Thailand’s Koh Phangan full moon party cancelled

[webfact]

Thailand’s Koh Phangan full moon party cancelled

By The Thaiger

 

PHOTO: 10,000+ partygoers will have to make other plans for March 8 - Flickr

 

…until further notice.

 

The next Full Moon Party, scheduled for March 8, has been cancelled. The memo from the Mayor of Koh Phangan says that the hugely popular monthly party has been cancelled due to fears associated with the Covid-19 virus. The memo also says that there will no further monthly parties until fears over the outbreak pass.

 

The cancellation of next week’s party will add another challenge to Thailand’s tourism which has been hi hard in the past month as fears over travel and the coronavirus start biting. Tourism provides an estimated 18% of the Thailand’s GDP.

 

The first Full Moon Party was originally a once-off thank you party at Paradise Bungalows on the beach in 1983 for about 20–30 travellers. There remains a certain level of dispute about the party’s origins but this one has ‘stuck’ and become at least a reliable urban folklore about the party origins.

 

The parties then gained fame through word of mouth throughout the 80s and 90s, and the event now draws a crowd of about 8,000 – 30,000 every full moon evening (roughly once a month). The parties are an all-night affair with party-goers hoping to make it through to the next morning (with assistance from dubious cocktails mostly hawked around in small buckets).

 

Haad Rin has two main beaches – Sunset Beach to the south and the larger Sunrise Beach to the north. The Full Moon Party takes place on Sunrise Beach. The bars along the Sunrise Beach stretch of Haad Rin remain open and are rigged up with massive sound systems blaring out dance music unter the wee, small hours. The modern event has become a right-of-passage for the world’s young backpackers visiting Southeast Asia.

 

Plenty of copy-cat full moon parties have started around the world since the huge popularity of the Koh Phangan event.

 

 

Source: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/coronavirus/thailands-koh-phangan-full-moon-party-cancelled

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2020-03-05

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[Assurancetourix]

Bad initiative .. the plainclothes police who sell laughing grass will be unhappy; 

[NCC1701A]

i am sure this is traveling all over the world like lightning with the backpackers and Songkran crowd who come every year. 

 

those who did not cancel so far will be cancelling today.

 

so far for me the race in Buriram, Music festival in Pattaya, car show in Bangkok and the full moon party have gone away.

waiting to hear about the Rocket Festival in Yasothon. 

 

noticed two farang tourists looking for hand clearer and Dettol in a local market. usually sunscreen.  

 

[Jimbo2014]

The picture looks like a photo from the Gay Sydney Madi Gra.  Complete sausage fest.  ????

[Oxx]

Let's hope they never reinstate it.  Bad for Thailand's image.

[nobodysfriend]

Of course , many people being in close contact to each other facilitates the spread of the virus , well known ... but what about supermarkets , immigration offices , airports and train stations , local food markets ... coming into close contact ( +- 2m ) with somebody increases the risk of being infected .

Will be difficult to avoid all this ...

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s Koh Phangan full moon party cancelled

Was waiting for that to happen... 

[Tropicalevo]

It seems to me that Thais think that only foreigners can spread this disease.

Cancel the FMP which is only one night (and most attendees are already on the island or on Koh Samui), but let the week-long (Thai) festival in Phetchaburi carry on as normal.

Also - I was 'tested' when entering Macro yesterday - along with a few other foreigners, but I did not see any Thais being tested???

Strange.

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said:

It seems to me that Thais think that only foreigners can spread this disease.

Cancel the FMP which is only one night (and most attendees are already on the island or on Koh Samui), but let the week-long (Thai) festival in Phetchaburi carry on as normal.

Also - I was 'tested' when entering Macro yesterday - along with a few other foreigners, but I did not see any Thais being tested???

Strange.

My Thai girlfriend was tested, and we didn't walk together.

 

I was also tested, however let inside even I might have been close to foreigners – even dangerous Italians – in the crowded nightlife, which will be even more crowded in the weekend and now also the full Moon night...

 

A pity cancelling the FMP, that might harm tourism a lot with up to 30,000 monthly party-guests – some media has even stated 40,000 and 50,000 – whatever correct number attending the party, just the crowd on Sunrise Beach compared to European festivals prove that the number of visitors is high...

 

Sunrise Beach seen from The Rock side on a full Moon night.

[khunPer]

3 hours ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The picture looks like a photo from the Gay Sydney Madi Gra.  Complete sausage fest.  ????

The farang macho males are taller than the short, especially Asian women – you should have seen my FMP-photos...????

[The Alien]

BBC Newshour (Podcast) said this morning “ Thailand has 42 deaths from Corona Virus and the Full Moon party has been cancelled” ????

[straylight]

The original Full Moon Parties were started in Goa in 68 -69 from there they spread to Ibiza and later to here. The lanterns came from Afghanistan. 

[HaleySabai]

YES!..GOA was THE place...I witnessed the birth of Trance/Techno back in the late 80's...it was truly paradise.

[Mitkof Island]

On 3/5/2020 at 6:08 PM, Oxx said:

Let's hope they never reinstate it.  Bad for Thailand's image.

Get rid of that bunch altogether