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 Haad
Rin is a peninsular beach area and town on the southern
tip of Koh Phangan, 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 Koh
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.
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 Entertainment
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 The
later stages of Haad Rin's Full
Moon Party, soon after sunrise, with partiers still going.
The later stages of Haad Rin's Full Moon Party, soon after
sunrise, with partiers still going.
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 visiters'
nights begin, situated further back from the beach in the centre
of the town, where a large variety of European, American, Australian,
and Thai food 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.
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.
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Fire
shows
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Apart from the music and bars on the beaches of Haad
Rin, a famous feature of the Haad
Rin are the spectacular nightly fire shows put on by individuals
at the Cactus and Drop-In bars. Various firemasters specialise
in the arts of Poi and Staff, performing mind-boggling and beautiful
tricks to entertain the crowds. Many tourists are inspired by
the shows and opt to take up daytime lessons [1] before joining
the evening fire shows personally.
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Accommodation
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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 2000Baht/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 arrive on the island a few
days in advance to ensure securing a place to stay.
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