A trip to Thailand took us to the dropouts of Koh Samui and finally washed us to the beach of Haad Rin on Koh Phangan. Here we witnessed the madding frenzy under the drunken full moon. From Bangkok after a look into the abysses of the metropolis, we decided to finally ruin our karma and travel to Koh Samui. Anyway, we were happy to leave the wild bustle of the weird Khao San Road behind us and boarded a night bus.
On the way, the pretty modern bus gave up its spirit. Surprisingly, not even the ones in India have ever been so greasy. Karma. After we had continued our journey in a new bus, in the morning hours we were tormented with deafening films with Cold War rhetoric. These sounds formed an extreme contrast to the peaceful and misty tropical landscapes, from which karstic rocks stood out.
Finally, we reached the pier. The ferry was loaded with an insane number of tourists who go towards the three most popular islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Without interest in the load capacity more and more suitcases were thrown onto the boat.
Day 1 - Koh Samui
After arrival, we took it easy. We first sat down in a cafe on the pier. A short time later we boarded one of the pickups. As we reached the headland on intricate paths, we realized we were on a private beach of a felicitous resort with exorbitant prices. Rarely have we been so undesirable in our lives. In the lounge chairs, the fancy-dressed lounged with their lifestyle cocktails and enjoyed their carefree life.
With the huge backpacks on the back, indiscreet hippie clothes on the body and the stupid hats on the head, we came from another world. In order not to be duped by insidious security types, we decided to give up a provocative bath before their eyes. On the other hand, we could not do without our greasy grin. The dumb glances of the involuntary hosts were icy.
Only a lonely drunkard in the beach bar waved to us euphorically and greeted loudly. Given the obvious boredom, he was probably grateful for any change. Finally, we reached our beach. The contrast could hardly have been greater. If we had just stumbled through a realm of decadence, decayed wooden huts now formed the picture. After we passed the second post-apocalyptic huts ensemble.
I was fed up with the eternal search for beds. At first, I was not very enthusiastic but I relent. After all, our cabin was spacious and had comfortable beds. There was no electricity, which did not bother us. The starry sky in a place without light pollution is by no means to be despised. The chalet had a cozy terrace just above the sea, and our stretch of beach was completely deserted.
Since we were the sole guests, we now had our own private beach. After the turbulent days in Bangkok from then on, we were surrounded by heavenly tranquility. Only the sound of the sea drowned everything. Except swimming, reading, beach walks, and occasional rambles to avoid starvation, we just lazed. Occasionally we would play on the completely scratched pool table or gawk around in the quirky prayer hall.
On the main road, we passed countless bars that profited from the great gap between the first and third world. Gentle ladies made us their advances. When I saw the regular customers, I spontaneously wanted to puke. Most were the greasy guy with huge beer bellies. We were also very disturbed when we realized why in most aquariums fish with oversized heads were swimming. They were fed with special mega-head granules.
The trip to the supposedly most beautiful beach on the island was a disappointment. Even the wonderful palm trees made it hard to realize that this was an island that lay in Thailand and had been a little paradise before the mass immigration of emigrants and the onset of tourist crowds. By now she had her own airport. Everything seemed so interchangeable.
We might as well have been in Antalya or on the Costa Brava when I looked at the resort's clientele, souvenirs, culinary offerings, pop music, and lifestyle. We walked over the entire beach section, without stopping anywhere. Nothing stopped us. Finally, we got lost in a spacious tourist ghetto. Due to the decadence that was presented, I was struck by a burst of spontaneous hopelessness for the future of our species. There is pure excessiveness. So it was a blessing to return to our beach hotel, where we finally said good night.
Day 2 - Koh Phangan
We decided to celebrate the infamous full moon party on the neighboring island of Koh Phangan. With a proud number of other lucky knights, we drove with the setting sun on a speedboat to Koh Phangan. As we glided across the sea, the last rays of the sun reflected in the waves. When the inviting silhouette of the forested neighboring island appeared, we were a little euphoric. This quickly disappeared after arrival.
