Full Moon Party, A Show With a Craziest Glow
If you are a party lover and want to get the craziest experience then Koh Phangan must be one of your bucket list destinations on earth. The place, where you can feel the warmth of many legendary stories by attending the Full Moon Party. It is a lively show that starts before sunset and remains charge till the sunrise of the next morning. The party is held on the sandy beach of Haad Rin in Koh Phangan, which is one of the three beautiful islands of the Koh Samui area and situated off the east coast of Thailand.
As the name depicts, it is celebrated on Full Moon nights of each month in the lunar year. It is a game of neon colors which you can see everywhere. You can see the eye-catching dresses, painted body parts, shining tattoos, glowing ultraviolet studio lights, and a crowd of crazy people who know the art of partying under the moonlit sky on a sandy beach of Thailand.
How It is Started All About?
Full Moon Party is started in 1987 or 88 when a group of friends celebrated a birthday party here. Party night was a Full Moon night. The group enjoyed and danced all night. It was such a good party that group members decided to celebrate it next month too. They gathered here again and then after gradual participation of like-minded people it became a global festival in the mid-90s
What Size Of Crowd You Can Expect At The Full Moon Party
Almost 10000 to 30000 people come to Haad Rin beach in Koh Phangan to celebrate this party but this count differs from season to season. It is not an easy task to get a booking for this particular night here, as Koh Phangan roughly offers the lodging facility to about 5000 guests. So, most people come here to attend the party and then go back to the nearby islands of Koh Samui or Koh Tao. For this purpose, a ferry/boat service remains in operation all night for a 100BHT fare.
How to get there
It depends, from where you are coming? However, most of the people start from Bangkok or Suratthani. So, there are three ways by which you can reach Koh Phangan.
By Air
You can take a local flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui by Bangkok Airways. Singapore, Phuket, and Pattaya also offer such flights. From Koh-Samui, it takes half an hour boat ride to reach Koh Phangan. Public ferries are also operational on this route. Flights from Bangkok to Suratthani are another option to reach there.
Sea ferries
A couple of direct Public ferries are operational from Surat Thani to Koh Phangan and it takes around 3 to 4 hours. We opted for this option and booked with Phantip Travel. The ticket price includes the pick-up from starting point to Koh Phangan hotel. Some routes include the Koh Samui in between and go further to Koh Tao which is a third island in the region.
By Car, Bus or Train
You can reach Suratthani by your own car, bus or, train. Then buses or cars transport to the island by the same ferry route. We took the train ride from Surat Thani to Bangkok and the night train of Thailand railway was a good option.
How We Attended Our Full Moon Party
We kept the full moon party as the last event in our Thailand itinerary, so we reached there after spending a few nights in Koh Samui and Koh Tao. For this purpose, we took the ferry route to reach there, and believe me the travel to these islands on a ferry is an awesome experience.
Haad Rin Beach before sunset
We reached Haad Rin beach before sunset, checked in, and then wandered around the beach. Our stay was at Phangan Mantra Resort that was situated just at the beach. Although the hotel was a basic one and overpriced too its ideal location deserve that price for Party Night. The Beach view was stunning and palm trees along the sandy beach were making a mosaic to hold a party there. Before sunset, the bar people started to arrange their stalls. Most of the people came here a few days before the event. In this way, not only do they get familiar with the island but can get the bookings at discounted rates too. Partier started to gather there in form of small groups
Neon Colors are party Colors with craziest glowing
After the sunset, there was a fair crowd in their party dresses with the craziest neon glowing. They were singing and dancing with their friends, partners, or even with strangers who have the same passion for enjoying. There were many vendors who were selling neon-colored products there.
Vibe of full moon party
A large number of sound systems were installed at many places and they were adding fuels to the fires. The overlapping sound of blasting music was making a noise but partiers were translating their meaning and were dancing with the tune that was played for them. Stalls were selling their buckets which include a couple of drinks. The Haad Rin Beach was packed with 30000 people much before midnight. It was going to be our largest party with such a charged crowd. After midnight there was an operational boat service for those who wanted to leave for a nearby island or another side of Koh Phangan. In the end, night has gone and the sun has risen but we still found many crazy people which were there to catch the last rays before their return.
Fire Tricks, The integral Part of Full Moon Party
There were fire dancers who were doing certain fire tricks. Eventually, many travelers sparked into the scenes and picked the chill vibe. Although fire tricks were an integral part of the full moon party, However, we advise you to avoid skip the Jump rope or go into the burning wheel as many people get burnt by it.
Any Sort Of Entrance Fee?
An entrance fee of 100BHT is applicable to every person who comes to the place after sunset. If you come there before sunset or already residing in the beach area then you don’t need to pay it unless you leave the place and go to the outside area from the party place. A part of the fee is used to clean the area which you can see in the picture below.
Some Do’s and Don’ts
- “He who has no shoe dances in his socks” but you can’t do this here. Many pieces of broken glass bottles will hurt your feet. So, you need a good pair of shoes to attend this party.
- Leave your valuables to your hotel in a locked place as there is a risk to lose them due to the party vibe.
- Stick with your group members if you want to enjoy yourself with them. Fix a place with clear direction. Although you can’t stick with the rule due to the jam-packed beach.
- No need to bring excessive money with you. You need the required money for your drinks and also keep it attached to yourself.
- Leave your passport in your hotel room and only bring a photocopy with you if you really need it.
- Don’t eat anything offered by strangers. As all sort of people used to come there and they may offer some drugs to you which is illegal in Thailand.
- Avoid swimming in the beach area during the party as many drunken people haven’t in their senses while adding urine into the aqua colors beach water.
Other well-known parties at Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan hosted many other parties at different places which includes Half Moon Party, Dark Moon Party, Jungle party, etc. It’s the reason that Koh Phangan is famous for its party night.
Is Full Moon Party Worth a Visit?
If you are not a party lover even then you will enjoy this festival as it is a unique experience. It must be a bucket list point in your checklist while you visit Thailand. We found all sorts of people there from youth to old and even spotted kids with their parents. Add all the three islands in your itinerary to do justice to the beauty of the whole Koh Samui area. You can Add Koh Tao along with a day tour to Koh Nang Yuan and Koh Samui from where you can visit Ang Thong Marine National park as a day tour.
