Video of Thong Nai Pan Yai During Pandemic

Take a look at this video clip of a traveller walking down the beach at Thong Nai Pan Yai. It was shot in 2020, at the height of the covid-19 pandemic, when there was no vaccine available. It was the darkest hour for many in the world – stuck at home, fearing they or their loved ones would catch the disease; and, stuck at home wondering if they would be able to pay their bills. 

How this man got to Thailand we don’t know. Why he is unable to say the words ‘coronavirus’ or refer in any other but in a most oblique fashion to the deadly epidemic in Thailand and throughout the world is telling. He wants to have a good time travelling, and that is what he is doing despite the world health crisis. He seems surprised there aren’t any bungalow resorts willing to accommodate him or serve him. The pandemic has taught us to avoid such people because they will most likely give you the virus, since their personal liberty trumps everyone else’s health concerns. He calls it ‘global nonsense’.

He doesn’t deny covid exists but his attitude clearly shows he lacks human empathy. He talks of the loss of business, and the hardship for the locals caused by the lack of business. He doesn’t know much about Koh Phangan or Thailand. Tourists do not enrich the locals unless they have their own business. Wages for waiters and cleaners are so low that many of the jobs are taken by illegal Burmese immigrants! 

As he walks down the beach, he sees devastation. Candle Hut Resort is a shell of its former self. Vegetation is growing through the shower floor of one bungalow. The swimming pool is brown and full of trash. Wood is rotting, paint is peeling. The place is a deserted ghost resort. 

Dreamland Resort is closed. Flip Flop Pharmacy has the smell of cooking. Nice Beach Resort shows signs of being cared for. Here we have a clear list of those businesses owned or rented by outsiders who abandoned their businesses when the flow of tourists stopped. And a list of those whose owners are active in their businesses and have stuck around. 

The ramshackle businesses didn’t want to pay for a caretaker; or they paid for a caretaker who did nothing. All the other staff have been dismissed, no doubt without any furlough payments. It must be cheaper to repair Candlehut Resort after the disaster than to maintain it during the crisis, or there was zero contingency money available. Businesses like Candlehut Resort have been raking in money for 20 years and they can’t shut for 18 months without going to wrack and ruin. That is poor economy.

Anyway, the man liked the sand. He knows a lot about sand it appears. He is correct in identifying the sand as being fine and powdery like the sand in Haad Rin. He is wrong about nearly everything else.

 

Not Just Chicken and Rice

One of the most common and popular dishes in Thailand is chicken and rice, otherwise known as ‘khao man gai’. It is a dish that is found in Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia. Each country has a slight variation on the dish. However, for the true chicken rice aficionados it has to be prepared by a Hainanese chef to be an authentic khao man gai.

Hainan is a large tropical island belonging to China in the South China Sea, on the other side of the headland to the east of the Gulf of Thailand. There has been a long history of emigration from Hainan to Thailand. Many years ago Hainanese immigrants bought their special chicken rice recipe to Thailand where it quickly became popular and eventually became regarded as a Thai dish. Today most casual foreign observers imagine that khao man gai is a traditional Thai dish, but it isn’t.

Real Hainanese chicken rice is made from Hainanese chickens, especially chickens from the Woen Sang region of the island. Traditionally older birds are used as they produce more oil and make the dish more flavoursome. A whole chicken is steeped in sub-boiling temperatures in a pork and chicken bone stock. The stock is from a master stock that is continuously reused by topping up with water. This is the Chinese preference for a master stock that is no longer easy to find (often for reasons of hygiene) in Singapore and elsewhere in Asia and South East Asia.

The oil from the chicken is essential to khao man gai, so much so that the literal translation of the Thai phrase is ‘rice, oil, chicken’. The best Thai khao man gai dishes are made by Hainanese chefs ideally. They also use free range chickens. The dish is served with a garnish of cucumber, coriander and sometimes chicken blood tofu. There is usually an accompanying bowl of chicken broth. The sauce that is poured over the dish is made from ginger, chilli, garlic, soy sauce and vinegar. In Thai the sauce is called ‘tauchu’.

Although lots of Hainanese people made their way to the Samui Archipelago, they are mostly naturalized Thais who have lost their Chinese cultural heritage over the generations. It is thus far from certain that any of the Chinese / Thai found in Thongsala can be regarded as Hainanese master chefs capable of making the finest khao man gai. However, you get a good plate of the dish at the small local restaurants in Walking Street in Thongsala as well as at Pantip Market. Typically, a dish of khao man gai in Thongsala costs 40 Thai Baht. It is cheap but delicious food. Sometimes even the cheapest dishes have a fascinating history and made by certain chefs can be considered special cuisine.