We knew that the party had become a hip event. To get to the Hat Rin beach, we had to pass the narrow streets of a moderately welcoming place, where pretty much every imaginable souvenir was on offer. Especially clothes, accessories, luminous colors, and tattoos waited for their new owners. All stores in Haad Rin sell clothes in neon colors.
Finally, I am here at the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan! The air is burning. Everyone is waiting for the moment of the first beat to sound from the huge walls of boxes. It's the biggest beach party in the world and the wildest. Already in the week before the party, there are daily pre-parties. Only those who shine in the dark like plutonium are seen here.
Many partygoers were in a frenzy with luminous tattoos and body colors, as if they flew directly from Mars. In addition, huge buffets were opened with all imaginable dishes. The fish variations ranged up to the baby shark. They had probably fished the whole sea around the island. Electro and house music echoes from all stores. The island is dominated by this music and a little Reggae.
In addition, the bucket culture had moved in. There is whiskey, vodka, and gin until you drop. Fortunately, we had strengthened ourselves on the way there with energy drinks. Otherwise, we would have been even more turned off. It would take us 12 hours to see the activity or become part of it. There was not much going on yet. It is good to get a picture of the whole location. Since we found no place where we wanted to settle permanently, we just moved through the area.
From about 6 pm the beach fills slowly with fireflies in a party mood. We are still on the beach sunning ourselves as Bob Marley in the background. Then there is 1-minute silence, as the heads turn towards DJ stages. And then the first beat sounds out of the huge pit wall. It is 10 times louder than the chilly reggae sounds throughout the day. It is so loud that we cannot understand our own words anymore.
The bass goes deep into the heart. Immediately the first ones get up, roll up their towel and start to dance. It starts. For us, it is too early. We slept no night for more than 3 hours. It is time to go to the bungalow to prepare. We start at 10 pm. When we return, we can hardly see a beach anymore. There is only a sea of minds and bright colors.
The first victims are already motionless on the side of the road or roll completely in the sand. Right at the beginning, we see a girl trying to squeeze her back in the sand. She rolls over, rolls her eyes, and bounces her head around her onlookers. Any attempt to get them going is useless. Through loud roar and waving, the bucket sellers try to call the revelers to themselves.
There are no limits to creativity. There are light chains to small accessories to free hugs, to gain a small competitive advantage over rivals in a row. The buckets are extremely strong. The music is absolutely amazing! We celebrate hilariously. Strangers are in the arms. Some have let Hug me in the chest, but also Kiss me and other words are often read. The people are in a good mood.
Whenever I turn aside while I'm dancing and look at someone, my hands go up immediately, we clap and dance on. I cannot believe what's going on here. We are happy to be here and can not get that damn grin off our faces. Two Thais carry a long prepared rope to the end of the beach. They light it and the crowd cheers. Immediately a circle forms. The Thais swing the rope and the first brave ones venture into the middle. The crowd cheers.
In some places, the locals show their skills with the burning rod. Some guys are extremely proficient at this and deliver an impressive show. Then a burning rope is stretched to the circle. The women have the limbo quite clearly under control. From a certain depth on, the boys are more like an epileptic disorder. A huge foam cannon blows off tons of foam on the sandy beach.
The ground under our feet softens until we sink more than ankle deep. A girl is pulled out of the foam because she did not come back up and spent some time on the ground. The time lasts forever. We have no sense of time anymore. It's only 2 o'clock when we think we're celebrating half an eternity. It did not suit us here anyway. The party seemed superficial to have a certain dichotomy.
One part was populated by hippies and Goa freaks, who mainly thought of psychedelic mushrooms. There is the other of aggressive, crazed types. Apparently, the combination did not work out for many. After all, we were not with a Satanist sect. I had the impression that the party was attracting too many young people whose duties included passing their travel on a shoestring here.
As usual, after taking psychedelic drugs, I needed a bit to find the right path. So I searched for the (only in relative) quietest place on the beach and first watched the scenery. Wildly painted people walked by. They wore oversized glasses and strange headgear. Some had turned into tigers. Others were probably on the way to a worship of the Gothic disciples.
