Better than Sex and the Baan Panburi

Changes are a foot again on Thong Nai Pan Noi. Restaurants and accommodation changes on the beach.

Firstly, Pong's new restaurant has finally opened in the place that used to be Pong's Republic near the bridge. The failed night club looks set to succeed as a restaurant. It is an imposing glass and steel construction. with decking and water feature. Pong is a great cook. His Burmese dishes are particularly good. Being positioned at the higher end of the market and considering the position of the restaurant just opposite Luna Lounge, it is a big challenge to the popularity of the Luna Lounge. The battle of the posh restaurants is on.

Accommodation Changes on Thong Nai Pan Noi

Big changes are in progress on Thong Nai Pan Noi beach. As you can see from the photograph above the Baan Panburi has been pulled down. It seems that Rasananda has got the land and plans to expand their row of luxury beach villas with small plunge pools.

For the time being the Star Huts is still standing, but these bungalows are also destined to vanish. The owners of Rasananda have bought this land too and plan to build mid range accommodation under the moniker of Buri Rasa.

Star Huts, a long time favourite with backpackers, will be sorely missed. Some of the people from Star Huts have been given the land next to Tanaporn Massage House. They will build a restaurant.

The Bigger Picture

Much of the road from Ban Tai to Thong Nai Pan has now been completed. It is a high quality road that will last longer than previous parts of the road. The Thong Nai Pan area is destined for preeminence on the island.

There are only 3 outfits that are now beachfront on Thong Nai Pan Noi: Thong Tapan (and Tapan Noi which is owned by the same family), Phuwadee and Rasananda. Since Phuwadee is only leased land this is destined to get swallowed up by Rasananda too. They are the newest business on the beach and yet they are destined to dominate the accommodation on Thong Nai Pan Noi. It is only the locally owned Thong Tapan that is between them and owning it all.

Huge Storm in Gulf of Thailand

A storm hit Thong Nai Pan that started on Sunday 26th March and that continued until Thursday March 31st. It was a very unseasonable storm (March is normally the driest month on Koh Phangan).

The whole of the Samui Archipelago was affected. 15,000 tourists were trapped in Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Koh Tao. All ferry boat services were suspended and all flights to and from Koh Samui were cancelled. The Thai navy were called in to help evacuate people.

21 people died in mudslides on the mainland as villages were swept away by the torrential storm.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva visited the worst hit areas today said:

"If you ask people who are familiar [with the situation], they would tell you they never expected this could happen."

As for Thong Nai Pan - there are no reported deaths or injuries, just damage to buildings and infrastructure. The bridge by the Panviman collapsed (it was built without steel reinforcing). The road out of the village in Thong Nai Pan Noi was flooded. The road from Thong Nai Pan to Thongsala lost 2 bridges. This follows a storm earlier this month that damaged the Santhiya speed boat. 

H20 Scuba in Thong Nai Pan Noi has new website

Lee and Johnny eventually get a new website for H20 Scuba. It's a stylish site that does justice to a great dive school. If you look at the site you will see that H20 Scuba are offering free trial dives to anyone over 12 years old. This is your opportunity to see if diving is for you. H20 Scuba is in Thong Nai Pan Noi, next to Handsome Sandwiches. They do open water, advanced open water, dive master courses and fun dives to Sail Rock, Chumphon Pinnacle and Ang Thong National Marine Park. There is even a VIP service for those who want a personalized service.

UPDATE: H2O Scuba is now H2O Original. They have stopped their website, but have Facebook page that they often update. Other scuba schools in Thong Nai Pan are Dreamland Divers and Tropical Dive Club.