Haad Rin

Haad Rin is a peninsular beach area and town on the southern tip of Ko Pha Ngan, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Its two main beaches are Sunset Beach (Haad Rin Nai) to the south and the larger Sunrise Beach (Haad Rin Nok) to the north. The famous Full Moon Party takes place on Sunrise Beach each month.

The town and beach first became popular with backpackers escaping the tourist influx to Ko Samui in the 1980s. As the popularity of the beach and Full Moon Party have increased, the town has grown to accommodate the new visitors. The town is centred around "Chicken Corner", a crossroads and popular meeting spot.

Entertainment

Most of the nightlife in the town is centred on beach-front spots. The original beach bars, "Drop-In Bar" and "Cactus Bar" attract the largest crowds, with nightly drinks promotions and fire shows. Here, popular chart tunes, R&B and club classics entertain the crowds. Other beach bars include "Vinyl Club", "Zoom" (both playing psytrance, the original Full Moon Party style of music), "Orchid" (playing Drum and Bass and Jungle) and "Boom Boom Bar" (playing deeper house and trance music).

The "Outback Bar" is one of the drinking holes where many visitors' nights begin, situated further back from the beach in the centre of the town, where a large variety of European, American, Australian, and Thai foods are served in a relaxed environment.

In recent years, the "Floating Bar" has been introduced, forming an alternative location for partiers to while away a few hours with freshly caught crab and oyster on the sundecks of the raft-based bar-restaurant before rejoining the beach via a traditional Thai long-tail boat. The Bar (thanks to its mobile nature) is located according to seasonal tides, alternating between Haad Rin Nok and Haad Rin Nai. In fact it is currently grounded on the harbour and disintegrating.

While there are a few massage parlours, this part of Thailand is largely devoid of the prostitution prevalent in other areas such as Phuket and Pattaya.

Fire shows

Apart from the music and bars on the beaches of Haad Rin, a famous feature of the Haad Rin is the spectacular nightly fire shows put on by individuals at the "Cactus" and "Drop-In" bars. Various drunks specialise in the arts of Poi and Staff, performing mind-boggling and beautiful tricks to entertain the crowds. The firesticks are ropes twisted around sticks and soaked in diesel which when burned emist choking clouds of toxic stench so don't stand downwind. Many tourists are inspired by the shows and opt to take up daytime lessons [http://www.thefiremaster.com] before joining the evening fire shows personally. There is a fully equipped hospital on Samui for such eventualities.

Pollution

The Thais have no word for pollution. Despite this linguistic lapse the place is fairly riddled with it. There is no sewage works and the entire town drains it's toilets straight onto the beach. Swimming is a dangerous feat not only from the toxic water but the millions of broken bottles and glasses embedded in the beach.

Accommodation

Accommodation in Haad Rin is undergoing a gradual change in its nature from the style found in the 1980s and 90s. Whereas originally backpacker accommodation was available in the form of basic beach shacks with balconies and hammocks for a very low price, a rise in the number of air-conditioned rooms and apartment blocks is bringing a slightly different feel to the resort.

Accommodation varies from 100 Baht/night rooms to resort apartments exceeding 2000 Baht/night. Approaching the time of full moon, when the infamous parties take place on Haad Rin Nok, accommodation becomes much harder to obtain and prices rise accordingly. The huge influx of tourists seeking these monthly events often arrives on the island a few days in advance to ensure securing a place to stay.

Books

*"Beyond the Beach - An Ethnography of Modern Travellers in Asia" [http://www.geocities.com/klaus_westerhausen] by Klaus Westerhausen contains an extensive history of the development of Haad Rin's Beach Culture. Published by White Lotus [http://www.thailine.com/lotus/index.html] , Bangkok