Going to Ko Phangan tonight
Getting ready to leave Ko Samui and take the ferry over to Ko Phangan for about 4-5 days to see the infamous/famous Full Moon Party that is supposed to be filled with drunken foreigners from all over the world. It was originally something I was going to skip over because I can see drunk people anywhere and 5,000-10,000 people on one beach isn't really my idea of relaxing yet I guess it's something I should experience while I am over here since it's often heralded as "the largest beach party in the world".
Ko Samui is very developed (some would say overdeveloped) and has a very touristy feel to it. The main beach called Hat Chaweng is filled with McDonalds, pushy Tailors, Girlie Bars and anything else of the variety you would find in Bangkok. Instead of dealing with this madness, I opted to stay on Hat Lamai Beach, the island's second largest but less developed beach. Overall, I was only here about 2.5 days but I would definitely return. The beach is extremely nice and clean while the bungalows are pretty cheap. I was paying 18USD/night for a sea front bungalow. Not too bad at all. I spent the 2 days on the beach where I got incredibly sunburned (even with the base tan I had). I have already read three books and need to trade them in at the next bookshop I find. Swapping books is pretty common ove here. You either have the choice of swapping with other backpackers/travelers or going to the many bookstores and "trading it in".
More pictures available at: http://macado.org/thailand3/
Ko Phangan with the exception of the one Full Moon Party every month is suppsed to be very laid back and not as developed. With a population of about 10,000. It's still mainly used a fishing village where the location population relies more on fishing, coconut exports/products than tourism.
