Full Moon craze

First of all, I apologize for the long silence. It seems like too much of a waste of time to be occupied with writing when you’re having fun with lovely people. It was usually either due to too much to do or no internet or worse: no free internet. With that said, let’s continue my journey.

When we finally reached the port, I was stunned. The views were absolutely jaw-dropping. Turquoise sea, beach, palm trees… Boradise all over again YEY!! Ferry ride was cool too, most of which I’ve spent on the sun deck in my new bikini.

My enthusiasm soon wore off when there weren’t any touts offering accommodation and anywhere I asked was full. Damned tourists and the full moon party!!!! With the help of locals I found a decent place to stay at least till after the full moon party, than rented a scooter and begun exploring. I must admit that driving on the “wrong” side is quite uncomfortable, especially when the road is curvy and hilly and It’s my 5^th(?) time on a motorbike. I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t get lost in the first place. Wanting to visit the east coast with supposedly beautiful beaches I found myself driving through the jungle (as pretty as it was), but with no sight of a beachfront. It must have been around 1,5hour that I finally reached the coast and could chill, sunbake and talk to locals. Finally!! Do I have to mention that the beach had white sand, was pretty much empty, the water was warm and crystal clear and scenery picturesque?Nah, I'm not gonna say that, don't want to annoy my precious readers stuck somewhere in cold countries stuck with their warm blankets, tea with honey and winter jackets :p

Only one thing spoilt that day. On the way back, because of sun overdose mixed with road side confusion, I had a tiny accident on my bike. Nothing major, it just fell on the side when I too suddenly turned on sandy ground. I got a few scratches on my body and alas, on my motorbike – that was a costly adventure, but I decided to try and act innocent in front of the rental guy.

The next day my buddy from Lao arrived with another guy (whom he met on the ferry – lol) and I’ve let them stay with me, since the chance of finding any accommodation on the night of Full Moon was a mission impossible. I found out later that people were paying nearly as much as me but were sleeping on hammocks outside the bungalows. I enjoyed having some company finally and we all went to check out what the whole fuss about the Full Moon was about.

I have to admit, if Vang Vieng was crazy, this place was absolutely insane. It looked like every young person (young physically or mentally) that was backpacking somewhere in SEA broke off their route just to come to the Full Moon to Ko Phangan. It is true, as someone told me, that if you’re with friends there and you lose them for a split of a second you will not find them till the day after. There was no point of setting up a meeting point either. The day before I’ve met some lovely Indonesian girls from Jakarta so I hang out with them (guys didn’t really want a girl tagging along). It was amazing – the party I mean. The fluorescent (or glo as they called it) tattoos, fire shows, fire skipping ropes (insanely dangerous but fun to watch) and the buckets… again. People there could have been divided into several categories: the Australians (no comment here), those wearing Vang Vieng shirts (already fit in combat), those wearing Full Moon Party shirts (quite fit after pre-parties), and the rest. I got home quite early (comparing to everyone else) so I was able to get up at a reasonable time. One thing I have to say, the beach where it all took place looked disgusting the next day. My friends didn’t get back until early morning so even though I provided breakfast, we still didn’t do anything productive that day – only managed to move out and check into a cool Bungalow Resort with a swimming pool and a cool backpackers’ vibe – perfect place to withstand the weariness of the night before.

The day after me and one of the guys (a Brit) went exploring the island (the other guy – from Chile never made it back before we got up). Wow, that was a real adventure. We were looking for a waterfall and the road that lead there… well there was no actual road, more like a dirt-bike track through the jungle. I had my hear somewhere in my stomach but – the hell with it – it’s adventure time. So I had my adventure when we reached the waterfall. It wasn’t very impressive in the dry season, but that enabled us to climb down to the beach. I’m not the most skilled rock climber so it took me a bit longer than my companion but I finally made it. The beach was very secluded, and I mean really, we were the only people there. Not so impressive though, with rubbish lying around and rocky shore, but the sea was enjoyable – deeper than on the east side of the island so I could swim a bit. When it was time to go back, we found a tiny lane leading up the hill (ugh climbing back up the waterfall was a lost cause). The only problem was that we parked our motorbike on a steep hill and couldn’t make it go up. We were stuck. It took us probably around 2 hours to get the bike up again – no scratch, but I don’t think I’ve had that much exercise in one day with all the pushing and pulling. It’s amazing how my British friend could stay positive. Otherwise I would probably hurt him – yes, I was furious. But we made it all the way back, exhausted. I deserved a decent Thai massage, to which I of course treated myself.

The next day I was already feeling sick so I took it slow and just hang around the pool all day and the rest you already know. The guys left the next day and I went to the clinic and stayed there for a couple of days…. Overall I have mixed feelings about Ko Phangan. It had some amazing views, very pretty blond beaches, but I don’t think I’ll be back any time soon. No hurt feelings, just you know, been there, done that – time to move on. I’m not interested in diving so Ko Tao isn’t really my thing and Ko Samui seems like a place for Samsonite tourists.