Alcohol and I have a love-hate relationship. I love it, it hates me. I can be what is commonly known as “a mean drunk” and my friends have, in the past, been on the receiving end of numerous profanity-packed tirades against anything and everything or, more pertinently, anyone and everyone. I refer to it as a Jekyll and Hyde complex and it's something that, as I move closer to my 30s, I've tried to rein in as much as possible.

When you are travelling and drinking with people who barely know you - going Hyde is a disconcerting prospect. Your new friends' image of you is puddle shallow and easily splashed all over the place by a bout of Hyde stomping. It can be mortifying hence, in the last ten months on the road, I've kept my drinking at a deliberately low level and can count my serious indiscretions on the fingers of one hand.

So I thought I would be fine to take on Koh Phangan's famous Full Moon Party. I'd go easy on the booze, ascend to a good time ratio of blood-alcohol, and dance the night away at South East Asia's most famous beach party. But you know what they say about good intentions and which road they pave...

Louise, an English girl I had befriended and drunk a night away with in Bangkok, arrives late afternoon on the day of the Full Moon, suitably drained after diving and drinking on Koh Tao for the previous 4 days. I tote her hefty oblong wheelie backpack over the beach to the Why Nam Huts resort and we sit and chat on the balcony, her with a beer and me with a Coke. I had already been at Why Nam for three days by this point, having wanted to ensure a decent and cheap place to stay over the manic full moon period.

By 11.00pm, after time for Louise to get some kip and for both of us to eat, we're on the main party beach at Hat Rin. The party is slowly building in numbers, not everyone is here yet. The beach is lined with stalls advertising a dubious range of plastic cocktail-filled buckets, coloured lights and neon signs advertise various bars and sound systems compete in belting out bass heavy dance music. Even at this stage, people are already beginning to piss in the sea, Christ knows what it'll be like by morning.

My attempt at attaining an alcoholic equilibrium tips quickly into overindulgence. This I blame squarely on two things: my inability to drink slowly and the fact that Louise and I are sharing buckets filled with a sickly mixture of Thai Sangsom Whiskey, Coke and Thai Red Bull. This is rocket fuel - especially augmented by the ingredient similar to amphetamine that is used in Thai Red Bull (it's illegal in Europe). Whilst Louise is drinking at a sensible pace, I stride swiftly across the line between happy drunk and plain weird drunk.

I fall into a state of manic paranoid loopiness. I tell Louise that I'm not the slightest bit religious but I'm sure someone just spoke to me in my head, demanding that I leave my flip flops on the beach and walk away from them. Louise wants to retrieve them but I won't let her; I'm absolutely convinced that this is really, really important and something terrible will happen if I go back for those flip flops.

A little later I have to go to the toilet: “Stay here, promise me you'll stay here,” I say to Louise. The poor girl duly promises and with that I'm off. The next thing I remember is a snapshot of being in a longtail boat, buzzing back through the night to Why Nam. Louise is not with me. Then I'm back in my bungalow and collapsing onto the bed.

I wake at 5amish, and immediately begin scrabbling around, looking under the mattress for the things I stowed there before setting off for Hat Rin. I can't find my money belt where I left it. I begin to swear loudly, waking up one of the neighbours, a Canadian guy named Geoff. He later told me that he thought I was off my face on mushrooms and pills.

I'm convinced that my money belt, along with my passport, cash cards and a few thousand Baht has been stolen. I am also, for no good reason whatsoever, convinced that it was The Russians that did the deed. No matter that there are no Russians staying at Why Nam, it was them: The Russians. In my own head, I have returned to the Cold War years and am plagued by thoughts of Reds Under the Bed.

Thankfully I do not include this little revelation when I go to see the owner of the resort to tell him I have been robbed. He and Geoff come back to the bungalow and the owner is very apologetic, telling me that he has never had anyone robbed in over ten years of running this place. Eventually they leave and I go back to bed for a few more hours of alcoholic sleep, no sign of Louise yet and no sign of guilt on my part.

7am comes round and I'm awake again: my head is starting to pound. I'm finally coming down off the rabid cocktail of sugar and alcohol; logical reality is starting to re-assert itself in my troubled mind. I force myself to search the bungalow again for my money belt. It is beneath the mattress but on the opposite side to the place I had originally hidden it. Clearly I had moved it myself when I first returned, subsequently forgetting I had not lifted the whole mattress to check everywhere in my certainty that The Russians had raided my stuff.

