Back onto Full Moon front a guy at our hotel who told us of an incident he was involved in the night before. He'd been in a taxi with a few people coming back from had rin and was the last person to get dropped off. The taxi drivers (there's always two in the front) pulled over about half a mile from our resort demanding "more money", he told them that he'd just as well walk but they never went for that. They then proceeded to grab him and take him behind a sign of sorts where there was some wooden weapons and demanded all his money. Luckily he only had 100 baht on him so he handed it over and left with them driving past laughing and waving. I was actually glad to hear this as it was a reminder to keep my wits about me as crime was rampant at full moon, Thais pick off stragglers and if you put thousands of people and alcohol into any situation then trouble is abound.
We booked our return taxi and then headed out for a night that was very likely not going to be like too many others. The beach was already pretty jammed with faces in various colours of rave paint and it really was quite a site to see, some had clearly started far too early too as they were passed out already. Unfortunately i took two photos and then my camera broke which wasn't really the best of starts, especially as i've only had it a month and couldn't really afford that one never mind another. I wasn't going to let that bother me though as a great night was to be had s we headed to "Mushroom Mountain" for some of the fabled mushroom shakes, we managed to bump into Charlene and a friend on the way too which was pretty cool. I'd decided before i set off for traveling that if i was going to get the best experience then i definitely had to get involved and do things i wouldn't back home and if you're going to do full moon then you may as well do it properly so i got Becky to paint a visor on my face and it went down pretty well. She did a stellar job and after some initial eye watering and fear that everyone would run off while i sat with my eyes closed ofr 15 minutes i completely forgot about it. Everybody else got some on too as the night picked up pace and i had a couple of the shakes. Now anyone who tells you that these shakes are good are full of shit, they do nothing and are twice as expensive as anything else. I made a snap decision and realized buckets would be the way forward for the rest of the night as they'd served me well so far.
The party moved up the beach towards the many, many bucket stalls where the proprietors squat like chimpanzees, arms swaying, hooting and screaming for your attention as they each offer you the best deal. No negotiations are necessary as they fight it out between themselves. The evening took its first casualty as Charlene left to go to a 7 - eleven with the last words of "don't move from this spot", so we didn't for the best part of an hour and that was the last we ever saw of her. Thankfully she turned up safe and sound the next day which was of great relief. The next part of the night i spent mostly people watching as the buckets went down, it's always an enjoyable activity but was a bit annoying too. The majority of the guys there were just complete arseholes walking around as if they had a stick up their arse, thinking they're King Shit like Phil Brown and just waiting for someone to accidentally bump into them so they could start shit. I couldn't believe the overall aggressive nature when surely everyone just wants to have a good time but Phil summed up with "if you put a load of people anywhere and add alcohol then there's always going to be aggro". Too true. The low point for me came when in an attempt to prove there manliness or something two guys started a press up competition against each other while a gut 5 feet away was giving someone a wedgie. Their mothers probably didn't love them enough i bet. Just do some Tim Allenesque grunting like the rest of us please. Or how about them Bears?
