July 10th, 2005 | The lowdown by Aliwyn Cole

The Full Moon Party-After-The-Party.

My journey began on Kao San road, the renowned two streets or so which are popular with backpackers of all nations. This small part of Bangkok, nestled near the Grand Palace, is off the sky train track, and a taxi ride from Siam. After arriving there, checking out some stalls, and eating falafel from a street stall, I headed off to get the bus from Kao San Road itself. ?Sawadi Ca. Koh Phangan, ca.? I asked in my best nasal Thai accent. I am informed that 350 baht will buy me a seat on an air conditioned, double decker bus. I checked if there was a toilet on board, and then bought a ticket. I arrived in Surritani 12 hours later. Then sat, eating fried rice and water melon for two hours, before a 3 hour boat journey to the island. Once there, the journey is easy. A plethora of sales reps hang around the port, offering rooms and bungalows. All speak a good-ish standard of English, acquired from years of English speaking party-goers over the last few years. I wanted to stay at Great Bay again, and found the rep easily.

Koh Phangan is the island of the acclaimed Full Moon party. I have been to this island twice now, and both times just after the last F.M. party. Glass bottles lie on the beach, basking in an otherwise beautiful island. Dogs, who hang around the hostels and are really quite friendly, pad around, sniffing the litter.

After picking up the bottles along the bay, I retired to my bungalow, rented for a mere 150 baht a night. It is, at the moment, low season, and so places to stay become really cheap. 150 baht pays for a wooden bungalow, with two beds, a fan, and a bathroom. Everything you need for a rest on a tranquil beach. Impeccable service and good spoken English means that food, beer, and maybe even a magic shake, can be brought to your bungalow, or perhaps you prefer the chilled out bar area, with some good tunes playing, and some happy backpackers recovering from the F.M. party, and flirting with each other. I stayed at Great Bay for three nights, and found a friendly family reception in the bar, and lots of people to chat to. The shakes were great. I also checked out the Pirate bar, 5 minutes walk away down the beach. Great bar hangings decorate the area, and some okay music was playing, mixing the current favourite in Thailand, hip hop, and a little trance. After flirting with the DJ, and drinking quite a few Mai Thai cocktails, I staggered home, accompanied by a bungalow dog.

The next day, I tried to ride a motorbike to Haad Rin, the beach which hosts the main parties, and skidded down the hill of the treacherous, and currently dusted with gravel from the building of a new road. Having survived with miraculously little and cheap to repair damage to the bike, I decided to give up on the bike, and moved to a remote room in an even remoter guest house, called Chills. Thanks to low season, I had a lush room to myself for 400 baht. An on duty kitchen most of the day, and there were no other guests. I ate, read, and then wandered along the deserted beach. The winds of the rainy season made it seem almost quite wild. I meditated to the sound of the sea, then thought for a while, then walked back and ate some more. The Thai food is less spicy than traditional Thai food, but it?s still great. Good German menu. Great location.

I now had two days of my holiday left, before having to return to work, so I headed to the main port area, to prepare for the lengthy journey back. I stayed in an extremely cheap and fairly clean guest house, which was one of many, which are all just as cheap and clean it would seem. I wandered around, found very little shopping, but some good restaurants, including a great Indian restaurant tucked between Italian and British grub.

Haad Rin was a taxi journey away, but I preferred to spend the last day enjoying Thai massage, 200-250 baht for an hour, and eat more Indian food, before heading back. I was leaving on the day of the half moon party, and as I sat drinking coffee, while waiting for my boat, I observed the locals, including quite a few police, having rather an intense meeting. According to many guide books, the Full Moon parties usually result in a few foreigners being caught with illegal substances, and paying bribes of 50000 baht to get out of the proverbial deep shit this can result in. Was this the subject of the meeting?

I left at 12.30 midday, and arrived in Bangkok at 5 o?clock the next morning. Despite having a fairly sleepless night, I felt okay, having consumed plenty of snacks and water, and having finished the excellent book which had kept me company on the beach.