Full Moon Party
New Year’s Eve
December 29
We got to the island around lunch time and the ferry workers unloaded everyone’s bags like a bunch of savages. So many people had their bags smash this rope after being dropped 20 feet from the top deck of the boat. We took a tuk tuk taxi 20 minutes with the girl from Canada and some other random people to Haad Rin, where our bungalow and the Full Moon Beach is. We checked in and then helped the girl try to find a place to stay. She was a hassle to deal with because she was so clueless. She also didn’t tell her credit card company or phone company that she was leaving the country and she has been here three times before. We ate and then went back to our bungalow to rest. It was a cool little resort. We had our own two person bungalow with bathroom and porch. There were about 20 of them and they were all around this little garden. It was a 5 minute walk to all the madness so it was perfect. We headed out at night to walk the streets and go to the beach. We got buckets, which is the drink that sell here. You literally get a sand bucket filled with alcohol for 3-6 dollars depending on what you get. I kept getting mojitos because they were so good! We went to the beach and got our first look at the Full Moon Party atmosphere. It was so cool. There were three main areas of the beach that were the clubs with their own music. They were called, Drop In Bar, Cactus, and Tommy Resort. Drop In Bar had a fire jump rope where drunk people jump a rope lot on fire until they eventually get hit with the rope and get burnt. There was also this Thai guy who stood on a table and spun these nunchucks on fire and shot sparks everywhere, so that was neat to watch. Cactus had people spinning batons on fire and did tricks with nunchucks on fire too. They even spun them really fast and lit peoples cigarettes with the flame. Tommy Resort just had music and a stage. There were also a couple of places to sit down and chill to eat or drink. Lining the entire beach were these little stands selling buckets and the people running them try so hard to get your attention to but theirs since there is so much competition. We hung out until around 1 am and went to bed because we were still jet lagged.
December 30
The next day we went to the beach for a couple of hours with Dara, the girl from Canada. She was a lot to handle and talked too much so we ended up not meeting up with her anymore after that. We went swimming and body boarded waves for an hour or so. We then walked the beach to the end and walked along this neat wooden walkway to a bungalow resort with a chill bar on top of rocks getting hit by waves. It was calm and had a great view. Throughout the day, I ate mostly Pad Thai and chicken for my meals. I like it and it’s only a couple of bucks.
December 31
New Year’s Eve day, we slept in for a while because we knew that this night was going to be a long one. We went to the beach and are during the day, as a ton of structures were being built for the festivities at night. We also walked over to this bar on a rock mountain side called Yellow mountain, but is known as Mushroom Mountain because they sell Shroom Shakes that make you trip. It had all neon colors inside and looked like something from Alice in Wonderland. We went back to our bungalow before dinner to chill, drink and beer and paint up for the night. These girls from Sweden gave us their neon body paint because they didn’t need it anymore after painting themselves. I painted on bones on both arms and my hands. I also had some tribal marks on my face. Matt wrote stuff on his arm and put tribal markings on his arms and under his eyes. We put on our neon shirts and headed out. We are dinner at a burger place because we were craving one. We then got. Bucket each and started our night on fun. It was a cool sight because everyone went all out. Everyone had a Full Moon Party shirt and neon paint on their bodies. People from all over the world flock here for every full moon and for Nee Year’s. We watched all the fire performers ok the beach as house and techno music was blaring from all directions. I did the fire rope jump and got out before I got burnt by it. Great success. It was only dangerous because drunk kids jump in and stop the rope, screwing everyone else over. Luckily, nobody did that when I was in it. They also lit signs on fire that welcomed everyone to their island. Basically, semi controlled fire is everywhere. Drunk tourists can purchase legit fireworks and just set them off on the beach without warning. That was fun to watch though. One shot kind of close to us because it fell over as the kid lot it. It wasn’t a huge one though. There was no police enforcement at all. We saw the police once and they were helping a drunk guy. At midnight, a ton of fireworks went off after a countdown and everyone cheered. The night flew by and we ended up going to bed around 5 or so. We wanted to say out late and were confused that we were getting tired so early, then I looked at my phone and it was 4:45 and then I realized that We have been partying on the beach for like 8-10 hours. It was a great New Year’s party. It was all that it is hyped up to be.
January 1
Our last day on the island, we woke up around lunch and got some chicken schnitzel while still semi-covered in paint from the night before. We chilled on the beach and walked around all day. It was a needed recovery day after constant sugary huge quantities of cocktails in buckets. At night, we first went up the beach, but it was kind of dead. Most people probably left after New Year’s. We decided to mix it up tonight and go see a Muay Thai boxing match. There are constantly cars driving around in all cities in Thailand trying to get tourists to jump in the back for a free lift to the arena. We did it to see what it was all about. We paid 5 bucks for the worst tickets in the house, and they ended up being just as good as the rest. The arena wasn’t very big. It was outside with a large tent over it and all the plastic chairs that spectators watch in. We were like 10 rows from the stage because each section had like three rows. We saw five matches. Two of them were ten year old kids fighting pretty hardcore. Them there were two middleweight matches of guys who were like 18 years old and the a main event match of guys who were like 23 years old. The middleweight matches were the best. One of them got really bloody and both fighter’s faces seemed pretty messed up from getting kicks and punches to the face. The match went to the final bell and the ref and judges chose a winner. The other middleweight match was really quick. Each fighter threw a couple of great punches and kicks but one guy kicked the other other in the head after about 20 seconds and knocked him out. It was a solid way to spend our night. It was a neat experience. We decided to check out of our bungalow the next day to make our way to Koh Samui.
