Chapter 9 - Full Moon Parties Thailand 1999

After saying our goodbyes to our friends in London, five of us met just outside Heathrow Airport in the smoking area on a wet and damp March morning. We were each armed with an around-the-world ticket from Singapore Airlines. The word on the street was that Singapore Airlines was one of the best airlines in the world to travel with. 

It was our good friend Tim’s 30th birthday the day before we left, so we planned to celebrate his birthday and the first day of our around-the-world trip in style. 
We started off with a few drinks in the departure lounge, and then we were ushered onto a beautiful 747 by a group of dainty little Asian women from Singapore in really cool uniforms. Definitely a step up from the haggard Aer Lingus attendants shouting “chicken or fish” in your ear. 

This was pre 9/11, when you could literally drink as much as you wanted. We all got to sit next to each other. Before we had even taken off they were bringing us over beers and baby bottles of Irish whisky. Our first stop was Singapore which was 13 hours away, where we had to change planes for Thailand. I woke up on the runway in Singapore and looked around. No one else was on the plane except the super cool stewardesses. We were the last passengers left on the plane. All the lads were still asleep. It was like the aftermath of a wild house party. There were bodies sprawled out in their seats. It looked like someone's living room.

We had three hours to hang around Singapore airport. It was a pretty amazing airport for a lay over, free movie theaters, showers and some amazing restaurants and bars.

Then, we got another flight to Bangkok. We had no idea where we were going, but had heard from some other travelers that Ko San Road was the place to go to find out everything you needed to know.


Hungover and tired we walked out the front doors of Bangkok airport and the heat hit us with a bang, it was about 8am. Holy shit, it was hot and humid, and we were dehydrated and hungover. There was about 100 taxi drivers just outside the doors fighting for our business.
After some tough haggling by our good friend Doug, five hungover sweaty guys and all our baggage crammed into a dodgy old Nissan. It looked like something out of a comedy sketch. 

The driver drove us through Bangkok during rush hour traffic to a half decent hotel close to Ko San Road. After he dropped us off, he asked us if he could be our guide for the duration of our stay in Bangkok. “Sure,” we said.

It was about 9am local time and we were Fu@k*d. We needed some rest after our drinking binge on the plane. We told him to meet us back at the hotel at 3pm. Mind you we didn't actually wake up till 6pm. Low and behold he was sitting there waiting for us.
Refreshed and ready to hit the streets, we left the hotel in his old Nissan. He brought us to a pretty cool Thai restaurant where the staff proceeded to fill us up with Sang Thip, a mass produced hardcore Thai whisky that is rumored to to contain hallucinogenic chemicals. Just perfect for our first night in Thailand.

We drank it like it was going out of fashion. After about three large bottles between the five of us, we ended up in Patpong Road partying in some crazy club with a load of other twisted foreigners and locals of all different genders.

After a few days of partying in Bangkok, two of us decided to make our way to the Island of Ko Samui on route to Ko Phangan for it’s famous full moon parties. The others would follow us there. We made our way to Ko San Road which was full of young backpackers from all over the world. We bought a bus ticket to Ko Samui and now had about 7 hours to wait. Instead of doing the sightseeing thing, we went straight to an Irish bar in the middle of Ko San Road. 

After a few days in Ko Samui we decided to make our way to Ko Phangan. We wanted to get there a few days before the full moon party, to get properly situated.
We got a little cabin in a place at the end of Haad Rin Beach right next to where a lot of the parties were taking place. Instead of staying for two weeks, we ended up staying for three months. I fell in love with the place. I think we went to every party possible, full moon parties, half moon parties, black moon parties, jungle parties. We did it all. In the bungalow across from where we were staying, there was a guy from Malta who seemed to be supplying the whole island with acid. We nicknamed him the Maltese Falcon. All day everyday there were tourists wandering around our bungalow grounds looking a bit bewildered after visiting the Maltese Falcon. Also, there was a cafe on the side of the mountain at the other end of the beach that served magic mushroom milkshakes and omelettes, it was a crazy place back then.

