Mushroom Shakes & Debauchery at Thailand's Full Moon Party
I first visited Thailand in 2014. And it was absolutely magical. I fell completely head over heels in love with the country and it sparked a fire in me to explore all of Southeast Asia. Yes, it is undoubtedly touristy. And I often don’t like touristy places. But there is an energy to Thailand that is impossible to ignore.
The streets may be littered and dirty, and there is a constant feel of chaos. But it’s a friendly chaos that welcomes you in warmly. Everywhere you turn there are smiling faces and the sing-song call of SAWADEE-KAAA (hello). A fragrant aroma of fried spring rolls, pad kra pao (minced meet with Thai basil & chilies), and kluay tod (friend bananas) dispels thru the air. The mouthwatering odor enticing you to throw all your dietary restrictions out the window.
There is constant stimulation….from the bars playing loud music and beautiful Thai girls tempting visitors to come in to the masseuses working out kinks in worn travelers feet. And there is something for everyone and every type of traveler, whether you want to lie on a beach all day or hike to your heart’s content.
When you come to Thailand as a solo traveler, there’s a well worn trail of “must-do” activities. This usually involves nightlife in Bangkok (maybe a ping-pong show if you’re brave), temple hopping, soaking up rays on one of their splendid beaches, seeing elephants, sampling the amazing street food, perusing night markets….and partying all night long on Koh Phangan at the Full Moon Party.
On my first trip to Thailand in April 2014, I had planned my dates around being in the country for their annual Songkran water festival….which sadly, did not align with the dates of the full moon party. I made my peace with skipping it, just happy to be going to Thailand!
Once I was in Thailand however, I started to get major FOMO. ALL the backpackers were talking about the full moon party. I was starting to feel like I was missing out on an integral Thailand backpacker experience.
As soon as my trip ended, I immediately made plans to return to Southeast Asia and explore more – and booked a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia at the holidays.
When I later found out a friend was going to be in Cambodia for the SAME dates….and he planned to head to Thailand afterwards to spend New Years Eve at the Full Moon Party….I decided to extend my trip. It cost a fortune to change my international flight during holiday time….but it was money I didn’t blink an eye at, I was SO excited to get to spend New Years partying with thousands of backpackers.
New Years is actually the only time that Koh Phangan has two back to back Full Moon Parties. As there is one to commemorate the full moon cycle, as well as a party for New Years Eve. The year I went, these dates fell about 4 days apart. This sounded a bit ambitious to me….going to two rambunctious parties back to back. But I was on a mission to accumulate all the quintessential backpacker experiences Thailand had to offer.
I landed in Koh Phangan ahead of my friends, as I opted to fly into Koh Samui instead of taking the overnight bus from Siem Reap. The flashpacker in me couldn’t bear to spend over a full day in transit.
As the ferry approached Koh Phangan, I could immediately tell this was a town in full swing for festivities. Thai folk flooded the dock….offering to carry your bags or show you were there was a room available. Anything to make a quick baht from the revelers.
After pushing my way thru the crowds, I made my way to my hostel. Dropped my bag down and then immediately went “Full Moon Party” shopping.
I had learned from fellow travelers that having full moon party gear was essentially a rite of passage. You HAD to go outfit shopping before the big event. Even the guys were showing off their full moon outfit purchases proudly.
So what is a full moon outfit exactly, you ask?
Well it requires a bombastically branded FULL MOON PARTY t-shirt (or dress) in a rainbow of neon colors - often times accompanied by neon shorts and a fanny pack – and LOTS of neon, glow in the dark body paint. For ladies, you’ll see a lot of bikinis and a tropical flower crown is basically a pre-requisite to enter as well.
But it doesn’t stop there. Your outfit can also be one-upped with props….like squirt guns, a goofy hat, or a waterproof phone case. I applaud the locals who have developed innumerous ways to take our baht. No doubt having the last laugh at our expense!
My friends arrived a few hours before the event and we got together to pregame and paint each other – necessary activities before any full moon party.
As we drew swirls of neon paint on each other (with varying degrees of aesthetic design), my friend asked if I had tried a mushroom shake yet.
I said no, I hadn’t.
Isn’t doing drugs in a foreign country scary? Could we get sent to Thai prison and never get out? It’s ILLEGAL!
Nope, my friend informed me, it’s legal here!
Well, I guess that’s a bit less scary then. I asked him if he planned to do it. He said yes. I looked to his companions, two girls I had just met, but liked immensely right away. They also said they planned to try.
Still wary to test the shakes, I decided to at least accompany them to “Mellow Mountain”.
There are numerous bars around Koh Phangan sporting the signature mushroom shakes, but Mellow Mountain was the most popular place to imbibe. The little venue is built into the mountain and overlooks the beach.
