1. From Koh Samui airport go to the desks selling taxi/bus rides. The easiest way is to go to Big Buddha pier. Its the closest one to the airport and has a direct boat to Haad Rin. The taxi ride cost 70-90 baht per person. There’s a set price at the desk. They packed all 13 of us into one van designed for 11 people. There’s also other vans going there and they’ll wait til they are full of people before they leave.

2. Try to avoid buying the combined option (taxi van + boat). This is because the boat may leave before you get there, plus they try to charge you more. In our case, they offered us 300 baht per person. The actual price was 200 baht at the pier.

3. When you get to the pier, go to the office and buy a ticket for 200 baht. The boat leaves every few hours. there’s 4 boats daily. The last one is at 5.30pm. We got there at 4pm, so we had to wait.

4. We chilled out in this public common area, had some food, use the internet. You can line up, but you can wait til the boat arrives. but don’t be the last to get on the boat. Because its an old ferry and the sea was really choppy at night, a few people got seasick. Generally on boats, if you can, sit on the top deck, not the lower deck. As there is less motion and fresh air. Trust – I know this from experience after getting really sick on a boat in Belize. Try to grab a seat, its more comfortable. The bags are piled in this common area in the middle, so take out any valuables.

5. The other option is to get speedboats from Big Buddha to Haad Rin. It cost more say 500 – 650 baht. The ferry takes 45 mins, the speed boat takes like 15 mins. Speed boats leave more frequently.

6. There’s also boats (speedboats, ferry?, and catamarans) leaving from Thongsala on Koh Phangnan. As this is further from Haad Rin (100 baht ride), we decided not to do it. The easiest for us and for most people going to FMP is Haad Rin to Big Buddha. There’s only one ferry company that does the ride called “The Queenie” or something to that effect.

7. From Haad Rin Pier, there are tuk tuks waiting. Now, that was one thing I hadn’t prepared for. I read on the website that the hotel was 5 mins walk from the pier. But I didn’t know in what direction, and I didn’t have enough time to check it out. Google Maps and their website had no directions from the pier. However, there were tuk tuks waiting nearby that was willing to take everyone for 50 baht per person (like $2 AUD).

8. If possible and if you have time, stay on Koh Phangnan. Many of the hotels/  bungalows have minimum stay of 5 days. The other option is to take the boat from Koh Samui on the day of the FMP, and leave the next morning. However you could be really partied out the next day, and the last thing you want to do is go on a boat ride for 45 mins. There are plenty of speed boats waiting on the beach to take people back. I read that one of the accidents happened on the speedboats, as it was packed with too many people (the operators try to pack on 40 ppl on a 30 person speedboat). I went on a speedboat tour on the island, and it fit 15 people comfortably. Now, 40 ppl is a different story!!

I’m out like the full moon party,

Matt.

Clubbing in Bangkok

Our second night in Bangkok, we hit up RCA (Royal City Avenue). It is an entertainment district. There was like 4 nightclubs in a row on this one street. The club we went to was the 2nd last one, which had one room for techno/house music, another room for RNB and the last one for a live rock band. The rnb and rock band areas were absolutely jam packed. We definently had a lot of fun.

One peculiar thing is that in these clubs, there’s lots of tables setup. People book these small tables and standaround them, ordering bottles of alcohol. Its bottle service basically. And they dance around these tables. All night. There’s no dedicated dance floor area. So if you don’t have a table, its very difficult to stand anywhere, especially in a large group. Its a totally different scene to back home. In fact, I don’t know how anyone meets someone outside their immediate group.

I thought that this phenomena was peculiar to this area in Bangkok. We then went to Escobar, in Ekkamai. Its kinda like Surry Hills back home and everyone was doing the same thing there too. Luckily, we got there earlier this time (around 9.30pm) so we were able to secure some seats and tables.It was a local club, so not many tourists were around, and we had a great time.

One thing I don’t like about Bangkok, is the weather. Its really hot. ALL DAY! When we walked out of the club into other areas, via an open outdoor area, it felt like you were in an oven. and this was at 11pm at night.

Ko Phangnan to Koh Samui

Some random points

- It seemed like every party at Ko Phangan had a top 5 list of songs, which they played on heavy rotation.

- The taxi ride from Koh Samui big buddha pier to our hotel was probably the funniest moments on the trip. We landed at the pier and we organised two taxi vans for everyone in our group. In our taxi for 7 of us, the taxi looked it had been decked out. I’m not sure what it was, but we had seen some tricked out taxi’s in Thailand.