Tim & Doug spent most of the time on Ko Samui drinking beers and playing connect four and janga with some of the local women. We took a few trips back and forth from Ko Phangan to Ko Samui every few weeks to party with the lads and they did the same with us. One night while out partying in Ko Samui in a place called the “Green Mango,” we ended up in a fight with a group of lady boys. My good buddy Liam decided to tell some drunk English guy that the girl he was with wasn't actually a girl. Which happened to a lot of young backpackers. Liam proved it to him by grabbing the lady boys nuts. Bad move. Suddenly lady boys came out of the woodwork and went straight for Liam. The two of us ended up getting a few slaps. Mind you, Liam got more than a few slaps. They cracked him over the head and back with a pool cue quite a few times. The next day I made a decision to apologize to the lady boy that Liam grabbed. That wasn't a fun encounter. We had to go to a lady boy bar called “Christies” that held a cabaret every night with about 12 lady boys. Find the lady boy and then apologize, it had to be done. I didn't want to walk around the Island paranoid about been attacked by a group of wild lady boys. He actually wanted to go back and fight with them and I talked him around that it wouldn't be a good idea. “We’re in Thailand Liam.” I said.

After approx three months in Thailand, we decided to move on to Vietnam. The Vietnamese embassy screwed up our visa’s and instead of having a month stay in Vietnam we ended up with only a week. This was 1999 and Vietnam hadn't seen many tourists. The place was crazy and the monsoon had started. We didn't see many other foreigners at all. We ended up spending the week in Saigon partying it up. We had the cyclo drivers/cyclists race each other with each of us in our own cyclo’s through the crowded streets when we were drunk. They didn't know what to make of us. They took us to some real seedy underground bars. Ho Chi Min (Saigon) in 1999 was a crazy place. 

At this stage our friend Dave left us after Thailand and went straight to Australia. Tim, Doug, Liam and I made our way back to Singapore, stayed there for a few days and then got a bus to Malaysia.

It was fun, but nothing like Thailand or Vietnam. 

Chapter 8 - Living In London 1997/98 And The Rave Scene

After a quick six week stint in Ireland, I decided to move to London. I moved into a three story Victorian house in Earls Court (Aussie & Kiwi Backpacker Central) that housed approx 24 Aussies & Kiwi’s. These guys were all on a two year working Visa and were out to save some money, have some fun and travel the world.

I had only ever been to London twice before this and that was when I was just passing through on route to Greece. Holy shit London was big and very impersonal, a crazy melting pot of people from all over the world. I was a bit intimidated to say the least. I ended up sharing a room with four other guys and girls from Australia. Rent worked out at 20 pound a week each. Mind you, the house only warranted 20 pound a week. There were holes in the stairs, walls and bathrooms, and the kitchen reminded me of something out of an old Stephen King movie. To top it all off, the house was overrun with bed bugs! We used to joke and say that "the rats wore overalls" in the house.

It was low overhead, and now I had a base, and address and could get a job. Also, I knew it was only temporary, “Thank God.”

I got some crappy office clerk job through a labor hire agency for a few days a week. I gotta admit it was a bit depressing at first. I only knew a few people in London, who were all doing their own thing. I didn't even want to contact anyone till I at least had some money in my pocket and felt comfortable having a night out.

After a few months of crappy work, I got another job with an Irish Woman selling computer training courses over the phone. I was now an "Account Manager." After about two weeks of training, I was a pro. I still didn't know crap all about computers, but I talked like I did. I loved it, most of the time I was speaking to HR girls who were booking training courses for their employees. They loved my accent and wanted to talk all day and our courses were actually pretty good (so I was told) so it was an easy sell. I was on salary plus commission, which was great. We always blew through our targets. I also got a job in a local bar in Hammersmith, bar backing and bar tending and did the same trick as I did in Greece. Instead of picking up all the empties, I’d pick up a few full beers as well and drink them in the bathroom at high speed. I'd even pick up some drinks and give them to the girls I worked with. They loved it, and thought I was crazy. The bar manager was a major Coke head from the Isle of White and was always up for a few beers and a laugh after work. He used to come out of the bathroom with bits of coke hanging out of his nose and talk some crap. He was always trying it on the girls we worked with. I used to get a good laugh listening to his nonsense while having a few beers at the end of the night.

Finally, I was making some decent money at my new job and felt good. I must admit, I had thought about leaving London quite a few times in the beginning, especially when I was broke and felt a bit out of place. 

