What is your Koh Phangan story?
Well, I chanced upon the island about six years ago. It was early December 2009, and there I was on the construction site looking for a lost kitten. Sounds mental but during the search I fell into a hole, I fell for ages, down and down, all the way onto a stretch of white sand! I’d never seen sand before. Obviously this descent into unfamiliar surroundings came as a bit of a surprise, but the powers were beyond my control so I dealt with it in the only way I could at the time - with a bottle of Hong Thong and a couple of m150s.
During a lone stumble down the beach, I met a group of German back-packers. We instantly hit it off and spent a few weeks partying together. Crazy times. I wanted to get a UV vest for the upcoming party but they rightly pointed out that I didn’t need one! This is when I realised how well I fitted in on KP. Like, I wasn’t even trying, not slightly, and I was accepted.
We did do the full moon party but that’s another story entirely, and probably not one fit to be on any form of media. (Even my grandma has Facebook these days, geez.) Anyways, to cut a long story short, eventually Finn realised that there had been a balls up and I was transported back to the Lego Universe.
So what has brought you back to the island?
After such a wild and eye opening time (shit got pretty crazy out there!), being an ordinary construction worker just wasn’t doing it for me. I hated being back to ‘reality’. Same faces, same places, same monotonous job.
I sunk into a heavy depression - booze, girls, drugs - and really saw no way out. I was in pieces (and this time not literally). My friends were worried. I was worried. I felt different to my peers. They hadn’t seen the things I had. I found myself arguing with former buddies. Our outlooks had changed. One argument in particular ended up getting heated, boy I really knocked his block off. No really, I knocked it right off.
In the end, after a string of unhealthy, failed relationships, I flung myself off the edge of the universe.
And bam! I was back! Paradise Island.
Wow, it really sounds like you hit rock bottom. How did you bounce back?
Yeah, I guess I really did. But, thank Gandalf, I made it back here. So, this was in 2011. I knew I had to change my ways, the depression had broken me, and not in a way that could be fixed by a small child or some krazy glue - this was a different kind of broken to the one I was used to. This was a kind of broken that I needed to fix all by myself. Koh Phangan is famous for its yoga retreats and man, these are the shit! I highly recommend! After finding my inner self, I astrally projected my physical self back to the Lego Universe. I had to face the mess I had left behind. I won’t bore you with the details but it was a lot of hard work.
Since my return trip in 2011, I’ve been many times. I’ve even brought my parents and my gran to visit. We all just jump off of the edge of the Lego Universe holding hands. Brings us direct to Haad Rin Beach. Apparently Air Asia have really good promotions but I like to stick to what I know. Plus the journey from Surat Thani takes aaages.
Do you plan to stay on Phangan for good?
Well all this carefree flitting back and forth took place when I was young, irresponsible, and pre ‘Saviour Of The Universe’ - suppose you could say it was similar to a gap year. Nowadays I have much less free time to visit but I’ll always have a soft spot (obviously this is anatomically impossible, but ‘hard spot’ just didn’t sound appropriate) for the island.
My girlfriend Lucy doesn’t like Phangan, don’t know why but it’s just not her thing. So that and work mean generally 8 months in Lego Universe and 4 months on Phangan is how I roll these days.
I’d like to do a solid year sometime soon but I’m tied down with a lot of commitments back home at the moment. Fingers (not that I’ve got any) crossed though - I’ve recently bought a new 65 litre Regatta and I plan to put it to good use some time in the near future. After all, YOLO!
What do you think of the Koh Phangan party scene?
There’s a whole bunch of decent DJs on the island and I am quite a fan of House music, but actually after going totally off the rails back in 2010, my therapist says it’s best to stay away from parties. I don’t have a problem with anybody else doing it though and Koh Phangan is certainly a good place for it. I should know. Boy do Germans know how to party...
Are you doing anything special for Halloween?
Well, like I said, I don’t tend to go out much these days what with being on the wagon and all. But I will most certainly be checking out Bangers and Mash at some point in the evening with some of my buddies.
What do you do in your free time?
Stopping evil tyrants, saving The Universe, cooking, etc...
What is your life philosophy?
Oh, that’s easy - Everything is awesome.
Keep updated with phanganist.com by following our Facebook page.
