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Aerial view of Haad Rin, the Koh Phangan bay where the Full Moon Party is held

Photo: zhaffsky on Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Full Moon Party cancelled for national mourning (October 2016)

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The October 2016 Full Moon Party on Haad Rin beach was called off after the death of King Bhumibol.

About this event

The Full Moon Party is held on Haad Rin beach on the night of the full moon, and in October 2016 that night fell inside Thailand's period of mourning. King Bhumibol Adulyadej died that month, and the government's response shut the party down for a cycle. The Khaosod report calls it the first cancellation in recent memory, which tells you how rarely the monthly schedule has been broken.

The party started in the 1980s at Paradise Bungalows on Haad Rin Nok, and accounts disagree on the first year (1983 and 1985 are both quoted). In those days there was no electricity on the beach, and people gathered around campfires, tents and music they made themselves. The full moon was chosen because the extra light made the night safer. Later the party grew into a sound-system event on a beach of about 800 metres, with tens of thousands attending. A skipped month in 2016 therefore stood out, and the next page in this history records the return in November.

The facts

  1. The party was due to start on 17 October 2016 and was cancelled after the death of King Bhumibol.
  2. The government declared a year of national mourning and a month-long ban on public entertainment. Khaosod described the cancellation as the first in recent memory.

Why it matters

A rare cancellation of the monthly party, tied to a defining moment in modern Thai history.

More nights like this

Parties on Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan is where Thailand's party reputation comes from. The Full Moon Party fills Haad Rin's Sunrise Beach once a month, with bars playing different music along the sand, fire shows and a start around 21:00. Dates sometimes move a day when the full moon falls on a Buddhist holy day, as with 27 October 2026. Smaller Half Moon and Jungle parties run in forest clearings inland from Ban Tai, and a weekly Friday jungle party runs there too. Haad Rin is reached from Thong Sala pier by shared taxi, tuk-tuk or minibus, and an entry ticket is sold at the beach alleys on the night.

Around Haad Rin

Haad Rin is the peninsula at Phangan's southern tip, with Sunrise Beach (Haad Rin Nok) on the east and quieter Sunset Beach (Haad Rin Nai) on the west. Sunrise Beach has hosted the monthly Full Moon Party since the late 1980s, and bars line its roughly one-kilometre length, each with its own sound system. Sunset Beach sees far less foot traffic outside party nights. From Thong Sala pier, shared taxis, tuk-tuks and minibuses go to Haad Rin, and boats leave from here for Haad Yuan.

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