My first night in Koh Phi Phi for my 30th birthday was a bit of a fail: after briefly checking out the busy Ibiza Pool Party in the late afternoon I was too exhausted to function without a nap; unfortunately I was then too tired to get up and instead just turned off my alarm… Read More Koh Phi Phi for my 30th birthday
I had so loved Gili Trawangan during my first time there in 2015, and then regretted listening to others’ pleas and trying somewhere different for the following Christmas/New Year period, that I knew long in advance I would make Gili T my Christmas/New Year destination for 2016. And having since been there a third time,… Read More New Year’s Eve on Gili Trawangan
This was my third trip to the beautiful Thai island of Koh Phangan for the famed Full Moon Party (FMP), all within two years (this one wasn’t initially planned, but stemmed from a last-minute desire to leave Cambodia and fortuitous timing).
As I shared a ride from the dock with three friendly Dutch guys, we ruminated on how booked up the island was and what we were going to do about accommodation. It was August – one of the busiest months of the year due to northern hemisphere summer holidays – and a few days before the… Read More Koh Tao 2016
I had changed my plans after a disappointing night in Sihanoukville and was heading to the much-anticipated Koh Rong, which I had heard was an incredibly beautiful backpackers party paradise, like ‘Thailand thirty years ago’. I hoped I would have more luck there.
The volcanic eruption had provided me with an unanticipated extra stint in Gili T, where I had just spent an amazing and unexpectedly emotional week – and this time I had a plan.
I arrived in Koh Phangan and checked into my roomy bungalow, right off the main street of Haad Rin, the party side of the island. Although I had been expecting something a bit more glamorous for the price I had decided to pay to upgrade to air conditioning, the place turned out to have a… Read More Disneyland for twentysomethings (Koh Phangan)
I arrived in Koh Phangan on a slightly delayed ferry and met Harriet and Lauren at their accommodation, located on the ‘sunset’ side of the island, which is about a fifteen minute walk from the other side where the Full Moon Party happens.
I arrived at my hostel in Chaweng just in time to join a crew of enthusiastic girls in my hostel dorm heading out for dinner. They had evidently all been partying together over the previous couple of days.