Finding the Pulse of the Party in Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, and Koh Phi Phi
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Finding the Pulse of the Party in Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, and Koh Phi Phi
The sound of the sea outside of your window greets you to an intimate landscape where silky sand kisses sapphire blue sea. A rope hammock is strung outside your hay-thatched bungalow next to the entrails of a tipped over cocktail from the night before. A small shirtless man passes by in silhouette of the rising sun greeting you with an amicable sa wadee kharp. Travelers from across the world descend on Thailand year-round in search of its pristine islands strung across the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. The result is an amalgamation of cultures festively frolicking in-between islands searching for that perfect beach where they can bask in that moment that all travelers quest for.
When someone mentions parties in Thailand, usually the first place that comes to mind is Haad Rin Beach on Koh Phangan, the home of the Full Moon Party. This ever exponentially growing event attracts a grand amount of travelers that can swell up to 50,000 people. A group of haphazard backpackers found themselves on Haad Rin in the early 1990s to celebrate a friend’s birthday and were surprisingly greeted by luminous white sand that made a muddled reflection of the hanging full moon above. Ever since then, backpackers have been trailing their way to the southeastern tip of Koh Phangan to participate in one of the loudest parties in Southeast Asia.
The beach is filled with a variety of music ranging from reggae to electro that plays until noon the next day. Feeble plastic sand buckets disguise mixed drinks festooned with large hand fulls of colorful straws inviting, friends new and old, to roll in the sand. 'Buckets,' as they are commonly called, are readily available and displayed across the beach front armed by solicitous hawkers utilizing their pumped up gusto. Crashing into the sand with a fresh bucket is sure to attract fellow travelers like a hummingbird to succulent nectar. Looking up towards the northern tip of the beach, embedded into a precipice, is an almost phosphorescent temple that guides party goers like moths to a candle. From this groovy bar you can overlook the whole event as it unfolds as well as par-take in some happy mushroom milkshakes. The Full Moon Party is known for attracting a host of delectably diabolical deeds that flourish throughout the night. Though the police mysteriously leave some places untouched (by mysteriously I mean evident bribery), public drug use is growing concern and generally a large point of interest in Thailand these days. Be forewarned, Thai police scrounge throughout the party looking for hash pipe fumes. It is a common sight to see a few unlucky travelers being escorted away to unknown locations where they will either be extorted for nominal fees (Thai police often personally pocket bribes making doped-up foreigners a very lucrative form of income) or prosecuted.
The madness of Haad Rin can also be felt in the mountainous jungles every half moon for those who may miss their chance at catching its bigger counterpart. This psychedelic themed party is easy to taxi to and takes place in the middle of the verdant peeks of Koh Phangan. While it is not as big as the Full Moon Party it is equally as enjoyable and exotic.
Just south of Koh Phangan lies Koh Samui, the largest island in the chain of islands in the Gulf of Thailand (the smallest being Koh Tao just north of Koh Phangan). These days, Koh Samui is fully equipped with all the amenities of a cruise bitten Caribbean island. Fully donning a domestic airport, five-star luxury resorts, and a walking street bursting with shops near central Chaweng beach that promotes an endless amount of bars. Chaweng beach is the most popular beach on Koh Samui; but despite its popularity, there is always ample room available on its long white sandy beach. The nightlife pours from the back alleys behind Chaweng where scooters hum next to hawkers promoting everything from photos with monkeys to transsexual kickboxing shows. The Muay Thai arena off of Chaweng is infamous for hosting a number of great fights; but buyers beware, Thais find no humiliation in pitting kids against each other in what is already a very rough sport. A general rule of thumb in Asia, always research what you are getting yourself into lest you become another statistic in the scam.
Bouncing across the peninsula via Surat Thani will bring you into the Krabi province, home of famous Koh Phi Phi (Koh Pee Pee). Koh Phi Phi is made up of a set of islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ray, the home of The Beach made famous by the movie of the same title starring Leonardo DiCaprio. While The Beach may have ignited a legion of travelers towards this small pair of islands, it is not the only reason for making the boat trip down from Krabi. Phi Phi Don caters to backpackers looking for small pubs on even smaller, yet beautifully clean beaches. The shopping streets are often filled with rambling tourists darting around bars and unique trinket storefronts. It is very likely you’ll see a few daring travelers being pierced by inky bamboo reeds. This is an ancient form of tattooing that Thai and Cambodian monks still practice. Most notably, Angelina Jolie has a few tattoos that were inked in this manner.
There is no accommodation on Phi Phi Ray Island because it is just a small cove that can be walked across in a matter of 10 minutes, however camping trips can be organized. Small boat trips can be taken there where you can choose to snorkel out to the cave entrance of the island. After dodging stalagmites across the cave you’ll come out into a leafy, humid jungle. Swathe just beyond that jungle and you’ll make footprints on The Beach. With water so clean you can clearly see your feet from the surface, it is not hard to imagine why tourists find themselves drawn here. Brown cliffs nearly surround the cove making a horseshoe enclave that encompasses the natural pool. Sitting down in the shallow water will greet tropical fish that dart close enough to touch. Peering down into the living aquarium provides undistorted views of a myriad amount of flashing colors in the ecosystem below.
Thailand is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with a host of locals and intrepid counterparts willing to make your trip an unforgettable adventure. While partaking in these parties it is important not to forget the natural resources that Thailand provides. Haad Rin Beach, Koh Samui, and Phi Phi Don are all exposed to a great amount of movement and pollution. The morning after the Full Moon Party is filled with people peeing in the sea and small children in tattered clothes picking up trash in its wake. In the calamity of the night it might dawn as an infinitesimal task, yet a few keen ‘green’ gestures is a monumental step towards making both Thais and foreigners aware of the importance of preserving the tropical utopia in the Land of Smiles.
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"I just returned on a 2 week tour of Thailand and Laos with your company. Had a great time and it was so well organized. I would like to get Mr. Aesopa's email so I can email him some pictures of my son and I. Mr. Aesopa is a wonderful guide and he really enhanced the trip by showing us some unusual places and food. We even tried dried insects and snake whisky. Thank you again and we can't wait to plan our next trip. Our friends want to go to with us to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the near future."
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