Jungle Experience

The Jungle Experience is one of the several parties in Koh Phangan that sprang up shortly after the Full Moon Party gained international recognition. The party is held in the jungle as opposed to the beach. For people who are really keen on hard techno and psy-trance the Jungle Experience is in some ways better than the FMP.

Ban Tai is the village on the road between Thongsala and Haad Rin. There’s a turning just before the 7-11 for a road that goes to Thong Nai Pan and Than Sadet. About 1 km up this road is the home of the Jungle Experience in Koh Phangan.

The party always happens 2 days before every Full Moon and Black Moon Party. The FMP itself doesn’t always fall exactly on the night of the full moon when there is a clash with a Buddha Day holiday.

Jungle Experience is great value at only 300 Thai Baht for entry with 1 free drink. If you go before 11pm entry is free. Time and effort has been put into the area of the party. There is a river that runs through the site. There are water features, fluorescent displays, a ‘magical flower garden’ and organic light installations.

As well as selling alcohol all night long (although they should stop at 2am) there is also an all night Thai restaurant for those who need to stock up on carbohydrates.

Unlike the Full Moon Party there is one DJ playing at a time. One sound system brings people together. The 12 plus sound systems at the FMP tend to fragment the crowd.

The music at Jungle Experience is very much the ‘Phangan Sound’ – namely hard and progressive beats and psy-trance. It’s what Thai DJs on Koh Phangan do best. The DJ team includes popular Thai and foreign DJs resident on the island.

Naturally the party is made better with fire dancing, VDJ displays and of course the gradual heightening of the tempo as time goes on. The party ends at 8am.

Jungle Experience is not the biggest or most original party in Koh Phangan but for those who love the Half Moon and Black Moon parties it is worth going to. The one sour note is that many of the villagers living in Ban Tai have complained about the noise keeping them up all night. Nobody has paid much attention to them it seems.

Haad Chao Phao Review

Haad Chao Phao - less visited beach

Haad Chao Phao is one of the less visited beaches on the tropical island of Koh Phangan. Most of the visitors to the island in the Gulf of Thailand seem to end up either staying at Haad Rin, Ban Tai, Thong Nai Pan or Haad Yuan. This is great for those people who get the gorgeous white sands of Haad Chao Phao to themselves, but is perhaps bad for the locals who have businesses in the area.

Koh Phangan has now become synonymous with the Full Moon Party in the minds of lots of gap year students and backpackers. As a consequence the south and the east of Koh Phangan sees a lot more visitors than the west coast. This is somewhat ironic because the roads in the west of Koh Phangan are in much better condition. Moreover, there is a long series of live corals along the west coast which offers great snorkeling and diving opportunities.

About Haad Chao Phao

Haad Chao Phao is about 10 minutes by taxi from the main port town of Thongsala. It is a softly curving bay with spectacular sunsets. The beach has fine white sand. The sea drops off steeply before the coral reef so there is good swimming no matter what the tidal conditions. The coral reef is 100 meters from the shore and once crossed there is a great profusion of marine life to enjoy.

Accommodation, Bars and Restaurants in Haad Chao Phao

There is plenty of accommodation on Haad Chao Beach. The options range from basic bungalows on the beach to luxury apartments with sea views at Sunset Hill Resort. The apartments can hold up to 8 people and so can be great value for money.

Nearby is the Village Green Restaurant and Pub that does great Thai food and English grub. In its own little cove is the Pirate Bar. It’s a great spot to have a few drinks and go wild to the music. Alternatively, there’s the Seaflower Beach Bar on the center of Haad Chao Phao beach. When a few customers turn up the bar man can often be persuaded to do some fire dancing.

Haad Chao Phao is a gem of a beach. There’s everything you could want except for the crowds. If you want them you will have to go to Haad Rin.