Our taxi driver said “what music do you want?”. We said “hip hop”. He put in a CD and the most deafening bass started pumping out of the speaker behind my head. I can’t remember what song it was, it was a song being played over and over again at the full moon party and #1 song in Australia. A dance party then erupted in our van as all 7 of us started dancing and shaking the van. I was laughing so hard I was crying. And we hadn’t even pulled out of the pier driveway.

We then drove about 15 mins to the hotel, going through his hip hop song list including Black Eyed Peas “boom boom pow” song. It was absolutely hilarious. The driver also joined in and started pulling out some moves. Scott’s got the video so I’ll upload it soon.

I’m out like the full moon party,

Matt

We then went out to another spot, where we had lunch. It was really cool seeing another side of Ko Phangnan. It was a resort type area, where people were sitting around and eating. It wasn’t the crazy scenes of Full Moon Parties. In fact, we saw the Cactus club in the morning, it looks the biggest dive ever. Corrugated roof and walls, make shift tarp pulled over the top. But that place goes off at night! Its one of the biggest spots for the full moon party.

Our third stop was the snorkelling spot. I did a Navy Seal type entry into the water, by flipping over backwards. We had some pretty crappy snorkel masks. I’ve snorkelled before, and I only took a few breaths and I could tell something was wrong. It wasn’t pumping the air in and out properly and water was coming in. And it was hard to get back into the boat as well (for those of us without upper body strength!).  We didn’t snorkel much as most of us were too full from lunch and the equipment was not very good (note: bring your own gear or buy it next time).

The last stop was another beach, where we played an impromptu game of gridiron (6 vs 5). The game was good for about 2 downs, and then guys started getting injured. 8 downs later, and multiple injuries later, we called it a game.

It was probably one of the best days I’ve had on the trip so far. Tomorrow we’re heading to Koh Samui but not before another night of hitting the beach!

Oh, and we threw Ip overboard as well. Love it!

I’m out like Ip overboard,

Matt Ho.

This restaurant had a section at the back with a bamboo floor, which creaked and groaned every time someone stepped on it. It then connected to this old wooden boat overlooking the pier. We ate like kings! Kat Pung Karee Crab (spelling?), green curry, scallops with ginger, mussels, fish (white/red snapper), fish cake type things, and topped it off with an Oreo Shake!

It was a really chilled night, exactly what the doctor ordered after a hectic full moon party. We had a great time sitting in the boat, eating, drinking, chatting and recapping the full moon party.

I would have loved to have taken pics of the food, but unfortunately my hands were too sticky and dirty from eating all the food!

The total cost? About $200 AUD which was more than enough food to feed 16 hungry guys.

I’m out like eating on a boat.

Matt Ho.

10 different bars are blaring rnb/hip hop music, house, techno, pop and more. Everyone is drinking buckets of alcohol with multiple straws. These buckets have mixes including Vodka, Redbull, Lemonade.

80-90% of the girls there are hot as well. People are dancing on makeshift wooden stage, dancing on chairs and tables. This is the full moon party!!

It started off with a light rain followed by a stronger rain. It wasn’t muddy but I reckon it made it more fun. We could see more and more tuk tuks bringing in loads of ravers.

I got back to the hotel at 5am. Some of my friends finished up at 7am when the sun rose and low tide had come in.

It was very peaceful, I only saw one group get into a pushing and shoving match. Other than that everyone seemed to be pretty relaxed, happy and enjoying the moment. While others had drunk too much and were puking on the beach, or were just too tired and needed to sit down.

The main section of the beach is several kilometres long, with bars/disco’s spread throughout this area. There are heaps of street stall vendors on the beach selling buckets of alcohol for about $10.

Lots of random people are dancing/hooking up/talking.

I read that the full moon party was started by a traveller who had his birthday party on Ko Phangnan in 1987. They had such a great time, they decided to have it again the next year.

There is a full moon party once a month, half moon parties every two weeks and Black Moon party (in the forest) like every two months. There’s also parties daily like Coral Bungalow. I don’t think its even related to the moon anymore – just an excuse to have parties!

Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

I’m out like the full moon party,

Matt Ho

This place is surreal. Lots of young people running around and partying. First night, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We went down to the beach at 10.30pm at night to the pre pre full moon party. This is two days before the actual full moon party. I got there and I could see a blaze of fires in the distance, and a massive mob of a crowd. As we got closer, it was absolutely packed with thousands of people dancing to RNB music. There was a wooden stage platform with several steps. It was huge dance party (and this is the pre pre party, a sign of things to come). I imagine this is what Spring Break in Cancun is like, but on steroids.

