Thailand Day 13 Full Moon Party

Wednesday May 18^th

I decided to rent the scooter for another day, so after breakfast I headed out and rode south to hang out on a couple of beaches. The first one I went to was Lamai Beach. I swam there for a bit and then relaxed on the beach reading my book. From there I rode back to the spot where Grandfather's Rock was to go back to the shop with the yummy caramel and coconut candies.

In the afternoon I went back to the hotel and hung around the pool there for a bit and wound up talking to three Australian guys and a Canadian couple from Calgary. They were all talking about the big Full Moon Party tonight. So after hemming and hawing I decided I would go to the Full Moon Party. It seems to be a big thing and is famous all around Asia. Being here at the right time of the month and not going just seemed silly, so I went.

Later I went for another ride to a temple at the north end of the island near the airport. There they had two enormous statues of Buddhas, both white. This is the only religion I have seen where the likenesses of the god appears to be a caricature. It looks like a cartoon character.

I was picked up at the hotel by six, along with the Calgary couple and we were driven to the port (after we'd picked up another six people), at the north end of the island. There we lined up to catch a speed boat for the half hour ride to another island called Koh Phangan. There are a number of boat companies that ferry people across to the island. It was a great ride in the dark across the sea. The boat docked at the wharf and everyone walked through this quaint, touristy town, along a street lined with lots of shops and restaurants. Lots of booths were selling plastic buckets with little bottles of booze and mix. The idea was you picked your type of drink and then mixed it in and drank it from the bucket. The place was busy already and it was only 8pm. I wandered around the streets window shopping and eventually found my way to the beach. It looks like a really nice beach (remember it was dark) and it was lined with bars and restaurants that all had sound systems booming different kinds of music. There were some really loud systems! The theme seemed to be black light and fluorescent stuff. People were painting their bodies with fluorescent paint, and wearing fluorescent clothing. There were young local men twirling burning ropes in patterns. There were people skipping over a really long rope that was on fire! In other words it was a huge, loud party with silly activities, all designed for twenty-somethings. Ross and Joan, I'd like to say I wasn't too old, but I'd be lying. I was invisible. No one talked to me and I talked to no one. However, I was glad I went. It was worth seeing and the actual town and beach were really nice. Beside I bought myself a new blue bathing suit to replace the tired old red shorts I've been wearing. However, by midnight I was ready to go back. I think I was the first from our boat company to go back. Oh yeah, the party goes until dawn!