Hat Rin ( th, หาดริ้น, ) is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

area and town on the southern tip of

Ko Pha-ngan Ko Pha-ngan ( th, เกาะพะงัน, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan is best known for its Full Moon Party at Hat Rin, Hat Rin Beach. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister isla ...

, an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

. Its two main beaches are Sunset Beach (Hat Rin Nai) to the south and the larger Sunrise Beach (Hat Rin Nok) to the north. A

Full Moon Party The Full Moon Party (Thai: ฟูลมูนปาร์ตี้) is an all-night beach party that originated in Hat Rin on the island of Ko Pha-ngan, Thailand in 1985. The party takes place on the night of, before, or after every full moon. ...

takes place on Sunrise Beach each month. The town and beach first became popular for

backpacker tourism Backpacking is a form of low-cost, independent travel, which often includes staying in inexpensive lodgings and carrying all necessary possessions in a backpack. Once seen as a marginal form of travel undertaken only through necessity, it has b ...

since the 1980s.Thailand's Full Moon Party could be over for good
/ref> 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 on Chicken Corner, a crossroads and popular meeting spot.

Entertainment

Most of the nightlife in the town is centred on beachfront 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).

Fire shows

Apart from the music and bars on the beaches of Hat Rin, a regular feature of the Hat Rin are the nightly fire shows put on by individuals at the Cactus and Drop-In Bars. Various individuals specialize in the arts of Poi and Staff, performing tricks to entertain the crowds. The firesticks are ropes twisted around sticks and soaked in diesel which, when burned, emits choking clouds of toxic stench. Many tourists are inspired by the shows and opt to take up daytime lessons before joining the evening fire shows.

Pollution

Hat Rin is polluted with litter, but given the constant parties, it is relatively clean. There are sewage works and the sewerage is not pumped into the sea. However, owing to the vast number of tourists frequently visiting the island to enjoy the Full Moon Party, the amount of trash is unbearable. The following day can be described as total carnage. Intoxicated travellers are sleeping off their hangover, whilst the beach is covered in plastic cups, bottles, and other plastic materials.

Popular culture

Hat Rin Beach has featured in many media such as the Danny Boyle film adaption of ''The Beach'', ''The Backpacker'' by John Harris, and songs by The Klaxons and by S-Kay.

References

External links

* {{coord, 9, 40, 28, N, 100, 3, 58, E, type:city(10000)_region:TH_source:nlwiki, display=title Beaches of Thailand Geography of Surat Thani province Tourist attractions in Surat Thani province