Thailand Travels: Day 20 - 24, Life on Haad Rin after Full Moon

I haven't posted for a while as there's not been much to share whilst I've been chilling and treating these last few days as downtime. Just to recap, after the Full Moon Party I had a terrible hangover and all day I felt like I was going to vom. Luckily our hostel had a great arrangement with the restaurant across the road, whereby you could tell the hostel bar what food you wanted, they ordered it for you and then they come of deliver it to you ASAP. What a service and just what you need after a marathon drinking session like full moon! You pay the delivery person when they come with the food (on china plates with proper knives and forks I might add!) and if you don't have the correct change they come and bring it back to you you. So you don't have to move a muscle! I ordered fried rice and a can of coke around lunchtime which did wonders for my hangover.

After feasting we set up the big screen to watch a great film called The Wolf of Wall Street. This is what I really loved about hostel life. There was about 15 of us chilling out on sofas, all feeling rough but in good company, with food and drink being brought to us, plus the distraction of a good movie.

The movie was really long and after it had finished we all had itchy feet. Someone suggested a stroll down to the beach as it was a bit cooler now and we all decided that was a good idea. Seeing the beach post Full Moon Party was so weird. I'd arrived late that evening and hadn't any idea what the beach was like, less all the lights, booze and food stalls. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was rather pretty. White sands, clear waters and hardly any people now the full moon was over.

The boys had a kick about and a swim and the girls dipped their toes in the cooling sea waves and basked in the last of the sun's rays. After the beach we all went to dinner together and it was farewell to some of my new friends who were moving on to Malaysia early the next day. It was a lovely chilled end to full moon and I felt pretty proud of myself for rockin up by myself and finding lovely people to party with.

The days that followed involved a bit of pampering, with an amazing six step facial and an oil massage, both an hour long, and some beach lounging and time to read my book, the final instalment of the Hunger Games.

One evening I also went up to mushroom mountain which has a spectacular viewing point of Sunrise Beach and a club and bar. At the far end there's also another separate bar which sells 'special shakes' and 'wacky backy', it's all pretty chilled up there after full moon and it was a good place to hangout and chat.

I also had to do lots of organising and researching for my next stops, Koh Phi Phi and Railay. Through the hostel it was really easy to book onward travel, although everyone had the same plan, so the boats and buses became full very quickly. I booked to go to Phi Phi through the hostel for the morning of the 25th, which came to about 1700 baht. The trip would take about 10 hours in total and involved taking a taxi, ferry, bus and then finally another ferry, starting at 6am!!

I then needed to book my accommodation which took a bit of work as everywhere kept getting booked up so fast. In the end I found a place to stay for Phi Phi and Railay via hostel bookers and bookers. If you're travelling independently and not through a tour/holiday package I highly recommend using these sites, as you can read recent reviews from other travellers to get an up to date picture of the accommodation standard. Remember though, other people's standards might not be the same as you so don't just go by the score or one bad review, have a good dig around and see what the common points are that come ups and decide for yourself If this is a deal breaker.

I did enjoy the quieter atmosphere on Haad Rin for the first 2 days; there were still a few people I'd made friends around with doing the same as me, but for the last 2 days I was alone in my 12 bed dorm and feeling the need to move on!

One night after coming back from dinner I got chased by a mangy looking dog, I was so scared because I haven't had my rabies jab, which I'm sure the dog could sense, and probably caused him to go for me more. Next time I think I will just pay the £100 for the jab to avoid the stress and dog-dodging.

I probably wouldn't go to Haad Rin for a holiday as there's very little culturally to see, but I would definitely come back for full moon and the pre-parties. I would also book my onward travel arrangements and accommodation beforehand so I don't have to wait too long to get off the island.