Thailand

Thailand

The full moon party at Had Rin Beach on the island of Koh Phangan tops the list of things to do and places to see for many young tourists traveling to Thailand. Every month on the night of the full moon, tourists from all over the world come to celebrate one of the biggest parties on the planet. The full moon party is as world renowned as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, October Fest in Germany or Carnival in Brazil. One thing separates the full moon party from all these prestigious annual events, while you have to wait a whole year for the next October Fest or Carnival, you can celebrate the full moon party every month.

You don't go to the full moon party for a few quiet drinks, it is an all night and all day affair, with live music and half dressed young men and women dancing on the beach from dusk until dawn. It is estimated that every month between 10,000 - 30,000 people make the journey to Koh Phangan to celebrate the party. There are International and Thai DJs playing popular house music throughout the day and night. When tourists grow tired of dancing on the beach they will find several bars and clubs offering a different party atmosphere.

Over the years the crowds of people that gather during the full moon party have often been taking part in a drug culture, using a variety of illegal narcotics to enhance their stamina and keep the party going. While the authorities may have been tolerant in the past, these days the police are very serious about cracking down on drug use, and this includes roadblocks and spot searches all around the island of Koh Phangan during the party. This should be more than enough of a deterrent to stop anyone in their right mind from attempting to bring drugs with them, however not everyone has the common sense that they should. Dozens of tourists find themselves in serious trouble for their momentary lapse in judgement, and this is truly unfortunate, because the penalties are normally far more serious than they could have imagined.

The local legend is that the origin of the full moon party began with a group of backpackers that came across the crescent shaped beach at Had Rin, and decided that this was the most magical spot to enjoy the full moon. They are said to have begin organizing parties at Had Rin during the early 1980s, with only small groups of their friends. In the years that followed these parties began to grow more and more popular, by the time the 1990s rolled around these parties had become a mainstream tourist attraction. Nowadays the full moon party is considered to be amongst the world's top 10 parties, and it has become so popular that now they even have half moon parties in order to accommodate for the growing demand of party seeking tourists.

Below is a list of the upcoming dates for 2012:

• January 8, 2012
• February 8, 2012
• March 7, 2012
• April 6, 2012
• May 6, 2012
• June 4, 2012
• July 3, 2012
• August 4, 2012
• September 1, 2012
• September 30, 2012
• October 29, 2012
• November 28, 2012
• December 25, 2012
• December 28, 2012
• December 31, 2012