Thailand Full Moon Party Survival Guide

Ok, so you've made the awesome decision to head to Thailand to experience the full moon party on Koh Pha Nang island and here's your guide to surviving the non-stop party.

 

PACKING.

Firstly, don't pack the boogeyboard bag. But seriously, it's a tropical island so you're really only going to your your boardshorts/bikini gear. A good rule of thumb is to buy most of what you need over there. Towels, sunnies, the ever-present  beer singlet and thongs. So wear something comfortable on the plane and get the rest when you're there.

Pack:

- Sunscreen

- Boardies/bikini

- Toiletries

- Waterproof camera

...everything else you can get over there. 

 

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT PACKING A MONEY BELT.

You'll be wearing beach gear all day and night so it's pretty hard to conceal a money belt. the police station is always packed after a full moon party with people who have lost their wallet, passports and such so buy a cheap wallet when you get there, put only enough money for the day in it and stash your passport and other valuables in the hotel safe.

 

WE'RE HERE, NOW WHAT?

Haad Rin beach is where the full moon party is held on the beach so hop in a tuk tuk (back of a hilux truck) and make your way there.

 

WHAT'S A BUCKET?

Drinks are sold in small buckets with a hip flash sized bottle of spirits, ice, half a lime, and a few bottles of concentrated red bull. The buckets are cheap and plentiful but pace yourself. You've got all night and most of the next day (thanks to the supercharged red bull) so take it easy. I know that sounds soft, but you'll notice that the Smirnoff and Jim Beam bottles' seals are broken because they've been refilled with bootleg spirits with varying strength.

 

STAY OUT OF THE WATER.

Everyone is uber-friendly and having a good time but stay away from the waters edge. The bars charge to use their bathrooms and no one really wants to leave the beach to find one so the waters edge is lined with people pissing so beware. Barter for everything, including the price of buckets.

 

 

REMEMBER.

 

Although it's called a "full-moon" party, there's one pretty much every night but nights with an actual full moon will tend to be bigger. Don't take or accept drugs from anyone there unless you want to spend some time in a Thai jail. The beach is littered with people that didn't feel the effects of the mushroom shakes straight away so they had more and then it hits.

 

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Moments ago I had been sniffing cocaine from a CD case in a crowded back alley high up in the favelas, now I was running for my life. I desperately tried to keep pace with my guide, a 19 year old local called Juca, through the maze of tiny alleys and stairways. We're running from a couple of young hoods who moments ago stopped when they noticed a white tourist (me).

It was my fault, I'd wanted to see the favelas so I'd convinced Juca to take me up there. He looked at me and asked "para drogas?" (For drugs?). that wasn't the whole reason - you could get powder anywhere in Rio, I'd spent the last week exploring all of the tourist spots like impanema beach, visited the massive statue of jesus overlooking the city (which was being renovated) and tasted all of the great food, the only thing left was to see the grit and grime of the favelas.

So here we were, running for our lives. I knew it was serious when Juco ran.

 Even though I could speak passable Portuguese it's best to keep that ace up your sleeve when you're about to be mugged. So when the two young boys with who'd stopped when they saw me started talking amongst themselves I could follow them.

 They were arguing about what to do with us and why a tourist was up in the favelas. They were probably about 15 years old and while one kept the old handgun on us, the other nervously hopped from one foot to the other as he kept looking over his shoulder.

 

Life is cheap in the favelas and I could feel my heart beating so hard I thought I was going to throw up. I realized that I had my hands up in the air like some sort of comical hold up victim with massive sweat patches under his arms while Juca stood there with his by his side as he looked them over.

"money!" they screamed at me, ignoring Juca.

I lowered one arm and gently pulled out my wallet. The two kids with the gun between them stared at it. I dared not look at Juca, he'd have to work it out for himself. Then, with a long arc, I lobbed the wallet behind the boys. Before it hit the ground Juca was off. I dropped the CD case and was after him around a corner and down a tiny flight of concrete stairs.

I pushed my way down steep stairs and through winding alleys of brightly painted shacks to Jucas's shouts of "mais rápido!" while dodging the occasional chicken.

We re-grouped once we were clear and fell into a heap on a public bench, gasping for air while the adrenalin continued to surge through my veins. I looked up at the sea of shacks mashed together against the dense jungle on the face of the broad mountain.

Juca looked at me and weezed "sortudo" (lucky).