive music systems and people was just incredible. I bought my wrist band for a wopping 2 pounds 50p and headed towards all the commotion. I have never been to a party like the full moon count down party - an estimated 60,000 people were on the beach that night, dancing, drinking and welcoming in the new year at one of the biggest beach parties in the world. I didnt realise that it was almost midnight when we arrived and so it came as a surprise when me and kimberley we dancing away trying not to spill any of our precious buckets and the fire works started going off! Apparently in our tipsy state we hadnt noticed everyone counting down haha. So as the firework exploded over an island in Thailand lighting up the beach in flashes of bright silvers, greens and reds me, kimberley and 60,000 other people sang along to the Black Eyed Peas "Ive got a feelin" and hugged each other and before you ask I didnt kiss any randomers at midnight, instead I gave Kimberley a kiss on the cheek. The rest of the night is a bit patchy in my mind, too many buckets led to Kimberley escorting me to the taxi, she bought be a sandwich and some water whilst I happily danced around with everyone else and told her how much I loved her! :)

The next morning I felt fit as a fiddle .. well not quite but I think I was still high as a kite from the amount of red bull I had drank the night before. Red bull out here is like a syrup in a tiny glass bottle and it contains sooo much caffine I think more than a couple of bottles and you might have a heart attack - needless to say its illegal in England and now I see why haha.

After a day or two to recover both me and Kimberley had itchy feet and were ready to get moving again - our next destination? The beautiful island of phi phi a mere boat, coach, boat and a whole days travel.