It was a train and a boat to Koh Pha Ngan. Koh Pha Ngan is the locale of the proverbial Full Moon Parties -- but everyone must know that, because, as I found out, even my mom knew. I stayed in the heart of the madness, and Maggie too, in the beach town of Hat Rin (said Haad Rin).
The first night I strolled along the beach of Hat Rin and saw the beginning stages of the circus being assembled. DJ systems are brought out. Elephant sized speakers are wired up. Myriad drinking booths, with ridiculous names, are stocked with bottles of alcohol. Glow in the dark necklaces, hats and shirts are laid out. Tiki torches are speared into the sand for as far as the eye can see. And most importantly, kerosene is put in the ready for the fire dancers. This scene is repeated every day, without fail, but with varying degrees of enormity. But my night culminated in sharing one drink with Maggie and then going to bed by 10PM.
The next day, we escaped Hat Rin for Hat Yuan, which is only accessible by boat, and lounged around on the beach surrounded by heaps of beautiful women not wearing any tops. Maggie pondered if we had stumbled upon a "Beautiful Women Contest." We met two Americans, Ashlyn and Morgan, from Hawaii and California respectively, and spent the day and evening with them bouncing around the island, and checking out the various beach hangouts and lounges. Without a doubt, Hat Yuan is a sanctuary from the craziness of Hat Rin, and it was an incredibly relaxing day.
Early in the evening, our American friends were surprised to discover that we weren't staying in Hat Yuan, but in Hat Rin. Morgan was shocked. He shared his disbelief with us, "So you're really going back to Hat Rin? That place sucks. I mean, first you stay in that crappy place, and you gotta take a scary boat ride back at night, and you have to pay for the ride too. That really sucks." There was no intended malice in his words. Morgan really didn't like Hat Rin (except for the all crepes he ate there). He too often repeated similar sentiments with such earnestness for the rest of the night, and I started to think that maybe he didn't realize he was talking out loud, and that we could hear him.
Late in the night, we did get that boat ride back to Hat Rin. Maggie tried hard to haggle down the price from 700 Baht, but the taxi driver wouldn't have any of it. When she finally relented, he whipped out a leather Gucci wallet to make change. (Tourism is a good business here). By this time, Morgan and Ashlyn wanted to come along to experience the ride at night, and it did not disappoint. The driver navigated the boat in the pitch-black choppy water without any artificial light. In the darkness, I could make out the large boulders along the rocky coast line that the driver paralleled. (I briefly pondered if anyone would save us if we hit one of those rocks). On the sea, the sky stretched on forever without a cloud, and the stars were so bright. I took this all in for a few minutes until we cornered around the bay where the the spot-light spectacle of Hat Rin hit me in the face. From 500 meters out on the water, I could feel the bass of music resonating in my chest. We were dropped off in front of a large crowd of party-goers who were watching a fire dancer throwing flaming bow staffs into the air. I felt like the guest of honor to an extravagant Hollywood party. But again, I wasn't up for the craziness of it all, and went to bed. Lame, I know.
The next night, Maggie and I agreed we had to embrace Koh Pha Ngan for what it is. It was the "Shiva Moon (Jungle and Family) Party". For all anyone cares in Koh Pha Ngan, it could have been called "An Ice Cream Tuesday Tri-cycle Soiree". People were going to be there, but how and why it was a family party I still have no idea. When we got into the jungle party, no more than 40 people were there, loud music made talking impossible, and it was early in the night. Instead of seeing what would come of it all, we left, making friends with the people we shared a tuk-tuk with, and finally embraced the party on the beach. To be honest, I found it incredibly dull. People stared in awe of the fire dancers or futilely shouted into each others ears. Some people danced, or, depending on their level of intoxication, stumbled around on the sand with something feigning rhythm and coordination. I did drink a bucket of cheap alcohol and Redbull, before going back to my room where I fought the effects of caffeine for a few hours before falling asleep. And that was my craziest night in Koh Pha Ngan.
Koh Tao is the mecca for SCUBA divers, or at least aspiring divers looking to get some level of certification on the cheap. I got my open water scuba certification over three days. My ears took forever to equalize as I went deeper underwater, and I kept focusing on constantly breathing to prevent "over-expansion injuries". For that reason, though I only had four dives, I wasn't comfortable enough to fully appreciate the beauty of the fish and coral reefs. But the people I met were cool, and I'm happy I came away with a skill I can use in the future, instead of a souvenir or a picture. One other thing to be said about Koh Tao is that the fire dancers here are pretty awesome. Especially the exploited 8 year old kid I saw last night.
