Full Moon, my arse!
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
8
11
Trip End
Feb 02, 2008
Surat Thani,
Thailand
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It all started swimmingly at Coconut Calm with several drinks with the staff and everyone in high spirits, the Full Moon blazing and lighting up the sea and beach and us eagerly awaiting our speedboat to take us over to the party at 11pm. It duly arrived, about 15 of us jumped in and sped across to Koh Pha Ngan at high speed, arriving there just 20 minutes later. On arrival at the island it was madness, the streets and beaches were jammed with Thais and tourists, stalls were set up by the roadside offering Vodka Red Bull buckets for a few hundred baht, music was pumping out from every bar and we set about going down to the beach
The Full Moon Party awaits
. We agreed to meet the rest of the group back at the marina at 3am to get the boat home and all went off in different directions in search of fun! Me and Andy had a few buckets of vodka, a bit of a boogie and found a nice spot on the beach to sit and watch the ensuing madness all around. It was pretty obvious from the strange behaviours of some that something far more hardcore than booze had been consumed - most notably a wild eyed Aussie girl stood on her own in a jam packed street, running up to passsers and shouting in their faces to "get out of her street and give her her space" over and over again. Oh dear! But we got chatting to loads of people regardless, had a laugh and a good time despite us not being able to meet up with the Italianos from the trek in Chiang Mai as planned, as there was no way to contact them due to not being able to get phone reception on the island.
By about 2.30am we got peckish and headed to get a pizza in this little restaurant and halfway through waiting for the meal to arrive Andy suddenly went green and almost fell asleep at the table - too much Chang, Vodka and Sun me thinks! The pizzas arrived and Andy just got up, went outside and threw up all over the street. I apologised to the waiter for the pile of noodles Andy had left outside his door, left a hefty tip as means of apologies, he boxed up the pizzas and we headed down the road (again in disgrace) to see if we could see anyone from our group to get the boat home
Arrival on Pha Ngan - a Bucket Bar awaits
. Thats when the nightmare began! We got to the tiny marina which had seemed so calm when we arrived to see literally hundreds, if not thousands of people all waiting to get on to boats back to Samui both on the beach and lined up on the street above. You got down to the beach (easily a 20 foot drop) by means of a narrow, ricketty ladder not unlike you would find on the side of a swimming pool and really hard to manouver when you were sober, never mind drunk. There were sharp rocks across the beach which the tide had brought in with it, which made it impossible to get out to the boats. There were police, Thais and tourists all panicking, pushing, falling over in the water and hundreds wading out to get to the boats chest deep in water, fully clothed with bags held above their heads. The majority of the boats couldnt dock due to the vast amounts of people clambouring to get on them and many looked as though they could capsize at any moment due to them being mobbed.
People were screaming, crying for help, falling under the water, many with blood pouring from their feet due to cutting them on the rocks, fights were breaking out and I saw at least two people fall the 20 foot drop onto the beach, injuring themselves on the sharp vast rocks below. It was terrifying....there was no sign of our boat and even if there was we had no hope of getting on it
Full Moon in Full swing
. We considered trying to get booked into a place for the night on Koh Pha Ngan but the chances of that were remote as the island usually sells out weeks ahead around the Full Moon Party. We got talking to these two Aussie couples who were also stranded and desperate to get back to Samui as they had a flight to catch later that morning. There were loads of Thai fisherman offering to take us on their boats for the princely sum of 6000 baht (a hundred quid) but we told them to get on their bikes. The Aussie couples had been speaking to one guy who said he would take the 6 of us back to Samui for 2500 baht (about 40 quid between us) which seemed more reasonable and by now it was nearly 5am and the panic on the beaches showed no sign of dying down. So we agreed and left expecting to get into a speedboat.....wrong, it was a longtail fishing boat, slightly larger than a rowing boat with a poxy little engine that got us to about 10mph! So amid crashing waves, the salt water stinging our sunburnt skin, we set off for ther journey across the choppy ocean to Samui which had taken just 20 minutes on the way over.
An hour and a forty five minutes later, bedraggled and drenched from head to toe in fishy seawater and nursing the worst hangovers in history, we arrived on Big Buddha Beach on Samui, stone cold sober and in silence
The first vodka bucket of many
. One Aussie girl had passed out and I found the only way to deal with the feeling of seasickeness was to put my head in my hands and try not to cry. One of the Aussie blokes started to sing Happy Birthday to me but the look on my face shut him up in seconds. It was nearly 6am and we were supposed to be checking out of our bungalow at 11am to travel on to the next island on our hitlist, Koh Tao. No chance!We got a couple of hours kip and decided to extend our stay on Samui by 2 days and have upgraded our accomodation to a posh resort up the beach but still in Bophut. Its called World Resort and we are staying in a gorgeous bamboo bungalow that boasts luxuries such as air con, tv, fridge, minibar and pool along with hot water! Weve had enough of roughing it for now and whilst the place we stayed in before was enough for what we needed, you dont appreciate air con and hot water till you havent got it! Plus Im sick of looking like a cross between Tina Turner and Noddy Holder when I go out as straighteners dont work when you are trying to get ready in a sweltering room without air con.
So the Full Moon Party was an adventure to say the least and we've spent all day sleeping round the pool and chilling out at the resort tonight. Were staying here again tomorrow and then onto Koh Tao on Friday morning. Im off the booze for a few days following lastnights excesses and so this has to be the first birthday since I was about 15 that I havent touched a drop of alcohol. To be fair Im just happy to be alive (ha ha!) and am still having a fab time regardless. Lastnight was just a blip and if nothing else, it served to prove that I am definately getting too old for all night beach parties and need to take up a more suitable hobby, like knitting or emboidery perhaps???!!!! Speak soon xxxx
Comments
reality strikes
Now you know how us old farts feel when trying to keep up with you human sponges. Welcome to old age.
Happy Birthday
Eh look at me, first time. Well happy birthday hin, looks and sounds as if your having a fab time. Missing you see you soon xx
Kelly Woods
happy birthday
happy birthday chick. thou i see it was a bit of a mental one. shame u could not get a room on pangyan. thou so jel and u did the full moon party without us.
xxx