POCNA HOSTEL NIGHTLIFE

Be left in no doubt that the way of life here lives up to its reputation – work hard (ish), play hard! For large crowds, dance anthems and free flowing alcohol, you belong in Cancun rather than here. However, that doesn’t mean that Isla Mujeres doesn’t have enough of a nightlife of its own. It’s easy to find Mariachi bands, salsa nights and street performers along the main beach and high street, but if you’re looking to really party, the general consensus is that Pocna hostel is the place to go.

TOP 10 BEST THINGS ABOUT LIVING IN MEXICO

Granted, we do not live in the heart of Mexico. There are plenty of tourists, we are forewarned of the spiciness of the food and we have certainly never witnessed any of the dangers that we were pre-warned of. But, we have met Mexicans who are from all over the country, learned conversational Spanish and have not only tasted all the local cuisines, but learned to cook them. We’ve embraced life on Isla Mujeres and here’s our favourite things about it:

1. The mariachi bands that play through the tiny streets attracting hoards of people

2. Waking up to Mexican music turned up so loud that the walls vibrate. Beats the standard alarm and definitely wake you up in a better mood

MUSICAL MELBOURNE

Melbourne has got to be the trendiest city in Australia. There’s a constantly buzzing atmosphere – from the 7am outdoor bootcamps to the trendy coffee shops and open-mic nights. It’s exceedingly cosmopolitan but with a quirkiness that makes it far more interesting than your average urban jungle. One of our favourite elements of the city was the constant soundtrack; there was music everywhere. You have to squeeze through the compact audiences to get a good view of the street performers, whilst we thought it was particularly impressive to discover pianos scattered across the cities – free to use by confident passers-by (though this didn’t work quite as well when overexcited toddlers deigned to give it a go).

LEBUA SKY BAR, BANGKOK

If ever there’s been an occasion where we’ve had a slight wobble with the budget, our evening at the Sky Bar was it. At 700 baht a pop, more than two nights’ accommodation at our current hostel, the cocktails were an indulgence with every pleasurable sip. Corinne was due to leave us a couple of days later and this provided the perfect excuse to have a wash and mingle with the rich and famous.

The bar was featured in the Hangover 2 film, and with views over the Chao Phraya River and the twinkling sky scrapers, it exceeded all expectations oozing unparalleled glamour. Up on the 63rd floor, the glowing dome roof of the hotel was the backset to a mood-setting band.

FULL MOON PARTY, KOH PHANGAN

Think of the first party you went to as a teenager, when the host’s parents were on holiday. Everyone’s a bit giddy because there’s absolutely no one in charge or being responsible and within an hour everything’s got a bit out of hand. There’s red wine on the cream carpets, the antique vase is smashed, there’s sick in the bin, someone’s just been dumped and is crying into their first bottle of vodka and the usually sensible person is dancing on the table, steadying themselves with the chandelier whilst re-enacting The Full Monty.

The 30,000 strong crowd

Now times it by 1000, again and again and again. That’s an indication of where The Full Moon features on the party (and chaos) scale. The sheer volume of people, personalities, cultures, languages, music, UV paint and alcohol creates an utterly mad but acutely exciting atmosphere. There’s the constant awareness that it’s all got a bit out hand, but of course it has, there’s 30,000 tourists here to party! There’s buckets of miscellaneous alcohol all along the beach, but they’re so commonly spiked that many of the vendors have actually taken to putting up signs declaring that they’re trustworthy! We opted for several beers instead. Drugs are everywhere too, as are undercover police, and we couldn’t really imagine a less safe environment to not be in control.

Charlotte outshines the moon…