I moved into a two bed semi luxury apartment in Hammersmith with Scott, a good friend of mine that I had met in Greece, and both of our girlfriends at the time. My buddy and I were partying quite a bit which didn't go down too well with our girlfriends. Also, my friend had been charged with allegedly transporting ecstasy pills from Holland to England and was looking at a years in prison if convicted. So to say the least, there was some tension around the apartment.

We both ended up splitting up with our girlfriends at the same time (which worked out perfect) and moved into a three bedroom house in east London. Within a week, I knew it was the best decision ever and I had a new family. My good friend Liam from Dublin (not “The Liamo” who had been to Greece with me in 1995, but a different Liam ) moved in also. Liam had moved to London not long after I got there and moved in with his brother in North London. He was looking for a house closer to the city, so the timing was perfect. Liam was up for anything, the crazier the better. Also, a New Zealand couple (friends of friends) moved in, Tony & Ben (Ben was short for Rebecca). They ended up hanging out with us all the time. They were an amazing fun couple. It was a real fun family, the five of us. 

The party was in full swing. I gave up my bar job and now my weekends were free. I lived for Fridays. Every Friday was dress down day in the office I worked in. So I would come to work in my jeans and trainers ready to party. I used to bring a small backpack with a change of clothes and a tooth brush. I'd usually meet Liam & Scott in the Punch & Judy Bar in Covent Garden and we'd start the session there with some other friends and then make our way to some club or party. Most weekends, I'd stay out all weekend at some club or party and/or friends' house. We used to hit up places like Bagleys in Kings Cross (see video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZjbQEDsJ0 and The Cross, also the Aquarium on Old Street and sometimes Sunny Side Up and of course the Fridge in Brixton. I loved the music, but I was more into socializing. I used to spend half the night in the chill out rooms drinking beers, smoking and chatting with other ravers. We always ended our weekend drinking in Camden Town on Sunday afternoons with a good group of friends reminiscing over what happened on Friday & Saturday. Times were good. 

We never knew when and what exactly was going to happen to our good friend and roommate as his Court case was dragging on for so long (well over a year). So, we had a going away party nearly every weekend. His friends used to come up from Hampshire and our friends used to fly over from Dublin on Ryanair flights and join us for a party. 

And then the inevitable happened, he got convicted and sentenced to a few years in prison. Suddenly everything changed. It just wasn't the same without him. Tony & Ben moved out and Liam and I had decided to leave London and go travelling around the world. Tim from Stoke, Doug from Wolverhampton and Dave (a school friend of mine from Dublin) decided to join us on our trip. We decided to leave on March 3rd 1999 and make our way to Australia with a few stops on the way. 

Chapter 7 - Respect The Weed

I arrived in Amsterdam on our way back from Egypt in late November 1996. I was with two friends, Linda from Sweden & Joyce a stoner from Australia who we had met in Turkey. A lot of the other guys that were travelling with us had now gone their separate ways. Some had gone home and some went straight to London to find work. Amsterdam was cold, wet and we were broke after all our travelling. We had planned to meet our friend Doug there a few days later. He had to get a different flight as he was over 30 and couldn't use the dodgy student cards to get the cheap flights we got.

We stayed in a hostel in the center of Amsterdam. It was full of young Canadians and Americans who were over for the Cannabis Cup. The hostel smelt like 20 skunks had just sprayed the place down. There were clouds of smoke bellowing around every corner. It was stoner central.

We had some breakfast (scrambled eggs and bread, not toasted) in the smoke filled communal dining area. Breakfast was included in the price of the hostel. The scrambled egg was dished out of a huge pot by some strange looking African dude with one eye and his buddy next to him was handing out two slices of dry bread to everyone in the line. It was like a scene out of a World War II movie.


We then took a stroll around Amsterdam, checked out a few museums etc...and then hit a bar for a few drinks. After that, we decided to check out the Bob Marley Cafe, after hearing some great reports about it from some of the stoners in the hostel. 

I quite fancied myself as a hardcore smoker after smoking some crappy weed in Greece, Turkey, Israel & Egypt. O Boy, was I in for a rude awakening.

The three of us huddled into a corner seat in the packed out Smokey Bob Marley Cafe. I asked Joyce what was the strongest weed she had ever smoked. “Northern Lights,” she said.

So I ordered three juices and a gram of Northern Lights and some rolling papers. I rolled up a pure weed joint and gave it to Joyce to light up. She lit it up and took one toke and passed it to Linda who did the same. Then it came to me and I puffed on it like it was the last joint on earth. We continued to pass the joint around the table and I continued to smoke it like a man possessed.

