TRUE LIFE: I WENT TO THE FULL MOON PARTY
Thailand’s Full Moon Party on the island of Koh Phangan is one thing I’d been hearing about ever since I landed in Asia.
And by “thing,” I mean “massive, thudding tornado of debauchery wrapped in a neon shirt, soaked in cheap whiskey and lit on fire.”
From what I understand, in the 80s, a guesthouse on Haad Rin beach started having a party on the night of every full moon. It started as a relatively small affair, but through word of mouth it swelled into Southeast Asia’s biggest and most notorious party (think 20,000-30,000 people each time).
People either love or hate it. Fans say it’s a blast – a time to let loose and have fun and paint oneself and dance until dawn. Those who hate it say it’s a frat party gone wrong, a huge crowd of drunken idiots who go too far and ruin the local environment (both town and beach).
No matter what opinion a traveler might have about the Full Moon Party, everybody has a story about it. I had heard a lot from people I’d met over the past few months, and to be honest, their tales of Full Moon madness gone wrong made me a little nervous. Most of the stories began with one too many drinks (or mushroom shakes, or god knows what else) ended with “and then I woke up on the beach with no stuff and no idea what happened!” or “and then I gashed my foot open/got a horrible burn/broke my camera!”
As a person who a) likes a good party and b) whose existence is governed by morbid curiosity, I HAD to see it. I grabbed my camera (despite everyone telling me not to bring anything I’d care about losing), firmly resolved to keep my head on straight, and covered myself in fluorescent body paint. I wish this were socially acceptable on more occasions!
My paint
Legs too!
Thus decorated, we were ready to GO!
The famous Full Moon sign
It felt like every Spring Break I never had in college.
Crowds, crowds, crowds
The beach is lined with bars, and, in front of that, bucket stalls with colorful (and profane) names. Buckets are plastic beach pails filled with mixed drinks, and each one holds an entire bottle of alcohol (which, I suppose, is where people get their stories of waking up on the beach with no stuff and no idea what happened to it).
Bucket stalls
Next, we have the fire slide, which people try to slide down without getting burned. I think the success rate is limited.
Typical scene.
Hartley and I spent most of our time there just chatting to people, which was really fun. We ran into a bunch of people we’d seen before, and made some new friends as well. Like the guys above. The one on the left told me he was gay, but that I could try to turn him straight if I wanted. Can’t say I’ve heard that one before!
We saw lots of stalls offering neon body paint designs. These were some examples (note the 7-11 one, haha).
People, people everywhere
And here are some of the pyrotechnics. This guy was twirling multiple fire batons!
I asked this guy if I might take a picture of his stall, and he said he’d have to charge me for it. I asked if his sign was true or not, and he let me take a picture for free.
Have you been to the Full Moon Party? I want to hear your opinions and stories. What did you think?
This looks like so much fun!
It was! I want to go again…
Looks like Spring Break with fire and bad translations- ha ha. I liked Mimi’s Mojitos. Imagine the personal hell of waking up with a 7-11 tattoo on you!! Fun photos and commentary.
I went to the Full Moon party last November as I had a great time despite the fact I’m not a party animal. Met great people and I was extremely careful of my drink and my friends. As you said some people have some bad stories to tell
I’m glad you weren’t one of the people with bad stories!
I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I’d really want to go to the Full Moon Party (I think I’ll probably end up going once just to see what it’s like!), but cheers for keeping your head straight so you could do a proper post on it
By far my favorite line: “I asked if his sign was true or not, and he let me take a picture for free.”
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I think it’s best to go as sort of an observer, if that makes any sense. In any case, the people watching is AMAZING.
Nice! A friend told me about this party. She said that her friends stayed at a hotel or hostel across Koh Phangan and hired a speed boat to get them on and off the island because the ferry times were not frequent. Also, I heard that people at the airport the next morning looked smashed.
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I met quite a few people who stayed on other islands and just went over for the party, but nobody who hired their own speedboat. I didn’t envy them when they had to drag themselves to the ferry and wait after being out all night!