Khao Man Gai in Thong Nai Pan

The only place to buy khao man gai in TNP is from a Thai lady on a motorbike. She comes around 1pm - 1.30pm every day and does the village and the main road in Yai. It costs 50B. The main dish comes in a box and you get a small plastic bag with the chicken broth.

Are Tourist Figures Up or Down?

The simple answer is that no one really knows. All tourists staying at both hotels and private villas should be registered on arrival. Thus, the question should be easy to answer. However, the custodian of tourist figures is TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) and they are famous for being far from transparent. Their agenda is to promote tourism, increase revenues; not to publish accurate records.

Any Thailand watcher will have noticed that most stories in Thai Visa and elsewhere have quotes from industry figures, anecdotal comments from hotel owners, but few verifiable facts.

There are figures available on the official TAT website (https://marketingdb.tat.or.th/en/web/guest/tatwebportallink)  if you follow the link in the footer. These show arrivals to all the main international airports in Thailand. The caveat is that they only display the last 2 days compared to the same day last year. For 1st and 2nd January 2020 arrivals are actually up 3.9% on 2019. On 1st January 2020 51,901 people entered the Kingdom of Thailand at Suvarnabhumi Airport. So should hotel owners, bar owners, tour operators etc. be worried?

Well industry bigwigs such as TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) chief Yuthasak Suphasorn thinks so (https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/tat-chief-blames-high-baht-for-drop-in-tourists-to-thailand). On June 29th 2019 Suphasorn claimed the previous 3 months had seen a drop in tourist numbers. More recently, Thai Visa published an article (https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1141495-phuket-facing-worst-tourism-crisis-in-three-decades-half-of-hotel-rooms-empty-in-2020/?utm_source=newsletter-20200103-1246&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news) claiming industry experts expect a 20% drop in tourism in Phuket in 2020. Articles such as these are designed to generate comments below the line for Thai Visa Forum and for industry Brahmins to put pressure on the government.

The comments below the line invariably pick up on the same remedies - lower the value of the Baht, change the visa system, reign in the con men and the overcharging taxi drivers and stop making new regulations to inhibit tourism such as banning vaping, enforcing licensing hours, and making life difficult for ex-pats with more burdensome requirements for reporting their whereabouts and income.

All of these things impact tourist revenues. In the past the upswing in tourists from China has off set falls in numbers of European tourists. Indian tourists are also cited as being the new cash cow. Those with just the briefest knowledge of Chinese tour groups and Indian tourists will know that the situation is not that straight forward. For a start those on tours tend to spend most of their money buying the tour in their own country and may well not add much to the local Thai communities where they visit. Moreover, bar girls and others who work in the demimonde find such tourists economically small fry.

On the ground anecdotal evidence abounds. Thong Nai Pan in Koh Phangan had periods during the high season for the summer holidays in 2019 where not a soul was to be seen, the bars empty, the dive boats left at their moorings. People complain in Phuket that hotels are virtually empty but room prices are high. The grizzled veterans of girly bars claim the night economy is not a fraction of what it once was.

Common deflection strategies include mentioning the increased competition from Vietnam as a holiday destination, the trade war between China and the USA, and the impact of Brexit. These are clever ruses to avoid dealing with the Thai Baht that is ridiculously high - getting only 30 odd Baht for one British Pound is profoundly off putting, especially as Thai businesses work on a model of increasing prices every year. And then there is the junta continually changing the rules. Visas are waived and then required. Where you can renew visas is a constant question asked. Confusion over travel insurance abounds, and what the government insurance policy actually provides. Hey you might as well go to Vietnam. Despite having a communist regime, they seem more in tune with the requirements of tourists.

Sand in My Shoes Beach Loft

Those who have visited Thong Nai Pan Noi will know that the perfect spot on the beach is in the middle, just past the monotony of the Rasananda spread of luxury bungalows and just before the fiefdom of Thong Tapan. It is the spot where Pong's used to be, and the Flip Flop Pharmacy. Now it is the Sand in My Shoes restaurant. To maximise the revenue from the superlative location they are now offering accommodation.

The Sand in My Shoes Beach Loft consists of 2 rooms in a building behind the restaurant for rent. One is the Family Room and the other is the Deluxe Double Room.

