Early in the morning we took a short ferry to Koh Phangan. Compared to the ferry we took previously to get to Koh Tao this one was a lot more spacious and we had nearly the whole bottom cabin of the boat free to ourselves. Plenty of room to spread out and nap! We chose to come to this island pretty late and therefore found limited accommodation available. Especially in the main backpacking town Haad Rin where the Full Moon Party was to take place. This along with the choice that we wanted a bit of peace and quiet away from the craziness after the party meant we spent our time on the island in Haad Salad on the North end of the island. About a 20 minutes drive away from Haad Rin we stayed in these beautiful bungalows on the beach. Each bungalow had a balcony and we even had a hammock as well! It was very rustic but I loved it and was my favorite accommodation of the trip. Inside our bungalow we had two double beds and an amazing bathroom that was built into the rock. I don’t think anyone else had such a good bungalow on the resort so we really lucked out! The only drawback for this beauty of a bungalow was that the town of Haad Salad was up a hill and then back down a hill and around a 20 min walk. As we didn’t have mopeds this meant for a sweaty hike to go to the closest sandy beach and nearest town! We found little to no backpackers in this town and little to no Brits as well. The town was popular with german holiday makers and therefore it was another different experience but just as lovely! We had dinner that first night in this restaurant overlooking the beach at sunset. It was really idyllic! The next day Becca had chosen to do a dive as she had been feeling under the weather in Koh Tao. She came back tired but said it was one of the best dives she had ever been on. As me and Leonie had no diving experience and didn’t have the money to do a course at the time we instead chose to hire some snorkel goggles and try out the snorkelling on the local beach. We were unsucsessful in find a good snorkelling spot with the best we saw being a lot of sea cucumbers! The water was also so shallow that we neatly got cut by the coral. After giving up we chilled on the beach and prepared ourselves for a very late night! We grabbed some buckets to drink before we headed to Haad Rin and bought the t-shirts for the night. We grabbed something to eat at our resort and then got ready for the night ahead. As I watched the sunset with a bucket of Sangsom, Red Bull and Coke little did I know I would be seeing the sunrise from the same spot the next morning! We hiked to Haad Salad to get a pre-order taxi to the other side of the island and arrived in Haad Rin an hour later suitably drunk and ready for the night! The Full Moon Party is like nothing else. Imagine 10,000 people all partying on a long stretch of beach with different music blaring out of each bar. It was amazing. I didn't take my phone with me to the Full Moon Party so I didn't risk losing it however Full Moon Party is really something to experience and not just watch from behind a lens. We partied until dawn, drank a number of buckets, ate questionable street food and slutdropped with random strangers. By the time we got back to our bungalow at sunrise we were exhausted but so elated from such an amazing time. We didn't have long to sleep however as we had to leave our resort at 10.30 to head to the pier to catch our ferry out to Koh Samui. This was not a fun experience. Standing up in a queue in the heat whilst hungover was tough but we got through it with no one throwing up and arrived in Koh Samui ready for a nap! Koh Phangan really is an island where you can make it what you want it to be. If you don't like partying don't be afraid of visiting this island as there is plenty of space to get away from the madness. At the same time, if you come looking for a party you need to experience Koh Phangan and get involved in the numerous events that go on all month long. Try and schedule your trip down Southern Thailand to co-incide with Full Moon however if this isn't possible I have heard Half Moon Parties are just as good and some say even better! I came out of Koh Phangan with two t-shirts, and a bucketful of memories!
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Hi! I'm Holly, a twenty something traveller from the UK. Over the years I've been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries. I've studied in America and working holidayed in Australia and New Zealand! I currently live in South Korea. Learn more about me below!
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