Back home when on a night out I always end up wandering off by myself and much prefer too once we're in our "Final Destination" so thought that was exactly needed here. The many buckets kicked in, the Jesus Boots got flung and i went on too have some of the most enjoyable hours of my life. The tunes at the top (Underworld, Basement Jaxx) were much more my thing then trance at the bottom (no indie or electro here for me) so i headed back up towards there. Calvin Harris was in full swing and i was soon dancing with many randoms of all nationalities, high fives were doing the rounds (Stevie you'd have been in your element) and everyone was just having an amazing time. I made my way back towards cactus bar where most of' the crowd seemed to be and they'd erected these 20ft stands that fit about ten people on so of course i was soon climbing up on there. The site of seeing both sides of the beech and just every bouncing was truly brilliant and i can't see me seeing anything like that again, i must've been up there a hour and once again everyone was cool. I ended up skipping again with these to Spaniards who were handcuffed together by rope and in kids swimwear for some reason, random as it gets. From the view i had i couldn't help but think of the episode of Peep Show where the guy goes "he's taking it down......he's taking it down....he's taking it up, he's taking it up" but being there it actually was so good and i didn't think anybody was tossers at all for a change haha. The top went at this point and i headed back up to the top and joined some more randoms on a stage up there, i'm pretty sure we reenacted praise you at one point but it wouldn't be the first time that ones happened....next i ended up on the water where more randoms were scattered and decided i may as well swim out into the sea since there was one person out there, they were absolutely delighted on my arrival and after another "up top" i made my way along the shoreline. Somehow i managed to stumble across Becky, Mark and Phill and all i could reply with when they asked where i'd been was "pretty much having the best time ever" Mark and Phil looked nothing like how i left them as it looked like five buckets of paint had been poured on their faces. Amazing. The sun was coming up now and the sight of peope raving away in daylight was rather odd but it was quite funny watching some half dead people hanging on in there clearly thinking "keep going....you've gotta be the last one". Becky hadn't been a 100 percent for a few days and i knew the night had peaked for me so we left the rest and got back around sevenish. The rest soon followed and Mark coming in with an "alright mate" like he'd just been to the shops but looking like a clown was pretty fucking funny. So that was full moon, it might sound awful or just a few people getting drunk but again it's definitely one of those things you have to see for yourself.
We were awoken the next day to the sound of the rather nasty woman from the resort banging on our door, for some reason she was always arsey with us but it could just be her general demeanor. She wanted us out as we'd planned on leaving that day but coincidentally a more expensive room was available, we got up anyway and crashed at Becky's for a bit. It wasn't too long before she came banging again though, they must've thought we'd left our bill and done a runner so i'm sure they were happy to find us. Mark soon left for Sydney via Koh Samui while i was told it was too late for me to get a boat to the mainland so had to stay on another night. A storm had entered the region so the waves were bad and no sleep was had on the evening due to the banging on my bungalow. The last thing i wanted the next morning was a ferry ride followed by a long bus trip but i thought it could be the same tomorrow so may as well get it out of the way. Becky and Phill had to stay on another day while i made a hastey exit for the ferry.
Despite being one of the first to get there i was made to wait an hour carrying my awful backpack while hundreds went before me, only to eventually be let on at the end. This was pretty bloody vexing as i had to sit outside on top of the ferry with all the rough weather. I spent most of the next two hours with my head in my hands willing myself not to be sick and thankfully it worked. After another few hours wait i was soon on the night bus back to Bangkok, the journey was one of the better ones as i had nobody sitting next to me and more leg room then usual so at least i was just uncomfortable rather then in pain. Plus i've become obsessed with The Rolling Stones in the last week particularly, Angie, Wild Horses, Streets of Love and you can't always get what you want so they provided a good late night soundtrack. After a quick ten hours we got dropped off on Khao San Road and left to fend for ourselves. I couldn't find a reasonable guesthouse anywhere that wasn't full so had to fork out 500 baht for a place which was a record for me. I justified it though as it was basically two night so 250 baht was what it was and my thriftiness in accommodation was intact. Despite the rare pleasure of a hot shower and aircon the place was shite. I barely slept as they put me next to the loudest steps in human history with every step shaking through my room, i could hear drunkards singing and all manner of noise. I nearly cracked up at 6am when someone was whistling, bad times. Thankfully i'm back at the merry v now and at 150 baht my conscious is clear. I think the zig zagging about the country, full moon and just being "on" all the time has taking its toll though and tiredness has caught up. I'd love to go to Chang Mai so going to relax here for a few days and hopefully fit it in before i fly out o Australia in a weeks time. I've found a good bookstore and managed to trade a few so that should keep me occupied for a bit as well as having caught up with my journal and blog. I'm a lot more relaxed up here now then last time i was here, i think i was a bit too wired thinking i had to be meeting people every second of the day and always initiating conversation but it's not like that at all. In the five weeks i've met some rather cool people and made some good mates so it's all been worthwhile. I have been shocked at some travelers at how bigoted, miserable and arsey they can be but thats just the way it is everywhere really! Not everyone's out to have the best time it seems, ah well. Thats their problem i guess,....i do hope to see "the bitch" again mind haha.
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