Koh Samui/Koh Phangan...The Final Chapter

If anyone is still reading this, I have been home in the States for about a week now and Im sorry I havent posted anything from the last week of the trip. After Chiang Mai, we took a flight back to Bangkok for a quick 2 hour layover. We then flew on an hour flight south to an island called Koh Samui in the southeast of Thailand. If Koh Samui sounds familiar, you have probably seen the movie Meet the Parents. Jack Burns plans a honeymoon for his daughter to Koh Samui and Gay Focker thinks its some covert operation Jack's planning. "Jack talk Thai... Jack talk Thai real good." Anyways, Koh Samui is a very pretty resort island and is the biggest of the islands in the area. While it was very pretty, we planned on staying for only a night since we had read that it does not really cater to backpackers. Our true destination was the island of Koh Phangan where all the fun happens. We did make the most of our night in Koh Samui however, and we had dinner with a group of English girls we met at our resort. We then went out on the town and hopped from club to club. Many of the bars and clubs had an outdoor feeling, either having no roof or walls. I liked it since it was so warm at night. The next morning we took an hour long ferry ride to Koh Phangan. We didnt have a room reserved, but our whole plan was to arrive early for the epic Full Moon Party that happens at the end of each month. An estimated 8,000-30,000 people flood the beach of Haad Rin to party the night away. This month, the party was going to happen on a Tuesday night. We felt getting there on Saturday afternoon would allow us to find a place to stay and it all worked out. We stayed at a place about a 10 minute walk from the Haad Rin for relatively cheap. But after a day on the beach and a night out, we felt we really wanted to be on the beach. The problem was that so did everyone else. Nothing was available except the master suite of the Tommy Resort, a place right on the beach where it all happens. We decided to splurge and spend $60 a night per person for the best room I have every stayed in. The suite had a common room with table, big bedroom, bathroom with a tub and shower overlooking the ocean and a huge wrap-around balcony overlooking the pool in the middle of the resort and the beach in front of us. We stayed for a full week and loved every minute. Aside from beach bumming it everyday, we rented moto bikes and explored the island. We went snorkeling on the north side and saw some pretty coral reefs and then jetted to the center of the island to see some waterfalls. We took a few hikes and enjoyed ourselves. I did however have a little accident. I fell and ripped open my ankle, requiring a ride to the hospital. But 5 stitches and $18 US later, I was all fixed up. It still isn't completely healed 2 weeks later, but I'm okay. The Full Moon Party definitely lived up to the hype and is hands down the biggest party I've every been to. I would estimate that there were about 10,000+ people on the beach, mostly painted in florescent colors dancing beneath black lights. We shook to house music and techno til about 7am when we decided to call it a night. Some people easily went until 10am! The rest of the week we just hung out doing not much of anything. This is why I haven't posted until now. But we made it home safe on Aug 4th and now the real world starts when I start work on Monday. So until I travel again, I hope you've enjoyed the blog.