Let's put me into perspective here- i'm 22, went this year with a boyfriend and a friend, and despite loving a good night out, lots of drinks, bars and conversation, i don't like raves or clubs just because i usually lose everyone and things always get too caught up in drugs. Not my cup of tea. But the full moon party has an original reputation for bringing different people together, it's supposed to have fire dancers and fun drinks, hippies and travellers, and i thought that sort of vibe might really be something i'd regret missing out on.
We stayed half-way across the island, so grabbed a shuttle service to Haad Rin beach with a few other people from the hotel who were equally excited to see what it was all about. As we were dropped off we could finally see the hoards of people heading to the beach, everyone was dressed appropriately, by that i mean not really wearing anything at all but florescent paint and drunken smiles and it really was an exciting atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the further towards the beach we got the more things i started to recognise as the resemblance to European beaches became strikingly obvious. Gone were the amazing Asian dishes, clusters of tourists sitting around drinking and chatting, fire dancers amazing audiences and market stalls with hand-made Thai souvenirs like there had been on Koh Samui, Koh Tao, in sections of Bangkok and Chang Mai. Haad Rin was overrun with idiotic British revellers running around flailing their arms and shouting out offensive English chants like they're at a football game. The street littered in, well, litter, sick, lost property, glowsticks, fish and chips and pizzas. It could have been a strip in Magaluf, Zante or Benedorm. Local people were reduced to selling these horrendous buckets and the beach itself was packed- i mean, it was like sheep being herded into a really small field. Like fitting 100 people in a 2 bed flat. People were either mindlessly dancing and kissing random people or passed out on the floor.
Having fun guys?
I remember when i used to go to Reading festival every year as a teenage. It's just my kind of music and hanging out with a group of friends with absolute freedom was like a dream. Then, in 2010 i was no longer enjoying the atmosphere because the average age of attendee was lowering and lowering. I felt like i was surrounded by people who didn't want to watch the music, discover new bands and chill with their friends, they wanted to burn their tents, run around peeing everywhere, stealing wellies and getting high. They needent have payed for a ticket and stayed in their own back yard. And this is what i think has happened to Koh Phangan. With the mass attention the party got, and the ease of access getting worse by the minute as airports and services grow, it started to attract people uninterested in the experience that full moon originally intended. Hotels on the island have 4 day minimum stays- prelonging everyone's hangovers and making it compulsory to see the wasteland left by the world post-party.
I struggle with discouraging anyone from going anywhere, since experiences are often completely individual. I don't necessarily agree with advice that says that the island is dangerous, one teen being killed last year is hardly reason to damn the entire place. I didn't find any glass on the floor- but i was smart enough to wear converses, and i didn't hear of anyone drowning in the sea. But put it this way, if you describe yourself as i did above, and if your after what the party was like 20 years previous, your better off staying clear and can feel confident you haven't missed out on anything. If you are with a massive group of people, and you get drunk before you go i reckon that beer-goggles may trick you into having a good time, and you can pretend that the party is at it's peak, but in my opinion the glass is half empty for Koh Phangan and its totally past its sell by date.
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