We arrived at the mainland port town, Surat Thani, around 7am. We stayed at a travel agency for an hour, waiting for a shuttle bus to the dock. Ironically, the travel agent played “The Beach” for us on the TV. I was certainly excited. I heard great things about the full-moon party, and the beautiful Thai islands.
We got on a ferry to Koh Pha Ngan. We arrived two hours later and chartered a minibus to the Haad Rin Nok (sunrise beach). That’s where the full-moon party is held. We figured we’d find a room there.
The driver wanted all the backpacks on top of the minibus. There was a man on top receiving the bags. I hoisted my backpack up over my head. And then my right lower ab let out a sharp pain and began throbbing. I vowed to dump some weight from my bag.
We looked at three guesthouses. The first was full and over-priced. It had succumbed to the Lonely Planet effect. That’s when an establishment receives so much new business from a mention in the guidebook, that it loses its original allure. Thanks Lonely Planet [sarcasm].
We walked toward Haad Rin Nok and two guys approached us, marketing their rooms available. We took a look. They were okay. They were right next to the beach, which usually would be a good thing, but I imagined never getting any sleep there–with the loud music and foot traffic.
We went back near the original guesthouse and two ladies marketed their room to us. They taxied us to the backside of the peninsula to the other beach: Haad Rin Nai (sunset beach). It was amazing. They had several second story bungalows overlooking the ocean–balcony and hammock included. Homan and I each got our own bungalow for $12/night. It doesn’t get any better than that.
The joy soon wore off as I was distracted by my lower ab pain. It was difficult to walk around–especially with the hilly terrain.
I went back to my room and dumped the contents of my backpack. I made a pile of everything I didn’t need, including my SLR camera, portrait lens, laptop, and two books. I walked to the local post office and weighed my items. It was 12 pounds (6kg) of stuff! Wow. That will literally be a load off my back (and abs). I shipped them back to Los Angeles by surface mail for $40–not a bad price, considering the weight and value of the items.
I went to a pharmacist for a diagnosis. He gave me pain relievers and muscle relaxers. It quelled the pain a little, but I still couldn’t concentrate, the pain was so bad. I returned a few hours later, and he gave me antibiotics because he figured I ate something bad and had a digestive infection. Sure enough, it was. My pain subsided with those pills.
I realized that I had both a muscular and digestive pain. How about that. Two unique problems, same physical location. What are the odds. Lesson learned: if something ails you two days in a row, get it fixed. Get it done.
We went out that night to Haad Rin Nok. There was a small crowd of people partying. Keep in mind, the full-moon isn’t until the 7th (for June). The full-moon party is such a huge deal that people come several days early to get rooms (like we did). Therefore, all there is to do at night is go to the beach and party. It’s just one big fiery party here.
Several local Thai guys were performing with fire. And travelers would join in, too. The best time to watch was fiery limbo. Drunk travelers would always fall first or burn their bellies. And the Thai guys would always get the lowest–defying gravity in a way you may never have seen before.
