Our next journey took us from one shore to the other. We took 2 buses to get to Surat Thani to take a ferry to Ko Phangan. The ferry took around 3 hours to cross the water. But it was very calm. Steve and I were able to get a spot on the front of the boat. No, we couldn’t do the Titanic. They had the very front barred off with signs saying “Do not cross”. We ended our ferry ride with about four beer and a picturesque sunset. Hopping off the ferry the first thing you notice is about 10 tuk tuks. They all have set prices that are truly non-negotiable. So 200 baht later we were heading towards Hat Rin. We got off at some sketchy guesthouses three blocks away from the ocean.

So we went for a walk to get closer to the ocean for a good price. Bongo Bungalows is where we ended up at. With a good restaurant playing all the new movies and rentable bungalows we were half a block from the water in a sandy, palm tree laden garden. Inside the bungalow we had 3 beds and one fan. At 400 baht a night you can’t beat that.

Upon waking the next day we decided to scout this place out. There are many bars playing Family Guy, new movies and Friends. Lots of small grocery stores, and a few dive shops. Once down on the beach you can see about 9 big bars that set up and play music and serve drinks. But it’s at the night time when you see the fire shows and the huge amount of alcohol venders that set up in-between the real bars.

We booked our open water PADI dive certification that at Crystal Dive in Hat Rin before going on a snorkeling adventure.

Bored after booking our scuba stuff, we still had the better part of the day left to kill. So Steve and I purchased some snorkeling sets which were pretty cheap and proceeded to charter a long boat to a secluded beach. Little did we know the water had zero visibility. So after about 5 mins I was playing the Jaws theme over and over in my head. I was out of the water faster than Uncle Kev runs after his tip-ups while ice fishing.

Well after getting back to our bungalows and drying off we went and had some food and watched some movies while drinking Chang beer and Vodka Shark Bites. We sat in the restaurant until they closed at 11 and moved down to the beach to sell alcohol. So we followed and were truly surprised. Now keep in mind that this is the night before the Full Moon Party. The fire shows which are really just a side note to the whole party, are hilarious. People jumping over a flaming skipping rope. Guys with flaming balls on chains, and ones with flaming sticks like light sabers. Once you get past the fire shows you notice, hundreds of other party goers on the beach, some on drugs, but most drunk stumbling around. So Steve and I did what we do best, we found a stage and pushed our way to the front. We did Canada well that night.

Waking the next day to a blur we laughed for about an hour about the craziness that we experienced. And soon I realized that Chang beer gives one heck of a hang over. A Chang over is actually what you call it over here. So for most of that day I stayed motionless in a very sweaty bungalow.

Night time hit and Steve was right as rain. Pushing me to party I joined him for food and watched him order s Vodka Shark Bite as I got water. Well soon enough Steve had a French guy telling me to drink. So I had 1 drink and one bite of a burger. Much later that night Steve had me experiencing the Full Moon Party. The number of drunk people and ones high on something had grown quite a bit from the night before. Not to mention the chain of Thai people trying to give free pills to people by the ocean. From what I could tell they stand there and attempt to give free Date Rape to people saying it is something else, then they mug you once it takes hold. So some advice is to stay closer in by the stages as much as you can. Steve can vouch for this, he ended up getting pick pocketed at some point during the night. It’s actually pretty fun watching people rave dance like they are on Mars. You know are high on something. There is also a spot on the beach set up as a Free Nap Zone, Steve liked to wake them up and high five them. Also there are countless Tarot Reading stands set up. I hope Steve comes into that money like the ladies cards had said.

The Full Moon Party and Ko Phangan took their tolls on the two Canadian lads, that brief time we were there. So we boarded a ferry one day after all the partying and were off to Ko Tao for scuba diving.

Tags: Ferry, Full Moon Party, Halloween, Ko Phangan, Ko Samui, Ko Tao, Padi Open Water, Scuba Dive

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