On Sunday 3rd April 2015, Surat Thani provincial governor Chatpong Chatput announced a ban on all Koh Phangan parties other than the main Full Moon Party in Haad Rin.
In Theory All Parties Except The Full Moon Party Were Meant To Stop
This meant, in theory at least that all the other parties had to close. Prior to the ban are a lot of other parties that were going on, sometimes weekly. The bigger parties were the Half Moon Festival, Black Moon Culture and the Jungle Experience. Smaller parties included Shiva Moon, Sramanora Waterfall Party, Maya and the Open Air Festival. There are others too. It looked like Governor Chaput had put a lot of people out of business.
The Parties Largely Carried On Anyway
Then something strange happened – nothing at all. The parties largely continued, with a few cancellations and a few occasions when authorities of one kind or another would ask that the music be turned down or off (although this happened before the ‘ban’).
Then They Made It Official
Move forward to the 24th June 2015 and Thai PBS News has announced that Koh Phangan District Chief Officer Kirik-krai Songthani has agreed that other parties go ahead as long as they abide by regulations and ensure that the parties are drug free. Looks like the parties will go on in Koh Phangan after all, but they may become better regulated. Let’s wait and see on that.