After the legendary parades that have flooded all of Europe before spreading to other continents, the unforgettable parties on Goa beaches and even the Israeli desert, Thailand can be proud to be one of the most exceptional  poles of attraction in terms of electronic celebrations.

A burning planet…

Every month  Koh Phangan, a paradise island situated south of Thailand, invites us to celebrate accordingly the full moon on the sumptuous beach of Haad Rin.

The adventure started some fifteen years ago, when the Paradise bungalows and their few visitors wishing for excitement decided to add a bit more magic to the place, and accompany the glowing full moon all night long. A handful of travellers and the island’s inhabitants therefore started dancing on the beach., rocked by the sound of the waves and an enchanting music.
The years went by, the party grew, and today more than 10 000 people make the trip to the clubs all along the bay.

Sven Väth meets paradise!

A little less than a year ago we interviewed the legendary star of the Cocoon. He was just  back from a tour in Asia that had led him straight to Haad Rin, and he told us he really wanted to go back there the following January. We immediately thought:
Sven Väth + Thailand + Full Moon party = THE party of the year!

A few months later, on January 28th  to be precise, we found ourselves at Phan Gan for what was to be one of the best nights of our lives.

9pm…

After a nice little massage and a memorable Thai meal, we set off for the beach, passing from one club to the next and enjoying all the different styles they offered: drum&bass, psychedelic trance, hard tech, progressive house, goa. The most varied atmospheres could be found, a guarantee of a great evening for anyone and everyone. The music had it’s importance,  but the magic of the setting was enough to satisfy our eager souls. A glowing red moon made its way over the hills to a sparkling, starry sky. The fireworks started as jugglers and fire-eaters fed the growing excitement all around.

After having made it to the end of the beach where we stopped briefly at Tommy’s Club to listen to a bit of goa trance in a very psychedelic atmosphere, we went back to the other end of the bay to our Paradise bungalows were Dj A , a Thaï Dj Sven Väth has taken under his wing (he even had him mix all over Europe last year during his Cocoon nights!) , was starting off the evening before the arrival of the great German Dj. And just for your info, Dj A is one of the pioneers of the Full Moon at Koh Phan Gan as he’s been mixing there since the very first one,  in 1987!

The crowd was already packed all along the beach, dancing frenetically between the Vinyl Club and its techno, the Zoom Club and its hard goa that had a group of Israelis in trance, the Orchid Club and its drum&bass that was enough to have Goldie in tears (!), and many, many more…

Nevertheless… there was a true feeling of magic in those Paradise bungalows : a pyramid-shaped podium on which a mass of bodies was stuck together, dancing provocatively; a long metallic platform held up by scaffoldings had been taken over by other wild minds carried away by a sustained progressive house that was enough to make anyone go crazy; and then there was the set: giant mushrooms and other fluorescent flowers seemed to emerge from the white sand, turned red by the full moon… Yes, the party was going to be good…

2am…the cocoon explodes…

Comfortably settled in behind his turntables under a roof of sand bags and palm leaves, Sven Väth appeared like a real star, with his crowd of fans massed around him. Marathons are his thing, and he was going to be able to enjoy himself for more then 10 hours non-stop between the beach and the Backyard up on the hill for the after-party. For us it was a succession of flashes, unforgettable images and undying memories: dancing barefoot on the sand , starring up at the stars, the waves, the horizon, and imagining the aquatic civilizations surrounding the island; the fire-dancers moving around and illuminating the dance-floor in trance. And all those smiling faces, the sense of freedom that makes you feel the world belongs to you. The music mixed to metallic voices, sharp, twisted beats. Sven, as always, didn’t let us rest for even a minute, mixing with a dexterity only he knows the secret to and sending us straight to seventh heaven!

The sun appeared shortly before 7am and we once more felt the thrill of such a beautiful spectacle. The tide had risen and the beach almost completely disappeared, giving way to turquoise waters that were slowly swallowing up the podiums and the feet of the frenetic dancers. And still just as many people; no-one seemed to want to stop and the music continued to hypnotise everyone. Here and there,  small isolated groups of people were sprawled on the patches of remaining sand, resting or sleeping off the excess of certain doubtful substances.

9am, rendez-vous on the hill…

There was nothing left of the beach as we’d seen it the day before. Empty bottles covered the length of the bay, brought back to the beach by the tide, and the music had finally stopped at the Paradise bungalows, ready to keep the party going just a little further up the hill on the Haad Rin point.

After-party at the Backyard…

The Backyard is pretty much an institution at Koh Phan Gan. The club, situated on a cliff at the Haad Rin point, is truly marvellous! Made all of wood and entirely open onto the cliff, it occupies the place of choice as a look-out spot on the horizon. A platform on wooden stakes at the front of the club offers an ideal panoramic vision while the second floor is also entirely opened-up and great to relax after a good dance marathon! The dance-floor has two full walls of speakers at each extremity for a powerful balanced effect. And the decoration in itself is worth the trip: dozens of multicoloured giant mobiles representing planets or other spatial forms hang from all over the ceiling.

And still Sven…

Obviously, the German Dj was in top shape (though no urine tests were provided to check for any kind of anabolic!) and between the hugs and kisses to his loved-one, continued to feed the frenzied crowd!

We finally had to call it quits around noon, exhausted but so happy we kept asking ourselves if it was all true. The horizontal position was calling to us incessantly and we quickly headed back to our bungalows, and off we were to another land of dreams.

Back to the Backyard!

After a well deserved rest, another massage to get back in shape and a good Thai meal, we decided to head back to our bungalow about 200 m from the Backyard to once again plunge into a deep sleep…That was before we knew about the Late Night happening in the club and the music we could hear quickly made us change our plans: we could not stop yet!

It was not an easy trek over, between the rocks and shrubbery, but we finally made it to the party scene, and before our eyes appeared, once again, a display of pure enchantment! The fluorescent mobiles hanging from the ceiling illuminated by the UVs  that spread a soft blue light around. The fauna inhabiting the backyard seemed hypnotised, while Dj A (him again!) excelled in his mixes, distilling a vicious and psychedelic progressive, sending us far off, very very far off! A light breeze seemed to be coming from the horizon, refreshing and energising us for the last bit of the party.

A new law, that has been applied in Thailand now for the past year, put an end to our celebration at 2am, when not a beat could be heard coming from the speakers anymore.

But did it really matter? Our minds were filled with wonderful memories and exhaustion was slowly gaining territory. We therefore headed back to our bungalows to sleep (finally!) with a touch of nostalgia.

Rocked by the sound of the waves and the breeze, we unravelled the tons of still-fresh memories each of us had, and one thing was sure: we had found our paradise!