The New Moon tonight permits every star in the sky to twinkle piercing light into infinite darkness and marks my return to Haad Tien or “Magic Beach.” The following is an attempt to accurately describe this place, written on the night of my arrival on the Full Moon in February this year:
I arrived at Haad Tien on the full moon. The ferry from the mainland to Koh Phangan was overwrought with 19-year-old Australian and Europeans cloaked in fluorescent garb on their way to the world-famous Full Moon Parties. These parties host thousands and are produced every month a few bays over from Haad Tien. I wanted nothing to do with them. Every second I traveled brought be closer to that which I needed: peace and space.
I remember both a sense of bewilderment and homecoming as I approached Haad Tien for the first time. The roaring taxi boat teared over wave-crests bruising my tush as it crashed down hard on the salt water like a car on asphalt. We made our way around the granite bend and started turning towards the shore. I was shocked at how small Haad Tien appeared to be. With nothing visible other than the small, cushy resort tucked up against the Western nook, I set off on a beach path through the coconut grove in search of other island inhabitants and a place to stay.
And so I did and upon finding Beam, a massive A-framed structure at the top of the hill, was instantly introduced to “the family.
Remember that movie The Beach? Haad Tien may be the closest reality to that social and environmental Utopia in existence. I sleep deeply and undisturbed on a floor mattress draped in mosquito netting in a grand wooden-beamed room. The 3rd floor sleeps 20 comfortably and is surrounded by windows that open to trees and breeze. Above: a gigantic vaulted ceiling. Beyond: a large open-air veranda overlooking a coconut grove through which blue ocean taunts.
The airy, social restaurant is downstairs with open seating areas both Western and Thai-style. The fountain falling into the koi pond always makes for a peaceful atmosphere. The consistently blooming Plumerias create equally consistent wafts of sweet scents, and the strange arugula salad trees (or so they’ve been named) inspire pleasant wonderment and conversation.
Instantly, I was invited to join in the useless-bits-of-trivial-information conversation at one of the tables and later went to a free Kirtan held at the Sanctuary. We pulled tarot cards. Mine was “Completion.”
That night was special. I sat on the beach completely alone and watched the full moon bring in the tide utterly undisturbed. Ten meters away, a handful of people enjoyed an outdoor screening of the movie “Amelie” under the stars. And in the middle of the coconut grove where paths cross a tender few stoked a fire where all were welcome to join. This was it. I had found my place.
I suddenly felt I had stumbled into this family of acceptance and love and thanked god for bringing me to it. The next few weeks would prove to be some of the most transformative of my life.
the grass over here 