When the joint was finished, we sat there talking about our plans for getting to London. We decided to make our way to Calais in France and get a ferry to Dover.

Suddenly, I felt a bead of sweat drip down the left side of my face. Then, about a minute later, a waterfall of sweat came gushing down my forehead. And then, a severe dose of paranoia came over me. To put it mildly, I was f#^@*d. I made some crappy excuse and told the girls I had to get a bit of air. “I was a bit warm,” I said. It was below zero and everyone around us was in their duffel coats and scarves.

I made my way out the front door of the cafe thinking everyone was looking at me and sat against the wall outside on the sidewalk. My head was spinning in all angles. Then, I was approached by some Algerian guys trying to sell me drugs. “O God leave me alone.” I said. They didn't know what to make of me. To say the least I was mangled. It took me a good two hours to come back to planet earth. I can safely say that I had a lot more respect for the holy herb after that experience.

I didn't smoke another joint in Holland after that. Doug arrived two days later and we hung about another few days in the bars and then made our way to France by train and took the ferry to Dover in England. We then made our way to London and stayed with some of our Aussie friends we knew from Greece.
I got a job in a kitchen of a restaurant that my good friend Butcher got a head chef job at. It was another easy, mundane job to raise a few dollars before I went back to Ireland for Xmas.

I arrived back in Ireland a week before Xmas. It was great to see my family and friends, but I gotta admit, I was a bit depressed as I didn't want my vacation to end. 

Something I learned from these adventures traveling throughout is that, if you are open to the world, then the world will open doors for you. I never worried about how, I just needed to decide where. Once a goal was picked, I knew I would get there and I enjoyed the journey along the way. It’s a lesson I carry with me today.


Cheers 

Gerry :)

Chapter 6 - A One Month Trip That Turned into A Year

After returning to Ireland from my second stint in Greece, I couldn't sit still. I had to go travelling again, but I needed cash (and I also had to hang around to repeat my exams). This time, I got a job in a local factory packing Microsoft Win 97 boxes and a job in a restaurant 3 nights a week. It was easy money and easy work. This time around, I passed my exams, got my diploma in Legal Studies and was ready for an adventure.
One night in my local bar, I met a neighbor of mine who had also travelled to Greece. He stayed on the Island of Corfu, and asked me if I wanted to travel to Corfu with him by car. He told me that it was amazing and I had to go. To be honest, I just wanted to go travelling and have some fun and none of my friends were up for it at that time, so I thought, "F%@k it, I'll go."
Three of us (my neighbor, his girlfriend and myself) drove from Ireland to Greece. It was a long drive with multiple ferry rides. We ripped through it in about 3.5 days of non-stop driving in a packed out old Volkswagen Scirocco, partying every leg of the journey. This was May 1996.
It turned out to be the quietest town that I had ever been too. Not only were there no tourists, there were hardly any Greeks either.