Louise arrives back from Hat Rin at about 10am. She had been bemused at my disappearance but nonetheless determined, as is her way, to be the last woman standing - good on her. She tells me tales of dancing through the night, men bearing lizards, and meetings with bizarre skin-painted randoms from around the globe. I'm disgusted with myself for overdoing it on the buckets and abandoning her, not to mention disappointed that I've missed out on most of the party.

Before she gets some sleep, Louise suggests in all seriousness I might want to get some counseling. I laugh my head off, forgetting the guilt for a second, and think that it could have been worse: after all, people do go to Full Moon to get off their heads. I achieved that in record time; not necessarily something to be proud of, but I did learn something new: Salad and Sangsom don't mix.

So mind how you go at Full Moon, and keep an eye out for those Russians eh...

Going to Koh Phangan was a mistake. Sure it's probably a nice place in good weather, but there was never even trace of good weather in the 4 days i stayed here. It rained heavily, and constantly. I went back in my own track from the same way I had travelled last week just to see this amazing full moon party everyone i met kept talking of. I came here some days in advance to get a place to stay, and to do some partying before i was going to muslim Malaysia. The accomodation was good enough, In-side bungalows to the amazing price of 250 baht, and even pretty close to the party beach.
I met up with the gang from Koh Tao, the canadian girl and the british couple. That was the only good thing about beeing here, that at least we could be bored together. WE rented a DVD player and sat in watching the whole season of lost. Nice vaccation...
And everything was too expensive here..internet at 3 bahts pr minute...seriously....

I even tried going to the party one of the nights to get less depressed. It was'nt even nearly as good as the beach party on Koh Phi phi. Too much of everything. To high music ,need earplugs. Bad remixes and list pop was the going theme. Too much light. Too many people, teenage boys mostly.
And they were doing this pretty dangerous jumping with a rope on fire...many people got it in the face and such, and the canadian I met a few days earlier had a big burn wound on his foot after that.

2 days before the full moon party i could'nt take it anymore and had to escape this place. I went to  Malaysia.

Sunset at Coral Bungalows, Koh Pha Ngan, Haad Rin Nai

The party scene was off the hook, as Adam said it would be.  Fire giant jump rope, fire limbo stick, fire staff, fire poi.  Drunk naked guy repeatedly trying to tackle the jump rope.  Ouch!  It was hilarious! 

Very mellow scene, sort of like our old full moon parties here on the island, except it is every night!  This was on an off night, during off season.  No new moon, no full moon, no half moon.  And still amazing. 

There were two or three main bars open, plus lots of stands selling 'Buckets', which are basically your typical sand castle plastic bucket full of ice, lots of straws, and your favourite alcohol and mixer.  Each bar had some sort of fire show going on, and different styles of music.  There was one electronica dj that I liked, otherwise the music was a bit cheesed out, but still fun.

I was twirling Adam's fire ropes, but didn't end up lighting them up.  One guy wanted me to teach him some moves, but one of his hands was all wrapped up and injured. 

Another guy wanted to guess where I was from, and kept asking me to speak in my native tongue.  I told him 'English is my native tongue!' but he didn't believe me at first.  It was comic.  Then he wanted me to guess where he was from.  I guessed Holland or Denmark first, but I was wrong.  I asked 'what is your country famous for?' and he said 'Meatballs!' but the only place that I  could think of was Italy and I knew he wasn't Italian.  Eventually, he asked if I had ever heard of Ikea, so I correctly guessed that he was Swedish.  Fun times.

Got to bed around 6am or so, while Adam stayed up and went hiking.  Woke up around 9:30 when he retuned, and we talked about finance and investments for a few hours.  I had a bad headache and couldn't go back to sleep.  Adam wanted to solidify our plans of leaving tomorrow and I was getting stressed out.  Seriously, my trip was so relaxing that this is all I could come up with to be stressed about.  I finally left to go find breakfast (yogurt/fruit/cereal) and then a massage.  I felt much better! 

I think I will only go one more place on this trip and that's it--I wont try to get to Phuket.  I don't feel like rushing around yet.  Part of me just wants to stay here, but I'm sure Ao Nang and Railay will be grand.  Then I can fly back to Bangkok on Monday.  Should work fine to leave tomorrow or Friday, then I would have two full days in Railay.  It was hard to shut my brain off while I was getting a massage.  Just kept stressing.  Maybe I can try another massage tomorrow.

