Only Half Mooning It!

The back of Aziz at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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Up early I decided to head out to catch an early boat.  Waiting on the side of the road, a tuk tuk came but since he didn't speak any English, he flagged down another driver for help.  I explained I wanted to go to the pier, so this way I could buy a ticket, if possible, if not there was a recommended travel agent just up the road.  One thing I have learnt so far is that there always seems to be a middle man.  Following along on my LP map and everything was going fine until suddenly we were going away from where the pier was supposed to be.  Hmmmm, this was not a good sign.  Next thing you know, I am being taken to a travel agent.  Annoyed, I refused to get out of the tuk tuk, telling the travel agent that I had paid to go to the pier, not to this location.  After 5 or so minutes of arguing, but not getting anywhere and the tuk tuk driver eager to get going, I grudgingly got out.  Still arguing with the guy he told me that the pier I had wanted to go to was the night ferry pier and the one I wanted was still 10 minutes away.  Realizing I didn't have much choice, I gave in and bought a ticket for 390 Baht (approx $12.20), plus I wanted to catch the 8am boat and didn't want to have to wait around for another couple of hours.  Turns out the second deal the guy had given me the night before wasn't such a bad deal after all!  All paid up, we rushed a few blocks away to where a pretty full passenger bus was waiting for me.

Melina, showing off Limor's artwork at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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The boat ride was about 2 1/2 hours to Ko Samui and then another hour to Ko Phangan.  Packed into a tuk tuk we took off for Hat Rin, the party beach.  I had already picked out a place to stay, Same-Same - the name reminded me of a saying Nik and I had heard in Thailand 6 years earlier, "Same same, but different!"- love that saying!  Same-Same was located off the main drag, but not too close to the beach.  My room was discounted to my surprise and very large and with its own bathroom.  It was on the corner second floor, but with a walkway all the way around it which proved to be a problem on the second night because I didn't want to open my windows because they had no bars on them and it got terribly warm and uncomfortable to sleep.

Aziz, Melina and Guy at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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So, for those of you who have been to Thailand, , you can't be there without hearing about the full moon parties on Ko Phangan.  Well, having missed the full moon and since Ko Phangan always needs a reason to party, there are half moon parties.  Melina said that she was going, so I decided to join her.  Logistically, going to Ko Phangan first didn't really make sense since Ko Samui is to the south, but I was wanting to check out the party and it would be fun to see Melina again.

Limor and Melina at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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Not really having any dancing clothes I did my best I could with what I had.  I met up with Melina and three Israeli friends that she had met in Ko Tao, Limor, Aziz and Guy.  They had tracked down a taxi and with two others, we each were to pay 40Baht (approx $1.25) - which was pretty expensive given that on any other occasion it would have been half that.  The driver, sped around the very hilly corners obviously in a rush to drop us off so that he could go back and get another fare (quite the night to make some money).  He dropped us off in the jungle where the party was set up.  Paying 300Baht each (approx $9.40) which included one free drink we ventured in.  Since it was only around 11pm, there weren't too many people dancing yet.

Limor and I showing off her artwork at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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After getting our free, really strong  drink, Limor got out her body paints and proceeded to paint away on everyone.  I ended up with a vine and orange dots on my left arm (kind of mimicked my shirt) and blue and orange flowers on my right arm.  She was doing such a good job that people around us asked if she could paint them as well.  Another drink later, it was time to dance.  By now the sand dance floor with glowing neon lights was starting to get full of bodies dancing to trance music.  If was definitely a spectacle to see all the body paint (one guy with a huge Superman logo on his chest), the not so subtle Thai women trying to see drugs, the fire dancers, the artwork, and the DJ, high up above the crowd.

Guy, Aziz, Melina and Limor at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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After dancing until about 3am or so, all of us except Limor was ready to call it a night, even through the party was probably going to go on from what I heard until the wee hours of the morning.  After another half an hour we collected Limor and headed off to find a taxi.  As should be expected, the price back was much more expensive, 100Baht (approx $3.12) with the tuk tuk way overpacked with people.  But what were you going to do as you were in the middle of nowhere and they knew they had you.

Showing off our painted hands at the Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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Back to Hat Rin, the tuk tuk stopped, but not where we had anticipated on being dropped off, so a mutiny started.  After a few minutes of people yelling at the driver to continue on, it looked like he was going to oblige, only for him to take us around the corner and stop again.  Once again, people started yelling but to no avail, the driver wasn't going anywhere.  No choice, we all piled off and thankfully the guys I was with knew the way since I hadn't had time yet to venture to that part of town and didn't know the way back to where I was staying.  Finally, I made it to bed at 4:30 am, tired but glad that I went.

Think McDonald's would have an issue with this? Half Moon Party, Ko Phangan, Thailand.
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Now, how many of you thought my the title that I had partially bared my behind? ;P