The Gulf of Thailand...hit that party!

With the abundance of coconuts we played coconut boules on the beach in the evenings
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Following a gruelling 14hr journey from Phi Phi by ferry to Krabi, minibus to Surat Thani and another much delayed ferry, we have finally arrived in Koh Phan Ngan ahead of the masses to secure accom prior to the Full Moon Party on 6th December. To be honest we're not entirely sure its a full moon on the 6th but the Kings 80th Birthday is on the 5th (public holiday) so most places will be closed particularly bars and such - hence it may well have been pushed back a day.

Frankly it won't matter in the slightest because over the next few days 30,000 revellers will be descending on the island for the party on Haadrin beach. Of course since we've arrived early we had to get warmed up so last night we hit the beach to get a taste of what's to come...

Markus...yeah Right'O!
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We hit the beach a lil early around 7pm and had a great Danish dinner at the Drop in Bar and then as you do, ran in to many of the fellow travellers we have met right across the country to date. With the Mellow Mountain looming at the far end of the beach we set off to check it out! Several Happy Shakes later with a great floating feelin we swanned back to the party which was now banging out hardcore trance and techno at various venues...each vying to outdo their neighbouring bar.

The key here is to pace yourself and drink plenty of Buckets (ultra strength Redbull being the key ingredient) and mingle from one bar to the next until you're totally wasted and then drink thru it until 7am the following morning. The Beach is pretty nice until you realise everyone is relieving themselves in the sea or trying to get laid!

Lovin the Danish food at the Drop in Bar
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Fortunately i have pictures coz i dont remember a lot...god knows what the actual Full Moon party will be like - will probably have to take a waterproof disposable in case i end up in the sea, which tends to happen to me on pretty much every beach party to-date.

On the night of the Full Moon Party there was a real struggle to find a bus that didn't have 50 tourists on the roof and when we eventually found one...we had to push it up the hills or walk to the top and wait for it to catch us up!

Happy Shakes takin their toll
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The party raged on from like 7pm to 12noon the following day (after parties and Silver Moon Party aside). We had envisioned staying on the beach all of the following day but as the tide came in it brought with it all the rubbish from the last 17hrs - hence we were ankle deep in scum and feelin shattered headed for home with our many new found friends....if you need specifics you'll have to ask me in person!

On our way back to Bangkok we stopped off at Ko Tao but just for the day to see what all the fuss was about. Its considerably smaller than Koh Phan Ngan but the water is certainly no better and a farcry from the likes of those on the Andaman Coast. We tried to arrange it so that we took a night bus but we arrived in Bangkok at 2am so had to book into a hotel for our final night before flying to India!

Kev spilt his 500baht shake and took to desperate measures!
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Hopefully India will prove to be as fruitful as the last 5 weeks :)