Family Room at Sand in My Shoes

The family room has a total internal space of 64 metres squared. It contains 2 double beds and 2 sofa beds and so theoretically could sleep a family of 6. There is a hot water bathroom with shower as well as a balcony. The room has air-con and cable TV.

The room has a modern decor with new furnishings. Hardwoods and neutral tones create a relaxing and stylish atmosphere. There is also a small open closet with a safe on the floor to store your valuables.

Room rates for the family room start at 8,500 Thai Baht a night. This price includes breakfast at the restaurant.

Deluxe Double Room at Sand in My Shoes

The cheaper deluxe double room has an internal space of 32 metres squared. There is a hot water shower, air-con and a cable TV. The room also has an adjoining balcony with sea views and table and chairs.

This room is finished to a high standard. While there are hardwood floors the walls are bare concrete. It gives the room a modern and minimalist feel and is a style popular in Thailand (although I suspect a style that will soon look dated).

Price per night for the deluxe double room start at 6,800 Thai Baht. This price includes breakfast at the Sand in My Shoes Restaurant.

Conclusion

These 2 rooms are somewhat on the expensive side. The same price can get you a private villa. However, they are just a stone's throw from the beach (in the picture you can see the rooms behind the beachfront restaurant). They are nicely finished and comfortable.

For some people staying next to a restaurant is convenient. For others it can be noisy, and although the rooms have their own entrances separate to the restaurant there could be issues for those who highly value their privacy. The restaurant normally stops serving food at about 10pm and is normally empty by midnight. It is a popular spot to eat and has plenty of great reviews. The good news for people booking to stay at Sand in My Shoes is that it is not a party spot with loud music, so you won't be kept awake all night by banging techno beats.

The staff are friendly and have garnered plenty of positive feedback  from guests staying in the rooms.

Click here to check availability for Sand in My Shoes

Room at the Inn

 Here we are again. Another year ending and a new one soon to begin. We are in the silly season of embarrassing sweaters and eyebrow raising prices for beach accommodation. If you are lucky enough to be staying in Thong Nai Pan for Christmas and / or New Year's Eve but haven't booked a place to stay yet, here are the options available to you. Bear in mind that minimum stay requirements will apply. New Year's is the most coveted time to stay on the beach so this is peak time plus. Some resorts might have rooms available that they are not releasing them through the net.

Thong Nai Pan Noi

Thong Tapan has rooms for Christmas left starting at 1,800 Thai Baht

Sandee Bungalow seems to have forgot its Christmas. Rooms for this time are only 500 Thai Baht. Nothing is available on line for New Year (I suspect they are having a holiday themselves).

Buri Rasa has rooms for both Xmas and New Year. Christmas rooms start at 6,100 THB. For New Year they go for 13,700 Thai Baht.

Santhiya is the second most expensive place to stay during the holiday. Rooms at Christmas start at 9,000 THB and for New Year at 15,000 THB

Rasananda wins the most expensive room prize. Xmas is 13,500 THB and New Year is 21,000 THB. Then there are the compulsory buffets to fork out for.

Phuwadee the pink bungalow eyesores have only Christmas vacancies. Prices start at 1,200 THB a night.

If you are a group of 6 or less people and you don't mind a hill walk the best value private villa rental is Sunrise Villa. Just 9,200 Thai Baht a night. That's the same price as Panviman but for 6 people not 2. The luxury villa is still available for both Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Thong Nai Pan Yai

Dreamland has sold out for New Year's Eve but still have some rooms available for Christmas that start at just 700 THB.

The same is the case with Pingchan . Xmas bungalows cost 5,200 THB a night.

Again Pen's Bungalows is not taking New Year's Eve bookings but they are taking bookings for Christmas. An Xmas bungalow will set you back a modest 1,300 Thai Baht a night.

The cheapest Christmas room on Yai is found at Nice Beach Resort. Rooms start at a bargain price of 650 THB.

And that's it. Longtail in Yai has their own booking system. Candlehut is with r24.org. The other accommodation options in Thong Nai Pan Yai are full. Book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Sunrise Villa is the best villa rental option. The villa is in Noi and has 3 bedrooms along with kitchen and lounge. For 2 or 3 couples sharing this is a great option.

New 7 Eleven in Thong Nai Pan Noi

Thong Nai Pan Noi is going to get its first 7-11 shop. It is due to open early in 2018. Don't get too excited - internecine capitalism is not something frequently found in Koh Phangan. It is not likely to start a price war and a deflationary price spiral for tourist goods.

