Take 5,000 people or more, add a half-dozen bars blasting music ranging from hip hop to techno, throw in booze that’s literally sold by the bucket, put it all on a beach in the gulf of Thailand, and what do you have? The full moon party in Koh Pha Ngan.
The first full moon party on the Haad Rin beach in 1988 in Koh Pha Ngan had only 20-30 attendees. But a night on the beach with booze and music is a ton of fun, and word quickly spread. Now, the full moon party attracts visitors from around the world as well as locals who go to the party every month, with as many as 10,000 people attending in some months. In fact, the full moon party drew so much money to the island that other parties were set up, including half moon parties, new moon parties, and others. In one month, there were supposedly 25 different parties of this type held on different beaches around the island, which only measures 25 miles in circumference. It got to the point where some of the locals were understandably tired of the noise and the drunken partiers leaving a mess on their island, so the local government banned all of the parties except the full moon festival.
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Imagine bodies this packed for a half mile stretch of beach, and you start to get a feel for how many people were at the event. |
| Another shot of the crowd |
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In addition to the music blasting from the bars, there was live entertainment, most of which included fire for some reason. Every 30 feet, there was a booth selling alcohol, the most popular being a small plastic bucket that you could get a cocktail in. You have your choice of vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, or tequila, and any one of a dozen mixers, throw in a scoop of ice and a few straws, and you’ve got yourself a drink. Depending on the booth you went to, the bucket would have between 2 to 4 shots of liquor in it, and would cost between $5-$12, which is a pretty good deal. To help people not get drunk too fast, there were plenty of food options available, including pizza, burgers, and gyros, as well as traditional Thai meat-on-a-stick snacks. The majority of attendees appeared to be in their 20s, but there were a few families with small children present, as well as a fair number of people in their 40s, 50s, and older, but the event as a whole had a real frat party feel to it.
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Fire twirling, done by professionals. Most people gave him room, but I saw one guy walk right up to the performer and offer him a drink from his bucket. Somehow, the twirler managed not to lose control of the ropes and nobody got hurt. |
| Fire limbo; anyone can limbo under the flaming stick. The unstable sand makes it more challenging than you’d think, and the alcohol doesn’t help, either. |
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Flaming jump rope in the sand. What could go wrong? But seeing someone trip and get hit with the rope didn’t stop someone else from stepping up seconds later to give it a shot. |
The Haad Rin beach itself is about a mile long, with most of the partying on the southern half. At the northern end of the beach is a run down building that used to house a bar that served magic mushroom milkshakes. Apparently the bar had been raided and shut down by the police a day prior to the party, much to the disappointment of many attendees. But it was still a good place to get away from the loud music and sit and talk to people for a bit.
Of course, with that many drunk partiers, things will go wrong, either by accident or by design. There are plenty of stories of people getting their drinks spiked when they weren’t paying attention and of people buying drugs only to turn around and immediately get busted by the cops who helped set up the deal. There are stories of people passing out on the beach and being robbed or assaulted, and it wouldn’t surprise me if people got drunk and drowned in the ocean from time to time. As the event has grown to its current size, certain safety precautions have been taken, such as adding a first aid tent, a dedicated “sleep area” with staff to ensure your safety, as well as a tent with uniformed officers.
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Dedicated sleep area, but not everyone who needed it used it. |
| Some people passed out on the sand |
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Others managed to pass out while sitting up |
While a fair number of attendees pass out or call it quits at some point during the night (I made it to about 2:00A), those that make it to dawn generally take a 15 minute hike up a small mountain nearby to watch the sun rise over the gulf.
Whether you see the sunrise or not, eventually everyone heads back to their hotels and hostels, ready to sleep through the day and pray for the sweet release of death to relieve them from their hangover (or maybe that just me.) It’s a fantastic party with great music and a lot of people having fun. It really reminded me of my college days and hitting the clubs, but significantly bigger. But the one thing the full moon party has that no college nightclub can match is the beautiful beach, with the light of the moon shining down on the waves.
