Thinking of Going to a Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan? Read this first.
Koh Phangan: Where Your Dignity Goes to Die (Gloriously) Koh Phangan is one of those places that every backpacker insists you have to visit, usually while recounting a blurry tale involving body paint, a lost phone, and an Australian named Chad. It’s an island in the Gulf of Thailand that has become famous, or maybe infamous, for the Full Moon Party: a monthly gathering that is basically a neon-drenched, sand-covered explosion of chaos masquerading as a cultural event. Spoiler: it’s not cultural. Unless you consider drinking cheap vodka from a bucket and dancing to five different DJs at once a form of art. The Mythical Full Moon Party Let’s talk about the Full Moon Party, because there’s really no avoiding it. Imagine thousands of tourists crammed onto Haad Rin Beach, all wearing some combination of neon tank tops, bad tattoos, and regret. The music is blasting from every direction: EDM, house, reggae, and, for reasons unknown, the Macarena. You’ll spend your night stepping over people...