The new 7 Eleven is being built on the road at the back of the village that leads out to the main road. It is just past the bridge and opposite the big shop where you can buy vegetables, meat, large bottles of water and petrol.

Thong Nai Pan Yai already has a 7 Eleven located on the main road at the southern end of the beach. When news of this shop first spread through the local populace there were many who were expecting cheap beer, coffee and snacks. That was in 2009. These people were soon disappointed. The shop opened with no fanfare with prices ranging between 10% and 20% higher than the other 7 Eleven shops on the island. The business model is clearly not to undercut the competition but to charge as much as the market will stand. Besides you don't step on toes that way.

There are some items in the 7 Eleven in Yai and in Bantai and elsewhere on the island that are slightly different to those found in the local shops such as the coffee machine, the 7 Eleven sandwich (not for sandwich lovers) and the free hot water to make pot noodles. However, the large percentage of the wares found at the 7 Eleven in Yai are the same as those for sale in the local shops.

What attracts tourists to 7 Elevens is the fact that everything is marked with a price. The staff don't moan about breaking notes and they invariably add up your bill correctly and give out the right change. You can get a bit weary of asking the price for everything in advance and having to work out if your change is enough. 7 Elevens are convenient in Thailand, and it is a certain type of convenience. Tourists expect cheap prices, but if they don't get them they still come back because they like the hassle-free nature of a 7 Eleven in Thailand.

In Thong Nai Pan Noi the cheapest shop is Snoop Shop. It is opposite Jip Shop. It doesn't have sliding glass doors or neat displays. It is clearly a 'locals' shop. That is not to say that they don't welcome anyone into the shop. They have meat, vegetables, fruit and a range of everyday products. They have Thai snacks. They have beer and cheap water. You can find all kinds of useful things in the Snoop Shop especially if you can ask for it in Thai.

I suspect that Snoop Shop will be cheaper than the Thong Nai Pan Noi 7 Eleven when it opens. The big shop opposite sells some items in bulk and is also likely to be better value than the 7 Eleven. These shops will retain much of the 'Thai' Baht spent in the village. It is the other numerous tourist shops that will be impacted by the new 7 Eleven. It is the 'tourist' Baht that is being gently fought over.

Location

Thong Nai Pan Night Market

Thong Nai Pan Night Market was started at the end of 2016. It has already proved a hit with both locals and tourists. It provides more income for local businesses as well as an opportunity for visitors to experience an important part of Thai culture. Since its inception the night market has been well attended and it looks like it will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

The night market is located opposite the 7-11 in Thong Nai Pan Yai. You will find it easily if you walk down the main road heading north (see map below). At present there are in total 8 stalls and a bar. As with many night markets in Thailand and South East Asia the focus is on food. In tropical weather it is pleasing to take the cool air and stroll around food stalls deliberating over what delicacy to try. It is a chance to socialise and court for Thais. It is also a chance for tourists to Thong Nai Pan to experience the gentle atmosphere of a Thai night market in a beach setting. What could be better?

There are 3 stalls selling Thai food. There is 1 Issan food stall. Another option is the crepe stall. Those looking for a sweet snack can try the 2 stalls selling fresh juice and mango with sticky rice. The final stall sells Thai snack food.

You browse the stalls, make your purchase and then grab a table and chairs in the centre of the market. There is seating for about 40 people. Those who fancy a drink have the options of using the bar stall or nipping over to the 7-11. The bar shuts at 21.00. Food dishes cost between 30 and 80 Thai Baht depending on what you have. The beer prices at the bar are the same as in the resorts. The 7-11 option is slightly cheaper.

Thong Nai Pan Night Market is held daily from 16.00 to 22.00. It is run by locals and the food is cooked fresh. It is one of the best ways to try a wider range of Thai dishes than is offered by the resorts and restaurants. Moreover, it is cheap, fun and a unique part of Thai culture.

For those who get the 'night market' bug and want to try other night markets we recommend Suratthani Night Market and Hua Hin Night Market.

 

News Update for Thong Nai Pan

Thong Nai Pan continues to remain a popular holiday destination. Despite gaining a reputation as a beach best suited for high-paying guests there are still reasonably and competitively priced rooms available on both beaches at such places as Baan Paanburi, Pingchan, Thong Tapan Resort and Sandee Bungalow.

