The Thais on Koh Phangan are pretty obsessed with fire. Fire shows here, a hoop on fire there, put a sign on fire or fire up a skipping rope; it's all good. Especially the skipping rope is hilarious; it's alright as long as you're on your own or with just the two of you, but the better you do, the more confident the others get. They're timing their jump-in and drunk people are not good at timing. Many a drunken traveler pays for their bad timing with a lash of the rope on their bare ankles and the smell of burned hair is not uncommon, too. Make sure you know when to quit, because sooner or later some idiot is going to mess up.

I'm partying every night hardcore, so it's great to have a place to close to the beach; easy peasy to go up and down to drop your camera, change your shirt, get some money or my glasses or just rest for a moment. The Euro08 is great as well; party at 11 for three hours, watch the game for two and chill out for a bit, then hit the beach again for some more dancing barefoot on the cool beach.

The Drop In Bar and Zoom in Haad Rin at the
Drop In Resort and Spa in Haad Rin

If you're not in the party mindset Koh Pha-Ngan is relentless and won't work for you. It doesn't bother me that I'm not partying at the party, as I had four awesome nights already. But there is plenty to do on the beach other than dancing. Chairs allow you to relax for a bit, and there's plenty of Thai kids to play games with you, for a fee. It's great fun, but also a bit disturbing to see them walking on the beach at 2am still.

Anyway, Koh Phangan was made for me!

Since it is on the other side of the island, I took a hi-speed longboat packed with ambitious partyers over to Haad Rin. The moonlit cruise across the ocean totally sets the mood for the late-night event. The sky echoes feelings of Halloween mischief. Anxiously, the boat hums through the salt water; casually sprayed, but never frightened.

Approaching a beach of thousands of people dancing and screaming is quite a thrilling experience. It is a scene of total mystery. What happens at such an eruption of human enthusiasm?

All night long, people drench themselves with their appetites. Whether they are dancing or watching the performers (see photo of man dancing with fire!), everyone seems to be having a fantastic night. Personally, I spent most of the evening lying at small tables on bamboo mats lit by candle-light talking with whomever sat next to me. You chat about whatever comes up, then moments later it happens all over again with a new group of people. Conversations just arise out of the moment, turn their course, and then seem to disappear as quickly as they came. It’s impossible to exhaust the possibilities of dialogue in a situation like that.

Maybe the most amazing point of the night happened on the sunrise boat-ride home. As you watch the sun pour itself out over the ocean, you become reminded of the grand cycle of the stars. As you were once consumed by the mayhem of the Full Moon, you now find yourself staring at the clearest image you could ever know: the sun.

And at that moment, you remember what it feels like to be alive...

• Phangan Hotel Specials for June 2008
• Full Moon Dates
• Full Moon Party Pictures