Night life in Koh Phangan

The Island of Koh Phangan has defiantly got to be the best place to party in Thailand . The small town of Haad or Hat Rin can be accessed either by boat from Koh Samui, approx 200 baht, or by songtheaw (converted pickup trucks) which travel up and down the recently finished road that runs from Thong (said Tong) Sala, the other main port of Koh Phangan which links the island to Koh Tao or Chumphon. A shared songtheaw will cost you 20 baht each and take you pretty much into the centre of town, try to get a seat on the end, the views across the bay over to Samui are amazing the first time you see them, I spent 6 weeks on the island and never tired of the views.

There are loads of places to stay in and round Haad Rin, but I would suggest staying away from Haad Rin beach to cut down on the noise and chance of getting robbed, never leave valuable things with the guesthouse workers unless you really trust them!!

In high season all the bars along the beach front will be open, from Paradise Bungalows, where the world famous Full-Moon parties originated to Mellow Mountain bar, also called Mushroom Mountain for obvious reasons. There is something to suit everybody’s taste in music with Drop-in and Cactus bars being the most popular all-rounders, Vinyl Club and Zoom Bar kicking out the Hard House and Trance, Orchid Bar is the stop for Drum ‘n Bass, then there’s Big Boom for some cool House tunes or a day-glo tattoo on Full Moon night!

In the low season the majority of the bars will shut and most people will stick to Drop-In and Cactus Bar where they can also watch a live fireshow, which is awesome!!

When the Full Moon party is on all the bars will be open to accommodate the thousands of people that turn up. It’s a brilliant and hectic time, but be careful of your possessions and your feet, if other people don’t tread on them you’ll accidentally stand on a cigarette butt or a piece of glass. Also, be careful with drugs, as with anywhere in Thailand the police are always watching, if you get caught and taken over to Samui, you know you’ve had it!! There are loads of places for a warm-up party like Outback Bar (sells great pies!) or Warm-Up Bar but most guesthouse like to put a little something on, and if you haven’t passed out from too much Samsong and Red Bull there are even a couple of after parties, the main one being Back Yard Bar which only starts at around 8 or 9am, but be cautious the Thai’s go there and they can become a bit rowdy after a few drinks.

There’s loads to do during the day on Koh Phangan, if your not too hung-over, there are some good shops, the beach is nice, tours round the island for about 500 Baht are a good way to meet people and Cactus Bar does fire pois or fire stick lessons for 1500Baht for a 3 day course, 2 hrs a day, and its great fun.

Author: Hannah Cuss