A study of other parts of the island reveal that the move to up-grade is happening all over Koh Phangan. For example the west coast of Koh Phangan that until recently was mostly frequented by long-term visitors and semi-permanent ex-pats who didn't mind staying next to mud flats and beaches with massive tidal differences has now become something of a hotspot. Srithanu and the beaches nearby such as Nai Wok, Haad Chao Phao, Plaay Laem, Hin Kong and Wok Tum are now known as a centre of spiritual excellence with numerous providers of yoga, reiki, detox-ing, irrigations, medical massage and other New Age treatments and instruction. Hotels such as Kupu Kupu in Plaay Laem, Grand Sea Resort in Nai Wok and private villas for rent such as Tembusa Villa in Hin Kong and Sunset Hill Boutique Resort in Haad Chao Phao are catering for 4 and 5 star guests. Panviman, Rasananda and Santhiya have no longer an exclusive hold on high-paying and short-staying guests.

For some the proximity to the facilities, bars, restaurants and shops of Thongsala as well as the yoga schools of Srithanu outweighs the needs of being next to a great beach. Others prefer a more traditional resort based holiday next to a sandy beach with good swimming. For this Thong Nai Pan remains.

Travel

There are few items of news concerning Thong Nai Pan and travel. Firstly, the main road to Thong Nai Pan which is entirely concrete has had some work done to it for maintenance. The road was so long in the making that the earlier parts constructed have needed repairs.

Koh Phangan Airport has come back on the radar. Theories abound about the possible transport hub near Thong Nai Pan. First it was on, then it was off and now it is maybe on again depending on whether Kannithi Aviation can find a loan of 2 billion Baht with low interest rates. The project is already 1.1 billion Thai Baht over-budget. There is no doubt a lot more to the story but facts are few and far between.

It was announced that the Bottle Beach to Thong Nai Pan Road would be upgraded in the future. The road running through the hills at the back of Thong Nai Pan Noi is going to become the last part of the main road going up the east coast.

While getting passing traffic to bypass the village in Thong Nai Pan Noi is a good thing, the temptation for Buri Rasa to claim the public road down to the beach as well as Rasananda to close its part of the beach road is unabated. Vigilance is needed to prevent these things becoming de facto realities.

Land

In August a large contingent of police from the mainland arrived on the island with the mission of investigating building on official park land. Around the island little bits of designated park land (not for building or farming) have been appropriated for commercial use. There is the question of Than Sadet which is all national park status. The beach has Mai Pen Rai Bungalows and Plaa Than Sadet Resort. Talks are on-going with the locals and the government about the use of the beach.

The police knocked down several structures on the west coast and other parts of the island. Thong Nai Pan Noi and Thong Nai Pan Yai have been unaffected by the 'clean-up' initiated by the army administration in Bangkok.

In a side note, the police have visited Thong Nai Pan to call upon the local jet ski operators. Naturally no one was licensed and after several chats nothing much has changed.

Medical

While there is still a medical centre at the northern end of Thong Nai Pan Yai, near the Middle School and temple accommodation more locals have been availing themselves of a doctor that is now visiting the area once a week. The step up in local medical coverage is analogous from having access to just a nurse to also having access to a general practitioner.

Pingchan Beach Resort Opens in Yai

At the start of 2016 Thong Nai Pan Yai welcomed back Pingchan Resort. The resort had been wiped out by a particularly bad storm in the early 2000s. It has taken a long time, but eventually, they have managed to build a new resort where the old one used to be.

Pingchan Beach Resort is located next to Pen's Bungalows. It stretches south and goes in front of the Great Escape Chalets. The most noticeable thing about the new resort is that it has opted to use its beach front not just for its restaurant, but also its bungalows.

So far there are 2 rows of bungalows running parallel to Thong Nai Pan Yai beach. The front row has literally direct access to the beach. Guests don't have to walk through the resort to get to the beach. It is right there, to be enjoyed from the bungalow balcony. Only Rasananda in Noi offers the same level of beach access. There is something wondrous about having an unimpeded view of the beach; and being able to lie on the beach just in front of your bungalow.

The sign on the resort reads 'Pingchan Beach Resort'. However, the internet listing on Agoda has the place called 'Pingchan Koh Phangan Villas Beach Resort'. To add to the confusion, Trip Advisor has named the place 'Pingchan Beachfront Resort'. Well a rose by any other name.

The resort has yet to be finished. So far there is a beachfront pool and a reception and restaurant building. From the look of things there are plans for a poolside restaurant or bar. Considering the high accommodation prices, it is likely that there will also be a Pingchan spa at some point.