To say the least, it wasn't the place for a party. But to be fair, it was beautiful. (Back then, as young as I was, I was more interested in the party than the scenery.) After a few days, I went in search of life and ended up in small town called Benitses about 10 miles away. It was a quiet town with a few bars. As luck would have it, I found a little bar called "Idols." It was full of English guys and girls who were also looking for work. "Dave," the owner of the bar, was a complete nut job from Newcastle. The bar was like a human zoo. Half the people had never been away from home before and they were partying like the world was about to end. I was the only Irish guy in there and by the end of the night I was friends with most of the customers. I really clicked with two guys from England, Tim & Doug.
Tim was from Stoke & Doug was from Wolverhampton. They were travelling around Europe in an old camper van that they bought in England for 800 Pounds. They called it "Dave the Van" in honor of their friend Dave who was meant to travel with them but ended up in some trouble and couldn't leave England. These guys were on a different level than most travelers you meet. They were hardy English lads who were up for a party and anything for that matter.
After a few crazy days and nights partying with Tim & Doug, I moved into their camper van. I also decided I wasn't even going to look for work in Corfu. Instead I'd enjoy myself, and that's what I did. Mind you I did end up working one night though. It was when an 18 - 30's party tour bus came through the town we were staying in and the owner of a club asked Tim, Doug and I if we would help pick up the empty bottles in his nightclub. Not only did we pick up the empties, we also picked up the full bottles :)
I talked Tim & Doug into coming to the Island of Ios with me. I knew they'd love it. They were a bit hesitant at first and then they came around. But before we left the Island of Corfu we decided to take a trip to a place called the "Pink Palace" a cheesy 18 - 30's hostel/hotel where backpackers usually stay for about 2-3 nights and party like crazy. It suited us down to the ground. At this stage, there were four of us. One of my best friends from home, "Butcher," had come over to join me. We swooped him up at the airport at about 3am (only 4 hours late, hammered drunk in "Dave the Van") and headed straight for the for Pink Palace. There was 15 English lads and myself crammed into the van, how the van wasn't confiscated or the lads were done for drink driving I have no idea.
After a wild three days at the Pink Palace, we were toasted. It definitely lived up to its reputation as a cheesy party destination: toga parties and drinking games etc..... We decided to make our way to Ios, which was the other side of mainland Greece, a very long drive away.
We arrived in Ios in early June 1996. I knew a lot of people there from previous years. I got some work after a week or so. This time, I was working security in a liquor store with a crazy guy from Manchester who used to deal Acid and Ecstasy to the customers. The liquor store was called "The Mad Dog Off License" the customer used to sit outside and get wasted before they hit up the clubs, all sorts of crazy shit went on outside the Mad Dog. The owner was a pretty wild middle aged Greek woman who I think just employed us to drink and play backgammon with her all night. It was perfect. Drink whatever you wanted, get paid and play backgammon. 
Doug got a job in Disco 69 where I had worked the previous year and Tim never worked .
We spent three months on Ios living in a camper van with no air conditioning. Some nights we'd have up to 20 people partying in the van till the early hours of the morning. The van was a meeting spot for most of our friends on the Island. It used to get so hot inside. We used to buy bottles of ice water and put them under our pillows when we went to sleep to keep us from melting :) 
We'd wake up sweating and hung-over. O Man, It was brutal, but it was fun.
A few of our friends lived way up in the village. It was party central. I remember one time they had a BBQ and a Brazilian friend of ours made some caipirinha (A Brazilian Punch)and poured it into three different buckets, two buckets were pure caipirinha and one was mixed with Acid. They never told anyone till after it was all drunk. You can only imagine how crazy things got. I remember one Irish guy dancing on top of a bar table in the middle of the village six hours after the buckets were emptied in a pair of speedo shorts screaming at the top of his lungs. I seriously thought he had lost it, but he came around before the night was out, thank god.
When the season ended, about ten of us headed to Turkey. Although I didn't have much money, my friend Doug who would sell ice to the Eskimos assured me we'd be fine. We can sell jewelry on the beaches to other tourists he said. Again, I said "F#*k it, I'm in."
After a few days in Turkey, we found a jewelry wholesaler and with the little money we had, we bought some cheap jewelry (Indian and Turkish silver) and sold it out of a backgammon box to other tourists. At first I had a hard time selling to anyone, and then I wouldn't even try selling. I'd just introduce myself to tourists on the beach, offer them a game of backgammon and a joint and tell them my travel story and plans and at the end of the game 80% of them bought something. I wish I kept a journal because I met so many cool people. After a month travelling through Turkey, we decided to check out Israel. We got some cheap flights from Turkey to Israel and ended up in a hostel in downtown Tel Aviv. I got a job laying sprinkler systems in an apartment complex with some guys from New Zealand and Sweden who we were also travelling with us. After we saved some more cash, we travelled to Sinai in Egypt. Sinai was beautiful, super inexpensive and some of the best snorkeling in the world. We detoxed there for a month before sailing up the river Nile on a felucca boat for a week. It was amazing. We used to have to jump off the boat while moving with a rope tied around our waist to have a wash. You'd get sick if you washed in still water because there was so much bacteria in the water. We'd set up camp at night next to the river. We'd have some dinner and then smoke out. It was bliss. Enough of the Middle East, next stop was Amsterdam.
This adventure of my life thought me it's best not to push a hard sale on someone. You're best off building a relationship with someone first, building rapport. Even if it's only 20 minutes over a joint and game of backgammon it's a lesson I still hold close today"
Something I also learned is that. Saying yes, opens up opportunities. It just takes a little courage to make the leap. So long as you keep your eye on the goal, you'll be fine.