SE Asia Chronicles – Koh Phangan, Thailand
Day 9-10: Full Moon Party Week – Part 1/3

How do I even begin to explain what had eventually become one of the best weeks of my life? Where do I start? And how do I do it justice? It must be filtered…musn’t it? (I’ve used the word “musn’t” so many times in my life, and I just now realized that it’s not actually a word.)

Look, I’ve already gotten off track. I s’pose that’s the perfect way to capture how this week went…

The week that felt like summer camp…for adults

First we took a ferry over from Koh Tao to Koh Phangan (both are islands of Thailand.) Check. Then we took a 15 min. van ride from the ferry port to the Dancing Elephant Hostel – our home for the next 7 days. Check. We checked in. Check. All the things. Check check check. We met the owner of the hostel – an awesome French man that spoke a thousand miles a minute. Check. And we also met the manager of the hostel, Davin. *swoon*

Object of my affection for the week has been spotted. Check.

Little did I know that hostel workers could not fraternize with the guests. It really was like summer camp! It didn’t matter anyway. My emotions were gone as quickly as they came. Anyone who has traveled already knows how quickly you can fall for someone while abroad. And they know how those feelings are so different from any others you’ve ever had. The realization that you are sharing these amazing new experiences with someone…and then may never see them again…it’s a lot to take in. But I digress..

So what was I saying? Oh yeah. After check in, Bri, Kaitlin and I got our bed assignments, freshened up and went out to the hostel bar (located within the hostel premises) for buckets. We’ve already talked about buckets, yeah? 4 shots of alcohol + mixer = $3. Yep. The buckets and balloons went down like water and the rest of the night was a bit of a blur. Night one, complete.

The next day consisted of the Slip N Die…I mean Slip N Fly.

We all tuk tuked over to the Slip N Fly facilities, paid $20, and entered without knowing exactly what we were getting into. Let me paint you a picture. There we were, feeling 2 feet tall, at the base of a water slide that shot you 1,000,000 miles into the air. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little. But it was intense. To get the courage to take on this monster, we decided to do tequila shots (isn’t that always the answer?) with some Canadians we had just met – Colin, Jarred and Matt (*swoon*) Another love interest that I’ll do absolutely nothing about. Check.

Once enveloped in liquid courage, we headed to the top of the slide to willingly participate in what might actually be one of the scariest things I’ve done. When it was my turn, I took a quick hop for added speed, shot down the slide on my stomach, face first and was eventually projected into the air a few stories high. When Kaitlin went, her top fell off. When Bri went, her bottoms fell off. It was a scandalous slide. But extremely fun, nonetheless. After the slide, we partook in a game of 20 v 20 water volleyball. It didn’t start out with that many people, but by the end of it, I’m pretty sure nearly everyone at the Slip N Fly had joined.

In this video, I’m on the left slide.

Birthday shots for the twins

When we got home from the Slip N Cry, everyone napped, showered and got ready for the night. But before I continue, I don’t think I’ve explained the hostel well enough. I don’t think you’re imagining it correctly. The hostel took up a whole road (okay, 1/4 a road). It consisted of multiple buildings, situated across from each other, including a bar, a main office, a lounge area and 70+ dorm beds (I’m not actually sure how many dorm beds there were, but it was a lot. Which means there were a lot of people to fill them). Each night, more travelers showed up in preparation for the Full Moon Party, and tonight it was already pretty busy. After some buckets, music and mingling, Bri and I had an idea. It was our birthday.

I know what you’re thinking: But Skye and Bri, it’s not your birthday…

Shut up. It is now.

Okay so I don’t encourage lying. But we’ve all done it. So don’t go pointing your dirty little fingers at me with that face of judgement and disapproval. Bri and I wanted to make the night more fun so we said it was our birthday. Hey, they’re the ones who fell for it. Pretty soon the whole hostel was singing us ‘happy birthday’ while we stood on a platform with free-flowing peach liquor. Happy birthday to me!

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to Skye and Briana, Happy birthday to you!"

Full Moon Week to be continued…