Haad Rin
Encyclopedia
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
r beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
area and town on the southern tip of Ko Pha Ngan
Ko Pha Ngan
Ko Pha Ngan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in South East Thailand. It is famous for its full moon party at Haad Rin Beach and as a backpackers destination. Ko Pha Ngan has two sister islands: the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north.* Area: about 168 km²*...
, an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Gulf of Thailand
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
. 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
Full Moon Party
The Full Moon Party is an all-night beach party that originated in Haad Rin on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand on the night before or after every full moon....
takes place on Sunrise Beach each month.
The town and beach first became popular with backpackers escaping the tourist influx to Ko Samui
Ko Samui
Ko Samui island of Surat Thani Province , or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's second largest island, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of over...
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&BRhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
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
Australian cuisine
Australian cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding indigenous and colonial societies. Indigenous Australians have occupied the lands of Australia for some 40,000-60,000 years, during which time they developed a unique hunter gatherer diet, known as "bush...
, and Thai foods
Cuisine of Thailand
Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Blending elements of several Southeast Asian traditions, Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known. As with other Asian cuisines, balance, detail and variety...
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
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
and oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
on the sundecks of the raft-based bar-restaurant before rejoining the beach via a traditional Thai long-tail boat
Long-tail boat
The long-tail boat, known as Ruea Hang Yao in the Thai language, is a type of watercraft native to Southeast Asia, which uses a common automotive engine as a readily available and maintainable powerplant. A craft designed to carry passengers on a river may include a lightweight long canoe hull, up...
. 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
Prostitution in Thailand
Prostitution in Thailand is illegal, although in practice it is tolerated and partly regulated. Prostitution is practised openly throughout the country. Local officials with commercial interests in prostitution often protect the practice. The precise number of prostitutes is difficult to assess;...
prevalent in other areas such as Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
and Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
.
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 PoiPoi (juggling)
Poi refers to both a style of performance art and the equipment used for engaging in poi performance. As a performance art, poi involves swinging tethered weights through a variety of rhythmical and geometric patterns. Poi artists may also sing or dance while swinging their 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
Pollution in Thai is มลพิษ Molaphit. Haad Rin is fairly polluted with litter and such. There are sewerage works and the sewerage is not pumped into the sea. The beach is kept relatively clean considering the constant parties.Accommodation
Accommodation in Haad Rin is undergoing a gradual change in its nature from the style found in the 1980s and 90s. Whereas originally backpackerBackpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
accommodation was available in the form of basic beach shack
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
s with balconies
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
and hammock
Hammock
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts....
s for a very low price, a rise in the number of air-conditioned
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
rooms and apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
blocks is bringing a slightly different feel to the resort.
Accommodation varies from 100 Baht
Thai baht
The baht is the currency of Thailand. It is subdivided into 100 satang . The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand.-History:The baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass...
Full Moon Party
The Full Moon Party is an all-night beach party that originated in Haad Rin on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand on the night before or after every full moon....
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.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/klaus_westerhausen&date=2009-10-26+01:25:49 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