Intro to the Thai Islands: Koh Phangan

I left Sukhothai and headed on a night bus to Bangkok, from here I took a short flight to Surat Thani, a costal town in southern Thailand. I took another bus to the port, and a 4 hour ferry to the island Koh Phangan. This was my first time in southern Thailand, and I was ready to embrace the slow paced island lifestyle. I had a little over three weeks left in Thailand and these days filled me with sunshine and some love (and a cold that wiped me out for a week). 

Koh Phangan has been recommended to me by too many travelers to count. It’s known for its full moon parties in the south but I came for the north of the island - yoga, dancing, live music, white sand beaches, and good food. I think I may have found the cheapest accommodation as well. Luckily enough I arrived to Koh Phangan at the same time my friend Katja from Pai. Katja is half German half Russian, she’s a producer in Berlin and one of the coolest gals I’ve ever met. Katja met another German who is living in an apartment on the island but is leaving for a month and looking for a sublet (although it was not official at all). Katja and I got the apartment for 300 baht a day, 150 a piece ($4). 

I actually cannot believe how many Germans are on Koh Phangan. It was like the island version of Berlin. I didn’t expect to get intertwined in German culture while island hopping in Thailand, but I’ve never been to Germany and learned a lot about the country. I spent most of my days in Koh Phangan hanging out with Katja and our friend Chris, doing yoga, eating good food, drinking coconut after coconut, snorkeling and exploring new beaches. 

I got to try Ariel Yoga, which is yoga in the air! I loved every minute of it. It was taking the yoga poses I already knew, but in a different dimension. Upside down, sideways and backwards. I also tried Acro Yoga - which, once again, I forgot to take photos of. Acro Yoga is yoga with another person, kind of like when I used to do “airplane” with my mom when I was little. Yoga is all about finding that balance point where there is no excess pressure in any direction. It’s fun to try to find that with someone else. I was nervous to do this for the first time with a stranger but had a blast and met some really cool people. 

Halfway though my time in Koh Phangan I came down with a pretty bad cold. People jokingly call this the “infinite Thai cough”. I was out for almost a week. Backpacking can be quite exhausting and not very clean, so getting sick is just apart of it. I was bummed to miss out on so many activities on the island but I guess I needed the rest. Learning to listen to my body. 

Koh Phangan is known for its full moon parties. Thousands and thousands of people from all over the world come to the south of the island for an all night party on the beaches when there’s a full moon. It sounds like a good time but realistically it’s a bunch of 18-20 year olds drinking too much and trashing the beach all night. It’s the highlight for party tourism in Thailand but not really my vibe. Luckily I found an alternative, which ended up being my most memorable experience in Koh Phangan. Every Saturday there’s a party on the Island with the best DJ’s, mostly from Berlin. It’s at a secret location, that is only reachable by boat. It goes from 10pm to 10pm the next day. The most common thing people do is to arrive to the location around 3am and stay for the sunrise until the morning. There aren’t rules here but it’s encouraged to put your phone away and just be present (this is why I don’t have photos). Katja and I, along with some friends we met took and island taxi (which is just the back of a pickup truck) to a fishing boat at 2am. Full sky of stars above us. It was a 10 minute ride but felt like eternity. I grew up boating on the Mississippi and that was nothing compared to these ocean waves. I held on for dear life. I was seated next to this sweet Canadian man that could tell I was a little freaked out and asked me about my fishing stories from Minnesota to distract me from the waves I couldn’t see in the dark. We arrived to the location and had to climb up giant sea side rocks to the venue. Once there, I was blown away by this location. Up on a cliff overlooking the sea DJ’s played Berlin style techno with over a hundred people dancing. It's encouraged to put your phone away and be present, no one was using technology which made the social atmosphere that much better. I met people from a over the word, so many different walks of life enjoying this place together. Hence my lack of photos. As soon as we saw the first glimpse of daylight everyone left the dance floor for a view of the sunrise. The music calmed down and we all watched as the sun peaked out across the sea. We stayed here until 2pm, chatting & dancing. The boat ride in the afternoon was not nearly as terrifying as the ride there. 

My time in Koh Phangan ended with an unexpected opportunity, more to come in my next post!!