Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Thailand: Ko Phangan)

Well after the amazing Scuba Diving in my last Destination, Ko Tao, I set off south to the Island of Ko Phangan. Ko Phangan is known around the world for its world famous Full Moon Party which is held every month on the Full Moon. Naturally, I planned my visit to fall during the July Full Moon party and it definitely did not disappoint. Upon arriving, I jumped into a taxi from the ferry pier and headed to my hotel. After dropping down my things, I set off to explore my new surroundings. After walking along the main beach (where the party is) for a while, I came back into town to grab some dinner. While I was looking at a menu, these two Irish kids randomly came up and started talking to me. Me being me, had a great conversation with them and we (along with their other 6 or 7 friends) ended up spending the next 5 days and nights cutting loose. While there are some activities you can do on Ko Phangan, the islands main attraction is the Full Moon Party and so partying / dancing / relaxing / and socializing are the main things that people do here. We were no different and spent every day but one day lazing around the beach or sitting on our "stoop" right in the middle of town. Come night fall however, we hit the beach and danced the night away at the literally dozens of bars and clubs that pack the sand. The one day that we decided to be adventuresome, we took a day long boat trip around the Eastern half of the island. We got to go into see a really neat waterfall and some of the more beautiful beaches this island has to offer. While not too intense, the day trip was really fun and well worth the investment.

As the Full Moon Night drew closer, I could feel the energy begin to build. Most of the bars held "warm up" parties and they were incredibly fun. Finally, July 9th rolled around and it was the night we had all been waiting for. We spent the day resting up and decided to meet up at 9:00 PM to get things going. We spent a few hours chilling out at our stoop and having some beers while we painted each other with florescent paint to get into the spirits for the evening. at midnight or so, we hit the sand to cut loose. Now I am not exaggerating when I say this, there were easily 20,000 to 30,000 people partying down on the beach that night. Each bar had a MASSIVE sound system going and there were fire dancers, body paint artists, and many other entertainers performing to the masses. We spent the night going from bar to bar and dancing up a storm. We didn't call it quits until well after the sun had come up. While I don't think that the full enormity of it all will sink in until I get home, it was definitely a night that I will never forget! Now it is time to leave Ko Phangan and after I do a visa run to Myanmar, its off to the island of Ko Phi Phi on the other side of Thailand! Keep tuned for more stories from Paradise!