Koh Phangan Tales : Full Moon Party

When I first arrived on Full Moon Party island in the early 1990's, it was still a quiet rumour on the New Age back-packing scene...

... although travellers known as 'farang' – a Thai corruption of the word, 'French' – had already been coming to Koh Phangan for over a decade.

By the end of the 1990's the Sub-Hippy Myth of a Tropical Utopia was exploding into the Mainstream Legend it would become – as word of mouth and TIME magazine articles popularized the Full Moon Party into mass pop culture.

A swarming crowd of 40,000 arrived on Haad Rin beach for the turn of the Millenium 2000 - forever changing the destiny of the Full Moon Party, and with it, Koh Phangan.

But it wasn't always like that.

Before the farangs arrived, the Thais who lived on the Haad Rin peninsula consisted of just four or five families. They had migrated over the headland, to cultivate the hillside land and grow vegetables - chillies, morning glory, lemon grass, thai basil - to sell in the markets in Ban Tai.

These poorest of families based in Haad Rin would, within a generation, become much richer than their Ban Tai cousins in the larger village over the hills. The new owners of this idyllic beach land were soon erecting thatched huts - and providing food and shelter to every passing farang.

And as the years went by, these farang numbers ran into their thousands - as the rumour of a magical, time-defying enclave set in the palm groves, and reachable only by boat, spread. A rags to riches story: what is 'useless' land to one culture is perceived by another as a paradise dream.

Ushering in the New Millenium.

Electricity, telephone and internet arrived with the paving of roads, hailing the New Millenium. These mod cons proved to be the precursors of the air-conditioning and swimming pools of today. But the travellers passing through weren't always so keen on materialism over natural living.

In fact that natural charm from a bygone age - that strong connection to the lunar cycle... and the natural awe at this mystifyingly beautiful island - is what called to our collective subconscious in the first place. It's why we all came to Haad Rin for the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan.

There are some of us long-timers who feel the same about the island, even today. The Koh Phangan community is having a renaissance, as we all remember why we came here! There is so much more to experience on this beautiful tropical island - as well as the legendary Full Moon Party.

If you stay a while longer after the Full Moon Party, you'll discover the real Koh Phangan for yourself. That natural beauty and charm still exists - side by side with the biggest festival in Asia!