Since Angus and I were in Koh Tao for some scuba diving right before the New Year, it was obligatory that we attend Southeast Asia’s, if not the world’s, biggest and most infamous New Year’s Eve party: The Full Moon Party. Our only goal: survive. 

What is the Full Moon Party: 

If you travel or are interested in traveling, you may have heard someone utter “full moon party” a few times before. Legend has it that sometime in the 1980s, a group of backpackers threw a birthday party for a friend on a night with the Full Moon shining. It was such a good night that they came back the following year, and continued a month after that, then another month after that. Word got around and people flocked to the island of Koh Phangan. At first, it was a small party with hippies and backpackers playing guitars, smoking weed and having a few beers. Throughout the last decade or so, this has completely transformed. 

Now, the Full Moon Party is infamous for its insanity. Drugs, booze, rave, dance and sex litter the otherwise beautiful shores of Koh Phangan. This monthly rave make any other party look like child’s play.

Picture this: during the day, you will see amazing white sand beaches with endless rows of palm trees, the calm blue-green sea and smell of salt in the air. Now, imagine the night of the Full Moon Party: thousands of people from around the world dressed in bright neon tanks and tees, sipping on buckets of alcohol and washing down MDMA while stumbling around, trying to keep up with the techno beats of the many different stages. The beach is lined with people selling alcohol out of buckets, or people selling neon/glow stuff for drunken passerbys, fire dancers and fire jump ropes and boys peeing into the shore. During New Year’s Eve, this party is enhanced by ten-fold. The Full Moon Party is not for the faint of heart. 

Who: 

Everyone and their mothers. But really. The Full Moon Party is for anyone who can handle it, and will range from 20,000 to 50,000 backpackers, honeymooners, moms, dads, families, druggies, designated drivers, you name it. During New Year, it’s packed with people of all ages and sizes. 

When: 

Although the Full Moon Party is usually on the night of the full moon every month, they bumped it up by a few days to make way for NYE as a “bonus party”. A list of official dates can be found here. 

Where/How to get there: 

To get to Koh Phangan, you have to take a ferry from either the neighbouring islands of Koh Samui or Koh Tao or from the mainland ports of Chumphon or Surat Thani. Once we got to the mainland, we took a shared taxi/van that cost about 100 baht one way to Haad Rin, the site of the party. 

Accommodation: 

In order to find any sort of housing during NYE in Koh Phangan, you will have to be in the island at least a week in advance. Things book up FAST. Do NOT book a place online, as prices are sky high and they often require you to have a 10 night minimum stay. You will have to book in person, but again, things book up real quick the closer to NYE you get into. The further you are away from the party, the better your chances. In other words, hit up Ban Tai Beach, which is nearby Haad Rin and is easier to find accommodation. Our friend, Phillippe tried to find a room the day of NYE and had no such luck. As for us…. well, we decided to be homeless for that night and attempted to stay awake until the first ferry at 7am. 

How to stay alive: 

1. Keep your wallet with you. By around 3am of our long, homeless night, we ended up taking turns taking naps on top of a rock by the beach. Since it was too dark to tell if we had our eyes open or not, some pickpockets decided to see if they could try to sneak into our pockets while we were “sleeping”. Needless to say, Angus had the shift and scared them off. Philippe wasn’t so lucky and had his wallet taken from him sometime in the night. Be careful with your surroundings and always make sure you have your wallet somewhere secure! 
2. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’re most likely going to be there all night. During NYE, people were still partying until 6am. Don’t chug that extra bucket; instead, sip on it and keep a buzz going all night so you don’t get up spilling your contents back into the bucket you just chugged. 
3. Speaking of booze… Avoid buying the buckets outside of the beach area, although many of them are cheaper; rumor has it that the people who sell them lace them with gasoline or something crazy to bring their alcohol prices down. Also, if you want to spend less on drinks, buy your booze in the 7-11s or supermarkets that are less than five minutes walking distance from the beach. It’s much more cost-effective and you can take them back to the party with you. 
4. Beware the jump rope. Once you get to the party and it’s dark, you will see flashes of fire. You will run to it, only to realize it’s a FREAKIN FIRE JUMP ROPE LIKE IN MARIO PARTY 3. Then, you will feel all intense and impulsive and jump in. Angus, Philippe and I all had a turn. Ok, maybe more like a few turns. Let me tell you, it was epic, and I honestly don’t regret it. However, I will warn you that even if you are the best jump roper on the planet, there will always be someone else that will try to join you and mess it up. Then you may be burned, just like me. No regrets. 
5. Don’t go in the water. You will see what I mean once you get to the party. Since you have to pay for bathrooms (about 10-20 baht), most guys just say f*ck that and end up turning their wee wees towards the shore. Toward the middle of the night, you will see hundreds of guys lined up on that shore, peeing all their beer out into the ocean. Don’t go in the water… because it’s gross. 
6. If you can’t find anywhere to stay, just pay for a really long massage. By the time 4am rolled on by, Angus and I were exhausted but didn’t have a place to sleep. We stumbled upon a 24/7 massage place, walked in and bought a 1-hour foot massage for about 200 baht ($6/£4). Needless to say, I don’t remember much of the foot massage because I immediately fell asleep as soon as I sat on their comfy chairs. Best one hour nap EVER.  
7. Arrange a meet-up point with friends, and don’t abandon them. Like we did. After having our amazing massage/nap, Angus and I were way to exhausted to stay in Haad Rin for longer. Although we had arranged to meet with Philippe at 7am in a specific area on the beach, we decided to leave and wait for the ferry at the main port. We figured maybe he would be somewhere else, or he would just find us back at the ferry. Unfortunately, what we didn’t realize was that Philippe had been pickpocketed sometime during the night, had no money, and was waiting for us to come save him. We failed. Big time. Don’t be like us and arrange a spot and abandon your friends. Because then they may be stranded on an island with no money to get back (luckily, Philippe had another friend who was able to spot him to get him back to Koh Tao, whew!). 
8. Do as the party-goers do. Buy a neon shirt. Get face painted on. For the first few hours, we resisted on buying neon shirts and face paint. But then, we thought… YOLO. But really. The Full Moon Party is a huge event that may be something you will only do once in your life (or a few times for you lucky party goers out there), so live a little and go crazy on that face paint and get the brightest neon shirt you can find. It looks great in photos and you won’t regret spending the extra baht. 
9. Party hop. Haad Rin beach is a large place, so don’t just stay in one area just because you like the DJ. Explore, dance your way through each stage, have a beach crawl and make your way to the loudest parts of the party, to the most quiet areas. You never know who you will meet and what you will find. 
10. HAVE FUN. It doesn’t matter if you are a big partier or you don’t party at all; the Full Moon Party during NYE is the place to be. Have an open mind while going in and you will have a great time no matter what. Everyone is celebrating the new year that night, and you will be surrounded by an energetic atmosphere with people around the world, counting down the seconds until the next year strikes at midnight. 

So, whenever you’re in Thailand, I highly recommend that you go to the Full Moon Party. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Just be sure to stay safe and stay smart! Happy New Year! -V

The post The Ultimate Survival Guide to the Full Moon Party appeared first on Angus and Vivian Adventures.