I just finished an 80 baht meal--tofu pad thai, mango shake, garlic bread.  Yummy!  I would have left behind the garlic bread, but it was free if you ordered pad thai and a shake, which is what I wanted anyway.  I was pretty hungry.  I'll probably feel less stressed if I am not half-starved.  Don't forget to eat.  Especially when you can get dirt-cheap thai food! 

Met a couple of Israeli guys yesterday down here by the ocean.  They are funny!  They are smoking a spliffy at the next table now.  I guess it is a very popular place for Israeli vacation here, but unfortunately for them, they don't seem to have a good reputation.  They do seem to party pretty hard.  Okay, time for my nap.

Early afternoon:   Enjoying Haad Yuan

Just arrived by boat taxi (for 150 baht) to  Haad Yuan, a beach  around the corner from Haad Rin, the beach where the Full Moon Parties take place.  That town is great!  The beach is world-class. 

We got a little bungalow at a small 'resort' on the west coast.  There is a pool right at the beach, and an exercise room.  We also have a restaurant/bar there, and our own private bathroom/shower. 

After settling in yesterday, we walked toward town, which is more on the east coast.  The town is between the two beaches on sort of a peninsula at the south of Koh Pha Ngan.  We stopped on our way and got some Thai soup and a cup of green tea.  There is so much good food and interesting litle hang outs that show free DVD's (all good ones too) that I just feel overwhelmed with options of what to do and eat, and where to relax! 

Went for a swim at the nearly-perfect beach.  There are bars all along the sand.  I swam out pretty far, and found some jelly fish or something a bit painful, so I swam back in to shore.  The jellies must have been small, because it wasn't too painful, but it was still a surprise.  The marks are gone only a day later.

Adam took me to a little bakery that has super good treats!  I am glad he is around becaus he knows enough Thai to get by, but unfortunately it makes me somewhat dependent on that. 

Went back to the room around 4 or 5 pm, intending to nap and then go hit the all night beach party that happens every night, but Adam woke up at 2am and I was too lazy to go.  I stayed in bed until 8:30 or 9am.  I don't know if it was my 2 partial nights catching up, or a poison from the jellies, but I cant believe I slept so long! 

I was planning to stay in one place all day today, but Adam suggested I grab a boat over to here  to Haad Yuan while he slept, which is great!  This beach is so quiet, except occasional boats, and the ocean looks perfect.  It is also grand to get some alone time to recharge and write. 

I think I took almost a roll of film just on the boat ride here, which was only a 15 minute ride.  I would love to live at this beach for part of the year.  Only problem now is I need to use the toilet and my bathroom is a 15 minute boat ride plus a 10 minute walk away.  Time to find a potty.

Late afternoon:  Recuperating at Haad Tien

Went to one of the fancy yoga resorts at Haad Yuan and used the nicest bathroom I have seen since I've been in Thailand!  It really was exciting.  Believe me.  Beautiful blue countertops, soap, even toilet paper!  Style.  Mirrors.

Several of the little resorts here resemble ewok villages with wooden plank walk ways built into the rocks above the water.  My favourite one had bungalows for 3000 baht per month for an outside restroom or 6000 baht per month for an inside restroom.  Not entirely sure what this means, but I really fell in love with Haad Yuan.  It is famous for yoga retreats and magic mushrooms.  I didn't partake of the mushrooms, or the yoga, but I did see evidence of both.

It was time to get moving if I was going to find Haad Tien.  Walked on a trail that evidently wanted to take me to Haad Rin (yes, you can hike between the beaches), so I followed it for a bit to look for any Haad Tien signs and found none.  Turned back, and followed the rock trail which seemed to go in the right direction.  I think I took the road (much) less traveled--I ended up on a mosquitoey jungle trail that was insanely humid.  I use the term 'trail' very loosely here.  Getting lost in the jungle in Southeast Asia.  Great plan.  It ended with me jumping down a small dirt embankment to the surprise of a group of laughing Thai teenage boys.  I was bleeding, as I had been attacked by a sharp palm frond during my trek, and I was completely sweating through my clothes.  It must have been a finny sight--a foreigner girl randomly popping out of the jungle, looking like hell.  I laughed along with them.  It was one of my favourite moments of the trip.

Considering my condition may have had an effect on my perception, the beach at Haad Tien was a bit underwhelming.  Especially after my beloved Haad Yuan that I loved so much!  However, I was ready for a swim!  Beautiful water, and another jellyfish sting on my arm.  Turned around and went back to shore, once again.  It was still a nice swim. 

