Ko Phangan: New Friends and Old Friends

We boarded the cheaper 10 am ferry to Ko Phangan with Laura and Adam (and tons of other Full Mooners) and said farewell to the supposed scuba paradise. The ferry was so overcrowded that we had to literally fight for room to sit on the floor. Signs on the boat said the capacity was 250 or so, but there were definitely more people than that. The four of us wedged ourselves into a walkway on the side of the boat with our feet dangling over and settled in for windy, bumpy, and salty boat ride.

When we pulled up to the dock, there were hundreds of Thais waving signs for taxis and yelling at the top of their lungs to those of us on board. Each one claimed to be offering “the best price” but we quickly found out that they are charge exactly the same price, no matter where you are going or how hard you bargain. Our taxi dropped us all off at Charm Beach Bungalows in Ban Tai, a highly recommended little spot that we all love. We had decided a few days before that we wanted something a little cheaper, quieter, and probably safer than the Full Moon madness of Hat Rin, about 7 km south of Ban Tai. We found our bungalows and the grounds very charming, and right on the beach. Our bungalow is about 30 feet from the water with nothing blocking our view!

We spent the next few hours napping in lounge chairs by the pool, complete with the scent of gardenias and the sound of singing birds. The family that owns this place has a pet monkey that provided us with endless entertainment in the form of pulling hair, stealing money from pockets, and peaking up shorts!

We had been trying to meet up with our friend Scott from Cal Poly for the last week or so, and took our first insane taxi ride to Hat Rin for dinner. The road to the little peninsula makes any mountain road I have ever seen in California look like a walk in the park, and the drivers fly around turns with tires squealing and passengers fearing for their lives. We made it safe and sound somehow, met Scott and his traveling buddies, Roman and Marie, and walked to dinner.
Hat Rin is like a more rundown, dirtier Isla Vista on crack. The place is crawling with people, most of whom are drunk from a day of beach partying or still hungover from the night before, and taxis and motorbikes fly through the streets with no regard for pedestrians. You get out of the way or it’s your own fault when your toes get run over! Loud techno music blares at all hours of the day, and the beaches are filthy. Needless to say, we had a great time in Hat Rin for the night, but all four of us were so happy to be back at our wonderful Charm Beach when it was over.

After dinner, we all walked to Sunset Beach, home of the infamous Full Moon Party, to get a feel for what was in store for tomorrow night. It was crazy, but so mellow compared to the following night! We went to a Muay Thai boxing match for the night’s entertainment. The fights were definitely an experience: the fighters move so well and so quickly that it almost looks like they are performing some sort of choreographed dance that involves brutal kicks and punches. I’m glad we went to see it, but I can honestly say that all the boys enjoyed it much more than Laura, Marie, and I. We would have been fine leaving after four or five fights, but we stayed through all nine. It was good to see, and we are told it’s one of the more authentic places to go because all the fighters are actually Thai, but not something that I will probably ever do again!