And I finally added more pictures to the Thailand Picasa web album. Internet is not cheap here, nor is it fast, so it was at the cost of nearly 6 dollars.
The first night I strolled along the beach of Hat Rin and saw the beginning stages of the circus being assembled. DJ systems are brought out. Elephant sized speakers are wired up. Myriad drinking booths, with ridiculous names, are stocked with bottles of alcohol. Glow in the dark necklaces, hats and shirts are laid out. Tiki torches are speared into the sand for as far as the eye can see. And most importantly, kerosene is put in the ready for the fire dancers. This scene is repeated every day, without fail, but with varying degrees of enormity. But my night culminated in sharing one drink with Maggie and then going to bed by 10PM.
The next day, we escaped Hat Rin for Hat Yuan, which is only accessible by boat, and lounged around on the beach surrounded by heaps of beautiful women not wearing any tops. Maggie pondered if we had stumbled upon a "Beautiful Women Contest." We met two Americans, Ashlyn and Morgan, from Hawaii and California respectively, and spent the day and evening with them bouncing around the island, and checking out the various beach hangouts and lounges. Without a doubt, Hat Yuan is a sanctuary from the craziness of Hat Rin, and it was an incredibly relaxing day.
Early in the evening, our American friends were surprised to discover that we weren't staying in Hat Yuan, but in Hat Rin. Morgan was shocked. He shared his disbelief with us, "So you're really going back to Hat Rin? That place sucks. I mean, first you stay in that crappy place, and you gotta take a scary boat ride back at night, and you have to pay for the ride too. That really sucks." There was no intended malice in his words. Morgan really didn't like Hat Rin (except for the all crepes he ate there). He too often repeated similar sentiments with such earnestness for the rest of the night, and I started to think that maybe he didn't realize he was talking out loud, and that we could hear him.
Late in the night, we did get that boat ride back to Hat Rin. Maggie tried hard to haggle down the price from 700 Baht, but the taxi driver wouldn't have any of it. When she finally relented, he whipped out a leather Gucci wallet to make change. (Tourism is a good business here). By this time, Morgan and Ashlyn wanted to come along to experience the ride at night, and it did not disappoint. The driver navigated the boat in the pitch-black choppy water without any artificial light. In the darkness, I could make out the large boulders along the rocky coast line that the driver paralleled. (I briefly pondered if anyone would save us if we hit one of those rocks). On the sea, the sky stretched on forever without a cloud, and the stars were so bright. I took this all in for a few minutes until we cornered around the bay where the the spot-light spectacle of Hat Rin hit me in the face. From 500 meters out on the water, I could feel the bass of music resonating in my chest. We were dropped off in front of a large crowd of party-goers who were watching a fire dancer throwing flaming bow staffs into the air. I felt like the guest of honor to an extravagant Hollywood party. But again, I wasn't up for the craziness of it all, and went to bed. Lame, I know.
The next night, Maggie and I agreed we had to embrace Koh Pha Ngan for what it is. It was the "Shiva Moon (Jungle and Family) Party". For all anyone cares in Koh Pha Ngan, it could have been called "An Ice Cream Tuesday Tri-cycle Soiree". People were going to be there, but how and why it was a family party I still have no idea. When we got into the jungle party, no more than 40 people were there, loud music made talking impossible, and it was early in the night. Instead of seeing what would come of it all, we left, making friends with the people we shared a tuk-tuk with, and finally embraced the party on the beach. To be honest, I found it incredibly dull. People stared in awe of the fire dancers or futilely shouted into each others ears. Some people danced, or, depending on their level of intoxication, stumbled around on the sand with something feigning rhythm and coordination. I did drink a bucket of cheap alcohol and Redbull, before going back to my room where I fought the effects of caffeine for a few hours before falling asleep. And that was my craziest night in Koh Pha Ngan.
Koh Tao is the mecca for SCUBA divers, or at least aspiring divers looking to get some level of certification on the cheap. I got my open water scuba certification over three days. My ears took forever to equalize as I went deeper underwater, and I kept focusing on constantly breathing to prevent "over-expansion injuries". For that reason, though I only had four dives, I wasn't comfortable enough to fully appreciate the beauty of the fish and coral reefs. But the people I met were cool, and I'm happy I came away with a skill I can use in the future, instead of a souvenir or a picture. One other thing to be said about Koh Tao is that the fire dancers here are pretty awesome. Especially the exploited 8 year old kid I saw last night.
And I finally added more pictures to the Thailand Picasa web album. Internet is not cheap here, nor is it fast, so it was at the cost of nearly 6 dollars.
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