Those who can remember the old Pingchan's will remember their bar on the beach. It was a popular, laid back bar that sometimes hosted parties. We imagine the new Pingchan Resort will show the same resolve to provide good customer service and to entertain and engage with customers.

The new bungalows look great. They are all brand new and have no wear and tear. This means these are some of the cleanest and nicest bungalows on Yai. They all come with air-con, hot water bathroom, cable TV, mini bar, safety deposit box and tea and coffee making facilities. The bungalows are made of wood and have tiled floors inside and glass in the windows. While preserving the look of traditional Koh Phangan bungalows Pingchan are providing plenty of luxury.

Families will be interested in the double bungalows for rent. They are two bungalows adjoining and linked by a connecting door. The one half has a double bed for the parents and the other side has twin beds for the kids. Each side also has its own bathroom. One of the family bungalows is on the beach.

Prices for bungalow rental at Pingchan Beach Resort start at 3,800 Thai Baht a night. This is a very new resort; they haven't published their low season or peak season prices yet. So expect discounts and promotional prices over the coming months.

Also expect more bungalows to appear at Pingchan Beach Resort, along with more facilities and amenities.

It should be mentioned they have built a low sea wall in front of the resort to prevent it being washed away in the event of another freak storm. It is good to see that the lessons of the past are being heeded.

To check availability for Pingchan Beach Resort click here

Panviman Changes its Website Again

I guess there is a lot of pressure to deliver when you are in charge of a 5 star hotel in Thailand. I suspect Panviman changes its key management team as frequently as Chelsea Football Club. Each new manager seems compelled to commission a new website. The last one for Panviman needed dealing with as it was hacked, and remained hacked for a number of months.

The latest website for Panviman Resort and Spa in Thong Nai Pan is a thing to behold. It is no doubt expensively put together. The opening page uses a series of full screen video clips sewn together to show what the hotel is like. It is very similar to the opening page of PayPal.

The images start with the corner of the beach that Panviman claims, then the speedboat transfer, then the less glamorous minibus transfer, then various clips of hotel rooms, restaurants, spa and fitness room. The site is successful in drawing the viewer in to the 'world of Panviman on Thong Nai Pan'. Pictures speak louder than words; and videos speak louder than pictures. In a sense Panviman has a jump on Rasananda, Buri Rasa and Santhiya in this respect.

The only downside is that the website needs a decent broadband connection (but less so than old Flash sites) and the impact is diminished by viewing the site on a smart phone (which more and more people are doing because they love their phone).

The biggest criticism is that there is a spelling mistake on every page - namely 'Guest's reviews'. The apostrophe needs to be after the 's' since they are referring to more than one guest. In the review section they use booking.com, Agoda and Review Pro. Trip Advisor is noticeable by its absence, as is the fact that the reviews are handpicked and hand coded: the reviews are not in a dynamic feed. The hotel clearly is vetting comments. The hotel also is reluctant to post links to Trip Advisor where people can book on another site.

This leads on to another point - booking.com are notorious gits when it comes to their 'price parity' clause in their agreement. It has been challenged in European courts and is an on-going blot on the reputation of the hotel booking site. They insist hotels cannot offer cheaper rates on their own website.

And yet the Panviman website offers 10% discounts on 'best available rate' for those contacting the hotel directly. It looks like flouting the rules. Booking.com won't take them to court in Thailand but can sabotage Panviman in other ways. We will see.

Other noticeable changes is that the Cool Sands Pub doesn't feature at all on the new website. This surely spells the end for the expensive restaurant on the beach with buffets and live entertainment. It looks like Cool Sands is a flop - the party scene died in Thong Nai Pan Noi and the attempts to instigate a bourgeois, sedate version of the said scene has fallen on its face.

Last Minute Bookings for Christmas and New Year’s Eve 2015

There are those who book their rooms in Thong Nai Pan well in advance, and there are those who for one reason or another wait until November or later to try and get a coveted accommodation in Thong Nai Pan Noi or Yai for the Christmas holidays.

Of the two key days – Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve – the hardest to book is New Year’s Eve. This is no doubt due to the popularity of the New Year’s Eve Party at Haad Rin.

If you are still looking for a room for either of these dates, time is running out. In Thong Nai Pan Noi all the cheaper rooms have gone for New Year’s Eve. Phuwadee and Thong Tapan Resort still have rooms for Christmas. The best you can do for New Year’s Eve in Thong Nai Pan Noi is Buri Rasa. If money is no object (most of us wish) there are still pool villas available at Santhiya and Rasananda.