It didn’t feel dark and forbidding….the way I expected a place selling mind-altering desserts to feel. In fact, it was airy and pleasant. The Thai folk working the counter greeted us as though we had stepped into any old ice cream parlor. My friends quickly ordered theirs and then everyone turned to me. I still hadn’t given them my decision one way or another.
I looked around at all the people in the shroom shack….there were smiles everywhere. The people partaking didn’t look like hard drug users.
What the hell. 1 mushroom shake please!
I grabbed my shake and settled down on some pillows to watch the sun set over the beach. We slurped them down quickly and I decided to hit the party.
As I started to feel the shake work it’s magic, I found it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t feel out of control, I just felt light and airy. And everything seemed goofy and funnier than usual. The lights danced a little bit more than usual and everything felt entirely exciting.
We ran all the way to the beach party….just because we felt like it.
Once on the beach, we decided to make our bucket selections.
This is another classic symbol of Thai nightlife – buckets of alcohol. Because a cup isn’t enough. You’ll find this in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, all of the beaches, etc. Drinks are purchased as a bucket with ice and a glass bottle of alcohol and the mixer of your choice. Then you jumble it all together yourself.
As we stepped into the sand, I immediately was so grateful to the random girl who told me I needed to wear closed toed, tennis shoes to the full moon party. There was already broken glass and trash that would have been incredibly unpleasant to step on. (Pro tip to everyone out there: WEAR CLOSED TOED SHOES).
We bounced around a few dance parties, letting the alcohol mix with our loopy mushroom brains, until we entered cloud 9. Feeling energized and confident….we made our way to the fire limbo and fire jump rope.
Another word of warning to anyone reading this in preparation to attend the Full Moon Party. Do NOT do the fire jump rope. Pretty much everyone gets burned and even if you are sober and the best jump roper in the world, that’s not gonna stop some drunk idiot from jumping in with you and causing the rope to sear your skin.
The smell of burning flesh surrounding the arena, we watched with wide eyes and amusement as idiots took their turns.
While no one in our group was dumb enough to do the jump rope, we did all participate in the fire limbo. This one felt a little more controlled and yet adventurous. Feeling the heat of the stick just above me and the crowd cheering for me as I slipped lithly below was fun and exciting.
Somewhere along the way, our crew of 4 had merged with another crew of 4. All fellow Americans, with real jobs and lives at home.
We danced.
We drank.
We sang.
We acted a fool.
We ran around like school children, making friends with anyone and everyone.
When we had to pee we ran out into the ocean and used the natural toilet with hundreds of other people doing the same thing at any given moment. It wasn’t until the wee hours of the night, as I was coming down from my trip that I realized how putrid and revolting this was.
It’s also around this time that I looked around and realized that the party was now 90% guys. All of them with a hungry, crazed look in their eye. There was only one reason to still be partying at this hour. They were on the prowl – eager for any person of the opposite sex to give them a moment’s glance.
Most of our friend group had slowly made their way home or to shack up with a new partner they had just met. The lone two left….myself and one of the guys from the group walked further down the beach, away from the party.
We saw a few people playing on a palm tree swing and I told them we had a 4AM reservation as a joke. They happily hopped off and pushed us for a little bit.
As we continued on our way home, we saw a small boat that was floating in the ocean. We waded out to it and climbed in. We laid there and made out for a little while.
And then, worn out, we just stared up at the sky. My mind was in a strange state of utter exhaustion but still buzzing.
I didn’t want to ever leave. I knew I had unleashed yet another wave of overwhelming passion for travel & adventure. And even as I stuffed it back into a suitcase to go home in a few days, it wouldn’t ever go away.
Eventually we waded back to shore and fell into bed as the sun was coming up.
It was a wild night….and the 2nd Full Moon Party for New Years Eve was no different! We spent the days in between lying on the beach, eating thai food, swimming in the hotel pool, and hanging out with our new friends. Eventually the day came to leave (as it always does).
As I hauled my heavy backpack to the dock (much heavier than 3 weeks earlier at the start of my trip), I noticed the massive sign greeting tourists.
MUSHROOM SHAKES ARE ILLEGAL it read.
I felt my eyes go wide. I looked around to make sure no one saw my reaction or could sense that I had devoured at least 3 before the trip ended.
Once safely on the boat, making my getaway, I found myself chuckling. Sometimes ignorance is bliss I guess. I had set out to experience all the quintessential Thailand backpacker experiences and it appeared I had succeeded…in even more ways than intended.
The Full Moon Party was literally the definition of hedonism. Debauchery to the highest degree. But it was also a hell of a lot of fun. Fun that I’d carry with me back to reality…to my office job and all the stress of everyday life. It was a reminder to live life with no regrets, let go of inhibitions, and embrace the moment. Life is short. And it’s ok to live a little.
Have you been to the Full Moon Festival? How was your experience? And as always, if you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing!