Hat Rin

Dude, I raved on about food so much in my last two posts, you all must be thinking I am a gigantic fatty. Gah! I swear I really don't eat that much!

The next morning, we woke up and headed into town for breakfast. As soon as we rounded the corner, we were doused with a huge bucket of water. It was the beginning of the Thai New Year Festival, otherwise known as the Water Festival. Basically a bunch of people ride around in trucks squirting the people on the street, who splash the people in the trucks. It all-out good fun, but expect to get absolutely drenched. (As soon as I dried off, somebody would splash you.) In addition, some people see fit to employ baby-powder in the festivities, which, needless to say, makes a big ol' mess.

Getting to the point, the seminal purpose of our pilgrimage to Ko Samui was the Full Moon Party at Hat Rin. (I've heard it described as a rave, which it is definitely not.) Basically a bunch of people get together and drink copious quantities of alcohol out of large buckets. Everyone dances all night and/or lounges out on the beach. There were a lot of people present. I actually ran into two girls I befriend in Chiang Mai, which was pretty exciting. At one point, a random drunk girl plopped down (next to Jon and me) and burst into hysterics. She was really sandy.
Jon asked frequently, "How does one become so sandy?" I had no answer to give him.

We watched the sunrise, which was pretty fabulous. Most people were too intoxicated to bother to look up, which is a pity for them. We then had some pancakes before heading back home.

As soon as we got on the boat to head back to "Lamai Lamai Lamai" (the taxi-drivers tend to repeat the city name three times), I fell asleep. As we all know, people who are old tend to fall asleep early, thus I must be getting old. I awoke in a state of alarm when a brawl erupted between two of the classiest women I have ever encountered. I was actually sitting next to one of the ladies, who demonstrated a masterful ability to craft sentences composed entirely of obscenities. Dark and angry words were hurled through the air, followed by some flying fists and thrashing (unshaven) legs. Eventually one beaned the other in the head with a waterbottle. Then the waterworks began and the crying ensued. It was like a free front-row ticket to Jerry Springer - International Edition.

We were supposed to get a transfer back to our hotel as part of our ticket cost. Unfortunately, the truck was full. Jon and I had to stand on a little wood platform (attached to the bumper of the truck) whilst clinging tightly to a bar on the top of the vehicle. We sang a bit of The Foundations to entertain ourselves on the ride home. The ride home was about forty minutes, yet it seemed much longer.

As soon as I got back, I showered and went to sleep. Jon came by and tried to wake me up. I declined. I needed my beauty rest. When I finally decided to get up (just in time for a delicious dinner of spring rolls), Jon and I made plans to relocate to Maenam, a smaller coastal town that was more Thai and less Tourist.