Forget Ibiza, Koh Phangan is the place to party, especially the week of the full moon.  About 10,000 party goers swarm to the Island for this big event.  Packed bars line the beach with neon body paint artists camped out front and if you want to get really smashed there are rows of bucket booths where the vendors yell out to you to try to get you to come to their booth for a bucket drink and then reward you for choosing their booth by giving you a free flower lei and a flower shaped ring made out of straws.  There’s even places where you can buy mushroom shakes…or so we’ve heard.  A fun place to meet up with friends in the late night (or early a.m.) is the pool party at Coral Bungalows and the taxis will give you a free ride there, which was convenient for us because our hotel was also nearby.

We arrived 4 nights before the full moon and the town of Hat Rin was already in full swing.  On the trip over from Railay Beach to Koh Phangan, we met two very cool guys from Chicago, who are both named Nick.  One of the Nicks had already been to two full moon parties before, so he became our travel guide.  We all had such a blast!  The night before the full moon us girls ended up staying in for the night due to a big rain storm, which was good because we were able to get up early the next day and have a great time exploring the island.  We rented a jeep for the day and drove to the other side of Koh Phangan.  It was pretty scary in the beginning because we were driving on a super hilly windy road next to cliffs and we had to drive on the left side of the road and the stick shift was on the left hand side.  To make things even more complicated, the guy who rented the jeep to us said that we shouldn’t shift gears while going up or down hill, which was hard because most of the drive was up or down hill.  By the time we got to the other side of the island we all needed a drink.  We found a cute little boutique hotel in a beautiful cove and had yummy cocktails while we watched a huge storm roll in.  Then we decided to drive to another beach we’d heard of called Bottle Beach.  The drive to get there was so muddy and steep with ditches all over the road that we were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to get back up, but since we had 4 wheel drive (and don’t like to back down from an adventure) we went for it…and we were well rewarded…the beach was beautiful and I have to admit that I loved driving back up the steep muddy mountain…I think I was laughing the entire time, I even got to drive through a small river.  On the way back to our side of the island we stopped at an elephant park.  Since it was still raining a little we didn’t get to ride the elephants through the jungle, but Rana and I did get to feed them bananas.  They were so cute and super smart.  The baby elephant swung a hula hoop around his trunk while playing the harmonica…I couldn’t believe it!  After that we went on a waterfall hike and then headed home…it was a wonderful day!

That night we started off the full moon celebration with a group of friends at the Outback Bar and then from there headed to the beach, which was already quite the spectacle.  The other nights it had been crowded, but that night the entire beach was a sea of people having a great time and enjoying life.  We had an incredible time and will never forget our full moon experience!

Our journey south to the islands of Thailand was long but definitely worth it. After the islands of Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Lei we headed to Railay (also spelled Rai Lei and Rai Ley) which took a little over an hour by boat. Railay is a small beach town that feels like an island but is actually at the tip of a peninsula that is inaccessible by land because of the huge limestone cliffs. There were no cars or motorbikes in Railay, not even a pier, which we soon discovered as the large boat we were on pulled into the bay and we had to quickly jump onto a long tail boat. To make things a bit more complicated it was raining and the seas were choppy as we were trying to get from one boat to another. The tide was low and the long tail boat was overloaded with people and luggage so we had to unload about 75 feet before the shore and carry our bags over the water. Luckily we are traveling light with only our large backpacks and small travel packs because there was no wheeling your luggage here. We arrived on West Railay (the more expensive side) but a short 5-10 minute walk across the island and we were on East Railay. We stayed in a cute backpacker style resort, Yaya’s.  The rooms were built 3 stories high with large balconies and steep, narrow wooden staircases (they looked more like a ladder than a staircase) going from level to level…it had a cool jungle feel…kinda like the tree house in Swiss Family Robinson.

Ahhhhhh…paradise. We quickly settled into the mellow pace of Railay with its gorgeous beaches, turquoise waters and hypnotic views of limestone cliffs and nearby islands. We were happy as could be lounging in the sun. Vendors walked up and down the beach selling food, drinks and all sorts of things…our favorite snack was corn on the cob barbecued right there on the beach, drenched with yummy butter and salt and an ice cold Chang or Singha (Thailand’s two most popular beers). Most afternoons a storm would roll in and it would rain for an hour or so…it was a nice break from the hot sun and the perfect opportunity to read or write in our journals. Our evenings were spent sipping cocktails or cafe lattes from one cool loungy spot to another…most of them were rasta themed bars with low platforms and lots of cushions. Some of our favorite spots were The Drop Inn Bar, The Bamboo Bar, The Joy Bar, The Stone Bar and The Skunk Bar. We played many rounds of cards (gin rummy) and just about every bar had games…connect four and jenga were the most popular. The bartenders (which are usually climbing instructors by day) were friendly and always eager to challenge us to a game and most of the bars had fire dancing. There were also lots of good restaurants to choose from in Railay and we soon added a new street food staple to our diet, the Thai pancake. There were quite a few stands to choose from but we found one lady that definitely made the best ones and had the freshest ingredients. A Thai pancake is similar to a crepe, it’s very thin and the contents can range from sweet to savory. Our favorite combinations were tuna-onion-tomato, cheese-tomato and pinapple-nutella. A great budget way eat, as the Thai pancakes only cost about $1-$1.50.

Originally we were only going to stay in Railay for 3 nights but we were enjoying ourselves so much that 3 nights turned into 6 (plus the guesthouse we were staying in let us stay the last 3 nights for a good discount).

On our 3rd day we hiked up a steep cliff, in which you had to use ropes to pull yourself up through some parts, to the viewpoint where you could see the beaches of both East and West Railay. It was amazing! From there we continued on down some very steep cliffs, lowering yourself down while hanging onto a rope to the lagoon in the middle of the rocks…it was an adventurous challenging hike, especially since we were not harnessed in, but absolutely worth it!

Our favorite beach was Tham Phra Nang, which was about a 10 minute walk down a little path just south of East Railay beach. This beach was also home to the Princess Cave, which had a shrine of phalic symbols in all shapes, sizes and colors (see photo).

Railay and the area of Krabi are world reknown for rock climbing. Sherri and I had taken a few indoor rock climbing classes a few years ago and really enjoyed it so we were excited to try it outdoors on the beautiful limestone cliffs. We did a half day climb with a guide and we got to try about 6 different routes. Our guide, Ques, was great! He would climb up, set the line and make it look super easy.  The first route was a pretty simple climb and not too high but they definitely got more challenging as we went on. It was an amazing adrenaline rush being super high above the ground…rock climbing is such a great workout for your whole body. We definitely felt it for the next few days and had the bruises to show for it!