Time was getting on to 4pm, and a boat taxi was leaving for Haad Rin, so after getting the price (150 baht) I jumped in.  I am losing weight since I have been here--just haven't been too hungry.  I should probably eat soon, but I can eat at night when it is cool, and food will be more appealing. 

Oh yeah--the taxi driver's son drove us part way back, and we narrowly missed a rock!

Sunset at Coral Bungalows, Koh Pha Ngan, Haad Rin Nai

Coral Bungalows is my temporary home.  Adam is taking a nap as I probably should do.  I just ate a kilo of mangosteen down here at the beach by my resort's restaurant and pool.  It was very peaceful until a minute ago when they turned up the music.  I must be getting old. 

I need to send some emails, hopefully tonight, when I'm in town for the party scene.  There are so many beautiful people here at the beaches.  No one is obese, most are tan and in great shape, and it makes me a bit self-conscious sometimes. 

I need to decide if I want to fly out of Krabi or Phuket.  I want to check out Adam's pad but I also want to have some more time to explore on my own, and I don't want to be clingy.  I doubt I would want to ever live in Patong anyway, but it would be good to expose myself to that scene at some point.  I would love to stay on this island, for the rest of my trip or longer. 

Looking forward to staying awake to hit the scene tonight.  It will be fun to party with Adam like the old days, maybe twirl some fire, etc.  Feeling a bit tired.  Hungry?  I haven't eaten much today.

After a long journey through China and Laos, we finally arrived at the beach. This would be our home for the next 3 weeks.

Mid-morning, Haad Rin Espresso Bar, the spot for English breakfast tea

Last night, the 'rainy season' finally made itself apparent!  Monsoon-style downpour.  Had a small stream running down the path by our bungalow.  I went to bed.  Thought we would get up and go to the beach party again but neither of us woke up until 5am!  I wanted to sleep more, but Adam and I got into another good conversation.  Enjoy it while it lasts, kiddo.  You'll be on your own tomorrow.  It was interesting.  He said I'm really beautiful and I need to start acting like it/having more confidence to get the type of relationships that I desserve.  I just spelled deserve wrong, like dessert.  I must be hungry.  Time for the bakery.

Lunch time at Mr. K. Thai, Haad Rin town

Approx. 3:30pm already!  Time flies.  Just had a good massage at Leela Spa from Tui again.  I don't know how to spell her name, but that is how she said it.  It would be so easy to spend a whole day there.  Touch is so amazing, the way it can make you feel connected with someone that you don't even know.  And the way that touch is viewed here is so different.  I sort of expected her to leave the room when I went to undress yesterday before my massage, but she just stood there waiting.  Then today, at the end of my massage, she was helping me put my clothes on for me.  It was really awesome somehow.

I WILL come back.  This is sort of how I felt when I first went to Hawaii.  I'm so sad to leave Haad Rin, but excited that I was able to book a trip to Railay that only takes one day, instead of the overnight trips that some people were saying was the only option.  Eating now another plate of morning glory.  It is so yummy!  I will go shopping for a few souvenirs, then head back to Haad Rin Nai to watch my last Koh Pha Ngan sunset.

I took a taxi to Thongsala, where the Ferries off the island leave. Did soe shopping there and waited for my speedboat which left at noon. I seized my time on the speedboat almost like on my way to Koh Phangan! About an hour before arrival in Chumporn, I got into a conversation with two Thai girls. They were very nice and we talked about our lifes, travelling and education/work. In Chumporn I had to wait for a while until the bus to Bangkok left.

From the pier, I took a “taxi” to my resort, which wasn´t that far away. I got to my Bungalow and decided to go to the beach and enjoy, what I don´t have in Germany…hot temperatures, sun, sand and warm water…and so I did! But after like two hours I started to get bored and decided to go to Chakoklum, a city close to Haad Salad, where my resort was. I walked around the city and checked out, what I could do there on the next day. Well, I found something…

My first way on that day took me back to Chakoklum, where I finally wanted to try wakeboarding for the very first time in my life! Maybe surfing is the top-discipline and of course kite-boarding is more spectacular, but somehow wakeboarding immediately caught my attention…and kept it! I wanted to do that for many years, but somehow it was either a lack of time or money on my trips that kept me from doing it earlier and where I live there isn´t any possibility to do it around!

However…Koh Phangan…Wake Up! Wakeboarding…I was there! The instructor was a nice Englishman, who choose to live on Koh Phangan, give wakeboard-lessons and own a bar.

