Full Moon Party

Large scale events that you have anticipated for some time tend to, in my experience, anti climax. It's like on New Years Eve when your expected to have a good time, it's usually shit. There is nothing worse than forced frivolity however at the Full Moon Party on Kopenghan Island, there was no need to force anything.

The night can only be described as a resounding success. I had heard that the preceding evenings to the big show were in fact better than the Full Moon, but as a spectacle The Full Moon Party blew them out of the water. The beach was lined to the sea edge with pulsating bodies, dancing away under a blanket of far away galaxy's. The night was alive in the truest sense with the air thick and the sea palpitating. Through preference I hung out down the very left end of the beach were the music was more eclectic. I found myself a little Reggae Bar rendering nineties Hip-Hop classics which was favorable, and a Drum and Bass club which at one point was really pounding. Also down this end of the beach you will find Mellow Mountain, home of The Kangaroo Bar were you can purchase a Magic Mushroom Shake for the equivalent of six pound. I vaguely remember turning into an Australian person for a few hours after going there a few nights previous. Well worth a visit.

The Hostel I stayed at on the resort was outstanding. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity get yourself down to the Lazy House. The price per night was more than competitive and included a meal per day and a bucket of booze each evening. Okay, so you may have to share a dorm with twenty six other people but I genuinely wouldn't have done it any other way, regardless of budget. The dorms collective met in the same bar every night (because of the free bucket) providing a perfect platform for meeting people. By the end of the week we were like a small family, such a pleasant experience. And what can I say about the hostel manager, Serena? Absolute star, without doubt the most hospitable guest house worker I have come across, friendly, accommodating and helpful. I'm sure if you mention your a friend of Scouse Jon she'll see you right.

I'll be honest though, I had reservations about the whole thing. I came here curious and intrigued but without particular excitement. I envisaged lots of silly face paint, bad dancing and really rubbish music...and in fairness there was lots of silly face paint, bad dancing and really rubbish music, but that's besides the point. People are happy on Kopenghan, brimming with a contagious enthusiasm that they may be involved in something special, something exciting. People are here to have a good time. You may not have a huge amount in common with the person you find yourself chatting to at the bar but the gaiety of the whole occasion makes that irrelevant. Everybody is in the same boat and friendly in a way that they wouldn't dream of being back home...wherever that may be.

The whole thing just works. The idea of a 'lads holiday' kind of repulses me these days. Crude/offensive/borderline racist jokes and manly posturing isn't for me at all. Now a visit to Kopenghan around Full Moon time may share some qualities of a lads holiday, but it is so much more. The exotic setting and the diversity of the people make the affair that much more credible. In Tenerife or Marmaras your just not going to find yourself playing football with Israelites on the beach or sleeping in a bed next to a Canadian. Okay, so I'm not going to miss the annoying mix-tape that got repeated on the beach every night fifteen times but sometimes you've got to let these things slide in light of the bigger picture. I can be as critical as anyone about anything but with such jouissance in the offing I find it's sometimes better to leave the ego at the door. Full Moon was a riveting, wholly enjoyable experience. Go there and be happy.