The situation is a little better on Thong Nai Pan Yai. Both the Four Resort and Starlight Resort have rooms for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Paan Banburi, Nice Resort, Dreamland Resort and Havana Beach Resort have rooms available for Christmas. These will go soon as they are in the mid-range category.

So if you aren’t a millionaire I should book soon to stay in Thong Nai Pan during Christmas and New Year.

For the latest updates on room availability during the Christmas holidays 2015/16 visit Thong Nai Pan Magazine. They have an available rooms update on their front page.

Thong Nai Pan Today

Thong Nai Pan Noi

The weather has not been that good in Thong Nai Pan for a weeks now, and it has been disappointing for visitors who normally expect perfect weather end of July early August. The South West monsoon which affects the West Coast of Thailand June through to September doesn't normally affect Koh Phangan. However, so far this year things have been a bit different with frequent rain, strong winds and big waves on the sea.

It is not all doom and gloom, the weather today on the 10th August 2015 is as good as it gets here in Thong Nai Pan with bright cloudless skies, no rain, and brilliant blue water - perfect for swimming and laying on the beach. That is exactly what everyone is doing today and the beach is packed, particularly Thong Nai Pan Noi which is growing in popularity every year.

More good news is that the forecast for the next couple of weeks is more of the same. So if you are pondering where to go in Thailand over next couple of weeks then come to Thong Nai Pan, the weather is hot, the sea is calm and the beer is ice cold. Be sure though to book a room before you come as nearly everywhere is running at 100% capacity and you may have a long search if you try to find an available room when you arrive - there are still rooms but you need to hunt around a bit to find one.

Thong Nai Pan Yai

More Road Works

The section of the Thong Nai Pan Road from the 7-11 to past Wat Pho is being pulled up and is being replaced. You can see the biggest Yang in the centre of the picture.

At a guess they are going to replace the crumbling road all the way up the hill to Bird and Monkey Trekking/Jungle Flight where the new road finished. Work has been nicely timed to coincide with the peak summer tourist season. A bit of rain and the top piece will become unpassable.

In other road news the Bottle Beach Road improvement has started. This will make a concrete road all the way from the ferry to Sunrise Villa. It will also open up the north of the island to more tourism by day trippers. Those staying in Thong Nai Pan will have the option of sunning themselves on the stunning beach of Bottle Beach.

Goodbye Bamboo

Bamboo Restaurant opened its doors circa 2006. Ever since its inception Pi Gan stood at the helm of a popular establishment that served up great Thai food and that became one of the meeting places of beach folk in Thong Nai Pan Noi. Sadly ‘Bamboo’, as it became affectionately known, closed in early 2015. Gan has left to pursue a new catering project in Koh Chang.

There was a time when I ate dinner at Bamboo 5 times a week. Pi Gan always ready to extend special hospitality to long stay visitors, offered us a small discount on all food. At that time in 2008, there was still a hippy and fun vibe to the beach. Lots of people came every year to hang out on the beach. There were cheap bungalows at Sandee Bungalow, Star Huts and Tapan Noi; the Jungle Bar and Hideaway had big party nights once a week; Rasta Baby was keeping it old skool; and Rasananda was yet to be built.

Pi Gan set up a typical Thai style restaurant - concrete floor, bamboo furniture, raised area with seating on cushions, lots of potted plants, lanterns on the tables, open front and pictures of the King. The restaurant was on the main village road just opposite Again and Again. Both these cheap eating places stood sentinel at the entrance to the beach road. Here people gathered to eat cheap Thai food as well as to have a few drinks.

Bamboo hosted birthday parties, leaving parties, a Thai reggae band as well other performances. Gan was always up for a party. It was never too late for another tasty Penang curry or cold Chang. No group too big.

She specialised in Thai food. She hailed from near the Laos border and bought this north east influence into the kitchen. She made a decent glass noodle salad, spicy laab and Penang curry. I loved her massaman curry. I also liked her burger and fries.

In 2008 Gan included a fruit bar onto the side of the restaurant. She added awesome shakes and smoothies to her repertoire of great food and drink. This was probably the peak of the restaurant. Rasananda opened in 2008, Santhiya and Panviman extended their room numbers in the next couple of years; and then, Buri Rasa opened its doors. At the same time Star Huts shut, Jungle Bar shut, Tapan Noi shut, Hideaway shut and Sandee Bungalow gave up the backpacker angle.