His girlfriend and one of his friend who just came back from being snowboard-instructor joined us on the boat, I got some instructions and found myself thrown into the water with a huge board under my feet and a rope somewhere near me. Instructions weren´t that complicated, so let´s just do what he told me…well, I should erase the “just” from this sentence! It took me several tries until I ended up ON the water and not just with a jump out of it and right back into the water! But I improved and more and more tries ended on the water with increasing durations! It was hard work, but that´s what first lessons in everything use to be, isn´t it? But at least I made my “steps” on the water and got an impression of what it could be like…and I can´t say, that it wasn´t fun! After me, the snowboardinstructor had his wakeboard-experince and you could see, that it wasn´t his first and that snowboarding is at least a good background for wakeboarding.

After that I decided to explore some parts of the island by feet and walked to a waterfall, which actually wasn´t filled with water, a Buddhist and a Chinese temple! The temples weren´t that impressive, though very nice!

Went to Barcelona on a spur of the moment trip. Good, friend had a hotel room so all I had to do was to pay for the flight. Went there for 4 days and it was great. This is a city that if you are a Art / Musuem lover..you MUST GO THERE...there is soo much history and art in this tiny little city. You would need a week alone just to get it all in. The 3 nights I was there, I did a lot of walking around and the tiny narrow streets, with old style buildings were really amazing. The food was absoulty great..I love seafood so its kinda bias.. The paella was mouth watering and the Sangria was soo good it was hard to stop drinking it. Any questions about this place hit me up..

Hi everyone, I believe that many people here already know about the full moon party at Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand.  For some of you who don't really know about this party, I suggest that don't waste your time if you don't like to meet with people around the world who dance and drink like crazy with loud music on the beach.  Or sit in the sand at small tables with some friends and cheer a "Thai whiskey set" with local spririts like Meakong or Sang Som If you prefer beer, try a cold Thai beer such as Singha, Beer Chang, Kloster etc. There are often other beer brands such as Heineken, Tiger, Corona etc. available on many of the bars and restaurants and of course a number of non-alcoholic alternatives like fruit juices, fruit shakes and soft drinks.

If you are into dancing, do not forget to drink enough water so you won't end up dehydrated. Delicious Thai traditional food as well as pasta, pizza, burgers, salads, soups etc. is found in the restaurants and at food stalls. Prices are often very reasonable.

As there will be lots of people joining this party so I recommend you guys not to bring cash with you if you need to use money then there're ATM machines, accepting most credit cards and debit cards as VISA, Mastercard (Maestro/Cirrus) etc. are available close to the beach. Also a few money exchange officies (mini banks) are found here, so if you use a card, you do not have to bring a lot of cash to the party.

Looking for place to stay in Koh Pha-Ngan? I recommend www.HotelsAtEase.com

6. 45 AM..Arrive Suratthani Train Station..i hv no boat ticket to Samui, let's buy the ticket from

Chalok Lam Bay is set in the picturesque Northern part of Koh Phangan in Thailand. The Bay is huge and is framed by the wonderful mountains across it's entirity. Chalok Lam village is in the center of the bay and has markets and the usual shops and restaurants. It is a very typical rural Thai village as yet not taken over by pure commercialism. There are no fish and chip shops. The roads into Chalok Lam are dense in tropical vegetation and there are very few major developments to clutter up the skyline. Overall Chalok Lam Bay offers a great escape from the wilder times in the South of the island. There are plenty of water sports at various locations in the bay and just on th eoutskirts of the village an Elephant training camp offer rides through the jungle. There is a Chinese and Thai temple near the training camp that offer some great picture opportunities. There are plenty of bungalows all around the bay. The ones that have direct access to the beach tend to be located at the far ends of the bay.

Fantasea Bungalows are a very cool place to stay. I wanted to visit Koh Phangan and experience the hustle and bustle of the full moon party but stay somewhere that was a bit quieter and more back to nature. I found Fantasea Resort by stumbling across it whilst walking along the bay. The bungalow designs stood out from the rest of the beach and their closeness to the shore was exactly what I was looking for. In actual fact they had a range of different bungalows from 600 - 3000 Baht per night but I just fancied the Beach Front experience. The bungalow was clean and even had a spare bed in the loft which was quite a nice idea. The restaurant served some excellent food that was not overpriced and the views over the bay from here were very relaxing. Fantasea Resort is at the very end of Chalok Lam Bay and the sand here is plentiful. It is not overcrowded even when full. I would recommend the place to all.