Most of the people here are young. in their 20’s. I think half the people here are Australians, the other half are from the UK, Israel or the States.

Our resort here is the bomb. Its like a 10 minute walk to the beach. Its a bit further from the action, but that is fine. Its a bit more relaxed and probably a lot more secure as it is further away from the full moon party.  There’s a restaurant, a two pools. We’re all on the same block, on a floor with 15 guys!

The pre pre full moon party was crazy. Thousands of people dancing on the beach to rnb music, techno, house. We were outside this bar called Cactus for most of the night, where the majority of people were. It was like everyone was moving as one. I had read that it was a good idea to wear shoes, because of broken glass everywhere. So I made sure I wore my sneakers. Later that night, of the guys on my trip took off his thongs (sandals), and stepped on a piece of glass. ouch. My friend Folau had to get some stitches, kinda sucks as it happened on the first night. All I can say is shoes/sandals people! I saw a few other people also hobbling around, others carrying injuries from motor bike accidents or just too much partying.

You can get whatever you want here. For me, I’m just gonna enjoy the music, the dancing, hanging out at the pool and with my friends. There’s a different scene here and I’m glad I have my head on straight and the values that I have been brought up on. As a Christian, I’m going to respect my body. You can enjoy this place without getting caught up in everything else that goes on. In fact, there’s not many Asians here on this island (other than the locals). I’ve seen a few Japanese tourists around. I think its a scene that a lot of them don’t want to be part of - Asians want to go eat, shopping, see the sites, etc…

The full moon party is about to start in a coupla hours. It’s gonna be insane, and I’ll tell you all about it soon!

I’m out like the pre full moon party,

Matt Ho.

*or what i like to call “Straight Hedonism”

Aside from that, in the past few months I’ve been reading about the civil turmoil in Thailand, the unrest and the riots. I saw pictures on the news, on the internet, in newspapers of the main streets being barricaded, tires being piled onto the street forming a makeshift barrier. Handmade wooden and metal spikes were forged, creating a threatening prescence to anyone that tried to cross them. A line not to cross. From what I understand, people from the regional provinces were protesting in Bangkok. They had come to try to bring the previous government back to power. It was chaos, creating an unease as the swell of protestors grew and refused to leave. Then the government decided to move in and take over, killing the protestors that stood in the way.

I find it hard to imagine this could happen. Thai people are so hospitable, so well trained in customer service, and exude such a calm demeanour. Always smiling, joking and welcoming. This country seems so chilled out, so peaceful, but I guess a political tension simmers below the surface.

On Saturday, we wanted to visit the shopping districts around Bangkok. There’s area around Siam Square / National Stadium where there are a few huge shopping centres. Underneath Siam station is where the barricades were put. I walked underneath, not knowing this had occured a few months earlier. A scene of devestation and terror.

We were expecting to see Central world as our first stop. However, all we found was a building that had several floors burnt and the word “Peace” grafftit’d on the side. When we tried to enter the building, we were told it was not possible. It had been burnt down. The lobby of the building could be akin to world square in Sydney. A mix of commercial and shopping areas. It was an empty husk of a building when we got closer. We were all shocked to say the least.

We then went to another shopping centre, a kinda upmarket one. Only to find out that it was also burnt to the ground. We then headed to Paragon, cause we were sure this existed since we had visited it the day before!

I had heard that the Royal Stock exchange has also been razed to the ground as well as few other buildings. My only explanation is that these were symbols of capitalism. The shopping centres were more upmarket ones that we visited. They were destroyed for what they represented. I don’t think they would touch MBK, cause that’s a shopping centre the locals would visit.

I’m out like burnt shopping centres,

Matt Ho.

The past 5 – 6 days have gone by quickly. Wednesday night I finished up work and headed to the Goldcoast. Then flew to Thailand via Malaysia (gotta love Airasia’s cheap flights). There weren’t enough beds so we had to play poker for’em. Thankfully we worked out a suitable arrangement for everyone. And we had chips for dinner because no restaurants were open next to the airport after 9.30pm.

We hit Bangkok at about 10pm and had dinner at Suan Lum night market bazaar. We had Pad Thai for 35 Baht (slightly more than a $1) and beers for about $2 (big ones too!). We feasted like kings for a night – surely a sign of things to come.

And Ho Touch ? Its a slogan from a fast food restaurant at Kuala Lumpur called Marrybrown. I think its meant to be “Hotouch”.

I’m out like Ho Touch,

Matt

Mankind has been destroying mother earth for centuries. Since time began, cavemen have cut down trees for firewood. The ocean has been trawled extensively for exotic seafood. Land has been razed for farming and cleared for high rises. We have drilled the earth for pools of oil, rivers of gold, and other precious commodities. Our endless search for more will eventually destroy the earth as we know it.

With the rise of tourism, mother earth’s fate has suddenly declined at an even faster rate.

I went on a snorkeling tour to the Hol Chan marine reserve in Belize. We motored to 3 different snorkeling sites. We snorkeled in the ocean, and we were told to keep our feet above the water. I soon realized why. Whilst in the water, our tour guide was kicking up sand sediment with each kick. With 30 tourists in the water around the boat and many more around the channel, we were causing untold damage to the pristine environment.

The captain of the boat then feed freshly speared fish to the nurse sharks so the sharks would encircle the boat and we could swim next to them. It was an incredible experience swimming above, alongside and near huge nurse sharks, deadly manta rays, turtles, snappers and other exotic fish. But you should never feed animals in the wild. Why else would the fish congregate around the boat? The fish were used to being fed daily and were now familiar with human contact.

Once you start feeding the animals, they lose that ability to hunt and fend for themselves. Eventually, the animals lose the instinct to survive. The amount of food in the wild controls the population in the animal kingdom. A scarcity of food means that the animal population cannot grow and is restricted in its size. Conversely, bountiful food allows animals to repopulate and thrive. Humans introduce new amounts of food as well as new types of food into the wild. By feeding the animals, we are changing the role of nature and causing irreversible destruction.

I learnt this lesson when I went on an eco-tour in Phuket. These things are obvious but they are not apparent until you see them with your own eyes. Our eco tour guides never feed the animals nor did they destroy the environment. Other guides would feed the monkeys with bananas and give them cans of coke to drink. The eco tour guides spent the time teaching us about the environment. The tour did cost slightly more but for me I was glad I went on it and it probably taught me one of the more valuable lessons in life.

As a tourist, we are drawn into two minds. Should I see Mother Nature, swim with the exotic fish, cuddle the cute koalas or do nothing? Many places like Caye Caulker in Belize and many countries exist mainly on tourism. Would a visit to Australia be the same without seeing a kangaroo or swimming in the Great Barrier Reef?

In the past year I’ve rode an elephant in the Chiangmai jungle in Thailand, swam in waterfalls, rode camels across the Sahara desert, snorkeled in underground caves in Mexico and sailed through islands in Vietnam. I’m confident that all these activities damaged the environment to some small extent. But as a tourist, I felt like I had to do these things, and I didn’t even think twice about it – I did them because they were fun.

Tourism, particularly environmental tourism needs to be tightly controlled, because we may be destroying things beyond repair. Future generations might not be able to appreciate these great wonders. Sometimes I think that we should just leave these animals alone, allowing them to live in their own world. But I also realize that for me, I would have never appreciated the beauty of the environment if I never saw them.

I have seen what mankind has done. In the Sahara desert, tire tracks criss-cross the sand dunes as tourists entertain their Lawrence of Arabia fantasies. I know, since I contributed to it by riding a quad bike! People also leave behind water bottles, wine casks, and other rubbish in the desert.

The availability of cheap air travel will be one of the deathknells for the environment. I took a flight instead of a train from Venice to Rome because it was only slightly more expensive. I have crossed the world on a series of cheap flights. In two months, I flew Venice to Rome, Rome to London, London to Morocco return, London to New York, New York to Cancun. Air travel was dirt cheap. In the process, these airplanes I have taken have pumped out several more kilotons of carbon dioxide.

I honestly believe that people are understanding that we need to protect the environment. It is important to practice sustainable methods of tourism. But a lot of tour operators think for themselves – they feed the sharks and the monkeys, destroy the sand dunes with 4 wheel drives and so on.

However, the responsibility is on both sides, on tour operators and tourists. Our duty as tourists should be to enquire about the practices of the tours and to understand the environmental impact, instead of shopping around for the best deal. It is time that we make a stand, as tourists. Because it is our earth too! If it damages the environment, we should seek a friendlier alternative or simply not do it.

The environment is extremely fragile, and it is necessary that we strike the right balance between showing off mother earth and preserving the environment. Hopefully, we do this before the monkeys take over*.

Hijo de la tierra (Son of the Earth),

Matt Ho.

*Or maybe they already have.