From 2008 Noi underwent gentrification of a sort. The number of backpackers on the beach went down, and the number of higher paying guests increased. These customers were more drawn to Luna and later Better Than Sex with their more ‘refined’ brand of cuisine. Old Skool style was out and ‘sophisticated’ was in. Bamboo was a victim of this change in demographic.

Many bars and restaurants not just in Thailand but elsewhere have a life span. Styles and trends change. Those places that re-invent themselves periodically keep going. For a while Bamboo represented the Zeitgeist of Thong Nai Pan Noi. That spirit has changed and Bamboo has been emptied.

It is not a sad goodbye as Pi Gan has already moved to a beach in Koh Chang and has set up a popular beachfront restaurant. It is sure to be a big success.

Respect goes out to Pi Gan for all those curries and to Sam for finding Pi Gan in Koh Chang.

Thong Nai Pan Trials and Tribulations

Life is a beach when you are living on a beach. However, there is no escaping your own flawed self. I can’t help having my smile dented by small irritations and minor gripes. Staying in Thong Nai Pan has produced 14 little bête noire that I could think name quickly.

1. The ATM machine eating your card. It seems no matter how many times you tell your bank that you are travelling to Thailand they will take your card. You then have to phone the buggers at your own expense and somehow get another card.
2. Having to go on a visa run. It takes you off the beach. It costs money; you have to get up early; and I always get car sick on the winding roads to Burma. Anyway what is the point of going to Burma for 5 minutes to get a visa renewed? A visa run often means the added expense of getting a hotel in Surat Thani.
3. Eating a large piece of chili, and then going through a fiery torture much to the amusement of those you are eating with.
4. Scratching a mosquito bite so much that it starts bleeding and then goes septic meaning a trip to the pharmacy or even the hospital.
5. Having a power cut on a Saturday night when you are watching your team play.
6. Being disappointed when you order Western food.
7. Ordering a burger and not finding brown sauce on one of the tables.
8. Paying more at a bar because there is some tour group going through.
9. Writing a long email and then losing your internet connection before you can send it.
10. Getting drunk and not being able to find your flip flops when you leave a bar.
11. Getting another puncture.
12. Getting a big bug hit your face when riding your bike.
13. Waking up in a sandy bed with scratches on my body and no idea how I got back to my bungalow.
14. Finding a snake in your bungalow.

The Great Escape Chalets

The Great Escape Chalets are the latest arrival to the Thong Nai Pan Yai accommodation scene. It is a group of larger bungalows or ‘chalets’ located back from the beach. It opened in late 2014 and offers good mid-range bungalows. It is not so much a resort as a small collection of bungalows.

The Great Escape Chalets are located 25 meters from Thong Nai Pan Yai beach between The Four Resort (formerly known as Central Cottage) and Pen’s Bungalows. It is a row of 10 large concrete bungalows that offer, as the official prose claims, ‘garden and mountain’ views. Naturally, previous occupants have already commented on the bad location. This seems unfair – the bungalows are close to the beach; they just lack sea views. This obsession with being beachfront never ceases to puzzle me. Is the extra cost really worth it? Most resorts tend to take up most of their beach frontage with a restaurant, as that can generate more revenue per square meter of sand than through accommodation.

There isn’t a restaurant or any other extra facilities at The Great Escape Chalets. No gym or swimming pool or spa. It is an accommodation option that has been created by separately branding a line bungalows that belongs to Pen’s.

The bungalows are concrete. Guests enter via glass folding doors. The rooms have tiled floors and windows. They are spacious. They have attached bathrooms with actual baths as well as hot water. The rooms also have small fridges, TVs and free wifi. There is a choice between a room with 2 single beds and a room with a double bed.

While prospective guests might get excited about the thought of an actual ‘bath’ in the bathroom, it should be remembered that the water that comes out of the taps is from the nearby waterfall. It is brown water. The colour is not noticeable when having a shower, but will no doubt be spotted in a white bath. Moreover, every summer sees water shortages in Thong Nai Pan. The use of baths hardly helps the effort to manage limited water supplies.

The ‘Superior Chalets’ cost about 1,500 Thai Baht a night. While they are more spacious than most of the bungalows in Yai they aren’t beach front and are more than twice the price to bungalows at The Four Resort, Dolphin Bungalows, Nice Beach Resort and Longtail Beach Resort.

Those brave enough in this age of internet booking to just turn up might well be able to get a discount as ‘walk in’ trade. In which case head for Flip Flop Bar on the beach and enquire in there.

Kids Club and Indian Buddha House Raksa Website – