Australia's Channel 9 goes undercover at the Full Moon Party to produce a damning report

[keskeseksa]

So one Australian dies every four days in Thailand. How many in Koh Phangan? How many from drug overdoses.

I do not condone drugs but I do not like when Channel 9 comes to blame Thailand.

What's the percent of casualties, have they heard of Springbreak in the US?

Those young Aussie tourists are adults and nobody forced them to come to the party.

Is it Thailand's fault if Aussies don't wear helmets in Thailand.

The full moon party has been going on for about 25 years and Channel 9 just found out about it?

Where there is demand, there will be supply.

The truth is that Thailand bashing is now popular since the former puppet government led by arch-fiend and friend of the West Thaksin Shinawatra has been replaced by an authoritarian non corrupt soldier. This does not go well with Western countries who love nothing more than a corrupt pseudo democratically elected person so they can force their dirty products, steal its natural ressources and exploit their cheap labour.

[xen]

Stories like this are intended to back up the recent government decision to cut back or deny assistance to Aussies at the embassies and consulates around the globe. Basically the bottom line is if they behave like that and get into strife then they bloody well deserve it and so a few bogans take away assistance for all of us other Aussies who attempt to live with a some form of personal responsibility when overseas. Just more pro government propaganda from the " unbiased " side of Australian Media .

[diehard60]

all the drug pushers are probably backed byt the cops, the army, or the rusiian moffia. Or all the above.

[luckyman]

Wow quite the article. Nothing new in there though.

Curious to see how the general will react to the outfall, the very end of those full moon parties would be a very good thing but I doubt that will ever happen...

Suthep's own back yard so....

[HooHaa]

Australias own music festivals are so very orderly in comaprison

[masuk]

Are you kidding me. Australia has 5 of the world's 10 deadliest spiders, go swimming in the seas and you might get permanently paralysed by the Irkunji jelly fish, bar-room brawls are far more likely, and you can die of thirst if you broke down in the outback. No, I wouldn't recommend setting foot in Australia. Nope, never!

You never never know, if you never, ever go!

Strange, how many Brits migrate to Australia, and those others over the Pacific.

[oldsailor35]

If it is so damned good why is it that most ex-pats living here avoid the parties like the plague.

[wow64]

No different to what happens at Schoolies they just wanted to re-run a story and this guy wanted a free holiday.

Seriously this is the best free advertising the tourism industry got... full moon parties will be sold out for the next 12 months.

The idiot even started talking about no helmets.. how does the full moon party have anything to do with tourists not wearing helmets and dying.. talk about feeding a bit of fear to sell a story.

[DrTuner]

If it is so damned good why is it that most ex-pats living here avoid the parties like the plague.

They've probably had their share already. These are quite the once in the life type of events.

[oldsailor35]

The general has seen the stupidity of these parties and banned all except the Full Moon party at Had Rin. I am inclined to think that this one exists because of the money made by influential Thais, especially the drug supplying police.

[Mudcrab]

Well, if compare with sharks, box jellyfish and killer whale in Australia , I think full moon party are much safer.

have some respect.....that's my ex wife you are referring too!

[Mudcrab]

Frankly , I don't care if they all drop dead a a Full Moon Party . The human race is pretty disgusting and their loss of life will be good for population control .

And you volunteer to be the first to show the rest how it's done?

I'll get the camcorder charged. Which floor? Just so I can get the best angle.

[Bernard Flint]

So Spain is safe then??? what a load of crap.Even eastern European countries have drug and drink fuelled parties every night.

[Mudcrab]

Are you kidding me. Australia has 5 of the world's 10 deadliest spiders, go swimming in the seas and you might get permanently paralysed by the Irkunji jelly fish, bar-room brawls are far more likely, and you can die of thirst if you broke down in the outback. No, I wouldn't recommend setting foot in Australia. Nope, never!

You could have mentioned Australia's most venomous deadly spider, the yellow back lying spider (Tonius Abbotus). Wreaking havoc, fear and despair across the wide sundrenched land, people are at a loss to how to deal with it. Somehow its toxic bite has no effect on people like Gina Reinhardt and Rupert Murdoch, and nobody understands why.

True..but it should be added that the effect is only found with people of extremely low intellect.

In fact studies have found that people tested to be above moron IQ level and thus able to actually think for themselves can compare the bite of T. Abbotus to that of the Billous Shortarsen and find it is much more palatable, albeit with some minor irritating pain that eventually passes and makes the whole organism stronger and thus able to fend off repeated bites by the Leftusgreenusmoronus family in in the longer term.

There are reports that many people will not take the risk of being bitten by the B. Shortarsen again, with extreme prejudice to the Female of that particular specie that is most likely to survive the noted pack self destruction experienced in recent times....the T. Plibersickus.

[The manic]

I wish I was young again to have so much fun. As for a priest commentator perhaps he should be doing documentary on child abuse. As for one Australian killed every four days. Strewth!

[retarius]

Wouldn't it be nice to be free from all these busybodies sticking their noses into people having fun. Yes it's dangerous....fun is dangerous....riding a bike is dangerous...crossing the road is dangerous....you can't live a life without danger if you want your life to have any meaning.

If you want safe....go home lock the door and never come out again...see how much fun that is.

[Mudcrab]

" He says that on average one Australian dies in the country every four days with scores more injured every day."

is that accurate truth ? is it ? Thats pretty high tho...

An old friend of mine was a funeral director...or mortician depending on where you come form.

He told me the average death rate from all causes is about 3%.

Throw in some numbers - a city of 100,000 people can expect 3000 people to die each year.

That's roughly 10 a day from all causes on average.

Do the numbers with respect to tourists, long term ex-pats etc etc. and one every four days is not unreasonable.

[HooHaa]

this story gets done twice a year.

as for "going undercover", why? its not like anyone would be barring entry.

[Mudcrab]

Not saying more care shouldn't be taken here but contrariwise Australia in my view has some of the trashiest journalists I've ever come across... and I have lived or long-stayed in quite a number of countries and observed the differences over the past 40 years... I've had three of my own personal good friends have their businesses irreparably damaged by the marauding Australian Press parading as the flag bearers of community best interest.

The 'Tall-Poppy Syndrome' is very much alive and thriving still in Australia, a country still affected by the values of petty criminals who spent their days in confined quarters all wearing the same clothes, eating the same food, and having pretty much the same regimen on a daily basis.

Now their grandchildren and great grandchildren in many instances still have the mentality of, if you have something I don't have, you're obviously "sucking up to the boss or you're breaking the rules somehow" and this subtle but perverse mentality still pervades the consciousness of progeny only a few generations on, and accordingly, too many of them critically tear down anything that looks like a success if they don't have it themselves!

Thankfully, inspite of their dark recent history, there are many fabulously wonderful Aussies as well.

Perhaps you should choose your friends more carefully.

An old saying.....no smoke without fire.

[Mudcrab]

Wouldn't it be nice to be free from all these busybodies sticking their noses into people having fun. Yes it's dangerous....fun is dangerous....riding a bike is dangerous...crossing the road is dangerous....you can't live a life without danger if you want your life to have any meaning.

If you want safe....go home lock the door and never come out again...see how much fun that is.

Correct.

In a nutshell the "journalists" found a whole lot of people, thousands apparently, getting drunk, possibly stoned, and apart from a couple of people who had got burnt doing silly things, not much else happened. No doubt a few hangovers the next day....big deal!

[Benmart]

Ho- hum, it is a rite of passage for some, drinks, drugs and gathering at the beach has been going on for a couple thousand years, the human species still survives.... if only the music were better...

Hom-hum seems to be the mating song of the Cosed Minded Beetle, a species that inhabits the Know All Islands, which is part of the I've Seen It and Done It Archipelago.

I will crawl back into my wisdom shell.

[Mudcrab]

Ummmm.....stupid IS what stupid DOES?

thanks Forrest G.....noted for future reference.

[priestly]

what is called ” a potentially lethal orgy” by Father Michael Kelly an Australian who works in Bangkok for a catholic newspaper but helps out Aussies in trouble in his spare time.

Ah, god bless Father Kelly, and what a shame it is he must travel monthly from saintly Bangkok to hedonistic Koh Phangan....Are there no limits to which the Irish will go in their quest to save the lost souls of the world?

[risky11]

This reminds me of Maury Povich: When media mogul Rupert Murdoch acquired the Metromedia TV station group in 1986, one of his first moves was to bring Povich to New York to host A Current Affair. The show began in late July 1986, and while it was considered a tabloid infotainment show that often focused on celebrity gossip, it also made time for compelling human interest stories. Critics praised the show for trying to be both informative and entertaining, much like "a good afternoon newspaper."^[8] Povich hosted Affair until 1990.^[6]

Maury is married to Connie Chung, also a news anchor. This interview is wonderful. But notice how (at the end) her favorite story is the one where Maury looks bad. So very typical...

[davemos]

Australia is the nanny country .Everything is regulated by the Government when kids go to offshore its like a taste of freedom

[monkey4u]

Are you kidding me. Australia has 5 of the world's 10 deadliest spiders, go swimming in the seas and you might get permanently paralysed by the Irkunji jelly fish, bar-room brawls are far more likely, and you can die of thirst if you broke down in the outback. No, I wouldn't recommend setting foot in Australia. Nope, never!

You forgot to mention the sharks, snakes and crocodiles

And the Middle East teenagers in Lakemba and Bankstown

[anon022]

Hazing is probably more dangerous. Report on that, and compare using statistics. And compared to tubing in Vangvien the full moon dangers are but "kinderspiel".

[Chongalulu]

Well, if compare with sharks, box jellyfish and killer whale in Australia , I think full moon party are much safer.

While these creatures might seem terrifying,statistically they're not responsible for that many deaths. In fact there has not been a single reported killing of a human by a killer whale ( orca) in the wild. NB I said in the wild ( not sea world)! The creature responsible for most human fatalities is of course the mosquito. I believe snakes are next?

[abitmiffed]

Kids like to enjoy themselves, but need some kind of protection from themselves also. Having that many people in an uncontrolled environment with access to drink ans drugs is an accident waiting to happen. We had similar "Parties" in the UK in 88 and 89 which the Government shut down, funnily enough not many people were drinking though'

Its a massive money maker I'd imagine and no one is going to do much about it , until there's a serious enough incident

How many people have died at those parties? How serious does it have to be? I thought a needless death would be enough dont you?

[ICECOOL]

The only story here is the corruption that allows drugs and illegal alcohol to be sold to foreigners. The cops in BKK are probably hoping the tourists from the full moon parties come visit so they can bust them for extra kudos. This story gets run on a regular basis and nothing will change. Tourists will come and die. By saying its worse than Bali is like saying its a better party.