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February 26, 2005

Hello, Goodbye

Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand. The very mention of it used to bring to my head visions of wild parties on the beach. I'd been told stories of magical drugs, dancing on the sand, the surging ocean, unfortunate yet inescapable techno music, and of course beautiful Thai women. For just a moment I felt like I was there, diving into the waves aglow with phosphorescent algae and the light of the moon. After my own experiences, I realize now that Koh Pha Ngan and the Full Moon Party it hosts once a month are two very separate entities with very different, dare I say, vibes. Someday I'll be ready for the Full Moon.

Living almost a month in Bangkok, I believe anybody would (or should) pray for the clean air and sublime lifestyle that's easily found on an island. I was beyond ready for it. After a taxi, a train, a bus, a boat, a pickup truck, and many, many hours later, Lonnie and I arrived on the beach. There was a warm welcome waiting for us by old friends from back home in Cali', Alan and Robin. Veterans of the place, they've been coming to the very sweet beach village of Tong Nai Pan Noi for over 15 years. The place felt even farther behind the times, which was a welcome feeling. The reunion didn't stop there when I got to give my dad a big hug as well. Our introductions were bathed in smiles.

Goodbye pavement, hello sand. Goodbye smog, hello fresh ocean breeze. Goodbye traffic jams, tuk-tuk drivers, and insistent salesmen; but goodbye as well to the nightlife and variety of the city. Party tips would lead us to a bar or restaurant with subdued music and maybe five or ten patrons inside talking very quietly. No matter though; we always ended up at our favorite restaurant, Rasta Baby, loaded with hammocks and the most amazing smiles and dishes in town. Have you tried the tuna sandwich? The kao pat gai? The omelets? Careful now.

The days were drifting by like the puffs from a dandelion, carried in the wind. Hard to keep track of, but each one so full of beauty and life it didn't matter when or where or how the feeling of "here and now" was, it was just here and now. Stumbling from my bungalow across the sand and into the crashing waves was the most amazing alarm clock I've ever experienced. Laying in a hammock, playing guitar, and reading a trashy but addictive novel gifted to me by a fellow traveller filled the time between meals. The full moon was still over a week away when talk of the half moon party began.

Half Moon. So on we were bouncing down the ruts they called roads to a real jungle party. Someone had a bottle of Mae Khong and before I knew it we were there. I was dancing. The bass was booming. I was hungry. My taxi driver stole my spring roll. The bass continued... louder, faster, incessant. The black-lights cast an eerie glow across the dark faces of the other dancers. Why were we dancing on the turntables? Can they support our weight? I felt like I was on the merry-go-round in 3rd grade. Spinning. I think I fell off into a ditch. Stumbling back to my friends, I saw the sun was already up. Where was the moon? Half Moon. Enough of a moon for me to handle for a good while.

Talk of the Full Moon continued... the legendary party on Haad Rin beach. 12,000 crazies in the bars, spilling onto the sand, spinning fire and spewing Sang Som, sliding into the ocean. Let the good times roll... and at this point, we both agreed, the good times were not in Haad Rin but were swimming in the moon-bathed crests of phosphorescent waves we discovered in our own backyard of Tong Nai Pan Noi. We enjoyed the beach until the day before the Full Moon and then hopped on another pickup truck, another boat, another bus, another train, another taxi, and were back in Bangkok. Back to all that name encompasses, good and bad, happy and sad. The great country of Laos is next to be experienced. The North, where lies wonder and beauty and even more fun hellos and hard goodbyes.

Posted by Tom Bodhi at February 26, 2005 04:18 AM

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