There were hippies who had flown in directly from the 60s, and some had fallen into the paint pot so uncontrollably that any speculation about their origin had to be meaningless. The mushrooms reinforced these impressions. Fascinated, we observed the rock, which was illuminated at the end of the beach like a spaceship. The monkeys were not missing.
A stranger came running and made friends with me in a split second. The highlight of this high-speed friendship was the ritual delivery of a glowing yellow neon collar, which I solemnly accepted. Obviously, this gesture filled me with euphoria and sheer joy. The two of us had found each other, and soon afterward alienated again forever.
I laughed at the bizarre and strangely touching scene. What was reflected in it, would have to be discussed in a separate novel, which unfortunately would never be written. After feeling a bit calmer, I decided to take a walk across the beach. Once on the move, my restlessness turned into a euphoric feeling. It did not bother me to have all those crazy-looking people around me. On the contrary, I felt a sense of belonging.
So I strolled the whole beach along. In the case of the Satanists, the music became too intense for me as her vibe was stifling. The extremely wild form in which some danced seemed to me almost a hostile act. I turned around. By now I was in a fantastic mood. I felt a deep peace in me. Dancing, I slipped through the crowd. I just enjoyed being here, listening to the music and watching the crowd.
I see a Croat. When I met him for the first time that evening, he was in a state of boundless euphoria. He was so crammed with drugs that it was almost physically painful to look at him. He wanted to drink incessantly and told grumpy things about his drug excesses with a well-known German DJ and his crew. He had rented a bungalow right on the beach and was surrounded by a number of beauties.
In the meantime, I limited myself to short trips to explore the bars on the rock and had more and more of the hustle and bustle. The experiences of this full moon night made me think. In addition to the bright faces that told entire novels of love, fulfillment and deep happiness, I read in others the expression of disillusionment, the disappointment to the bare despair.
I took refuge in philosophical thoughts. What were the motives that we ended up here? Basically, it was about the same longing that had already lured the hippies on the move. It was the search for Love, Peace, and Harmony. But the dream of Woodstock had degenerated. The one party has not existed for a long time. Individualism had become a curse. Different subcultures competed at different parts of the beach. The American dream had become the competition of all against all. The mantra one world - one love did not make you a better person. It had become hollow.
Day 3 - Half Moon Party
At some point, the sun rises, right on Hat Rin Beach. The crowd cheers and turns to the horizon to greet the day and to dance in the sun. At the hopelessly overcrowded pier, we had to spend an hour among upper-class freaks, while the morning sun blinded us. Sometime around noon, I'm on my way to bed. Everywhere on the beach there are party corpses in between, fortunately not, in the truest sense of the word.
I must admit, this was the best party of my life! The atmosphere is gigantic and comparable to nothing experienced so far. The fact that one does not master certain things lies in the nature of things. With a little caution and common sense, much can be avoided, but not everything. A certain amount of uncontrollability resonates. But no risk no fun! To be honest, a lot is dramatized, even here by me through this report. I stay for now because the Half Moon Party is in the house in the jungle of Koh Phangan.
We thought about visiting some beaches of Koh Tao to snorkel, and visit Koh Nang Yuan. So said and done, we got up early, have breakfast. The breakfast buffet was fine. The bees were flying around or perched on the pineapple or some sweets or near the honey. We leave at 8 o'clock. We carry backpack with the reflex and aquatic cameras, and the snorkeling equipment and fins. As we were going to Sairee Beach they took us in an SUV.
The day came out with sun and some scattered clouds. Once there in the area of the taxis that was where they left us a main street, we went down an adjoining street and all the way to the beach. Around there in the background we can see the sign of taxi boat. In any case there was more. It was so soon that it was empty and above the tide was super low and the beach was super wide, and that if too long.
The beach did not impress us, I mean in comparison to others that we had already seen in Thailand and in other destinations. So we told one of the taxi boats that we wanted to go to Mango Bay and Koh Nang Yuan. Then we negotiated. First we agreed to go to Mango Bay and after being there a while to Koh Nang Yuan.
Once boarded we take out the umbrellas so that we did not burn in the sun that began to get very strong already at that time of the morning. And so we go on to Mango Bay. With considerable waves and a few sprinkles, we reached a stable lagoon and approached all along the coast. And so we arrived at Mango Bay. We got off and took out some things like the snorkel equipment and the backpack.
We took some sun cream so as not to get burned and took some pictures of the beach. Right in front we climbed some stairs that take us to the highest point, from where we could see the whole beach, with magnificent views. It was amazing to see little houses on those cliffs in the middle of nowhere with only rocks and the sea around them.
The Mango Bay beach is fine but it is very small and the sand is like pebbles. It is a beach for snorkeling or diving. It is super clean with clear water, and transparent with great visibility. Just down where our boat was there is a small dock. From there, it goes down very well directly to the water to snorkel.
After taking the pictures we put the snorkel equipment on the fins and everything. We threw ourselves to investigate the area and surroundings and see how much snorkeling there was. The lord of the taxi set out to fish with the same boat and another from another boat. It was incredible as they fished with rope and a simple fishhook, and catch huge pieces like a rather large marlin that our taxi driver took.
The visibility was incredible. The water was very clean and transparent. There was a lot of life down there, with all kinds of colorful fish, sea urchins. The only thing lacking was some turtle or shark. We went down the pier, and went snorkeling in the middle and sides.
This school of fish was nothing compared to what was under the dock. After a while we took off the snorkel gear. This time we went out on the beach, and we dried a bit and went back to the boat. The snorkel was very good, and we liked it a lot. And so we headed towards Koh Nang Yuan since it was not far from Mango bay.
We arrived at the wharf, and got out of the boat. We crossed the piers of the dock and arrived at the entrance. There they tell us that it is forbidden to enter with the fins and to leave them there so as not to break and damage the coral.
We move forward and we see the place, the magnificent beaches. On the other side the Japanese Garden is in an incredible and beautiful lagoon. We left the things in a hammock with umbrella. In the morning there were few people but as the time went by more and more people came. It is true that the vast majority was for excursions and in groups.
To me the truth is that it did not bother me a lot that there was something overcrowding, as there was plenty of space and it was not that bad either. Well, after leaving things and taking some pictures around, we followed the direction of the View point to go to the top and take a picture from above. So we follow the directions and cross and go through wooden footbridges in not very good condition.
The thing seemed like it was going to improve, but not. After climbing a lot of stairs and steeper and steeper, the road and the stairs ended and the worst came the rocks and the climbing. Although it is true that the marine park was even worse, but the last section here was not nice.
And finally we reach the top, to a huge stone from which we could see the whole island. It was worth it. I only know that we went down with a tiredness and a heat and a sweat over that we went straight to the water. The water was super clean and clear. After a few baths we went to eat at a restaurant nearby. We have some pizzas and some drinks that we had to gather strength to have a long snorkel time.
On the other side, we go to the Japanese Garden, the lagoon to snorkel. It is beautiful and is great, well cared for, with the perfect corals, a lot of starfish variety. The only thing we did not see is the sharks and turtles. The coral was very beautiful and there was an amazing visibility.
My partner left before me. I still had more time. And so after drying myself, and taking things, we went out and took the fins at the entrance and went to see if the gentleman was in the boat. In the end we rode in one that our taxi driver told us. The boat fills, and so we go on to Sairee Beach.
We arrived at the beach. We all got off the boat and it is nothing like I told you before. While in the morning the beach was empty and super wide at low tide but now that it was super narrow, overcrowded. There are many bars and booths, with lots of young people and a lot of activity.
Well after a while we decided to return to where the taxi stop. We did not take another because nobody was going to take it and we had no other way to go to Mae Haad. The trip was short.
In Mae Haad we had a good time waiting. In the end we get tired and took a taxi with another couple who was also waiting and we went to our hotel and so the taxi cost us a lot less. Once we arrived we asked for explanations about the transfer in reception. We go to rest as the next day it was time to go to Koh Samui.
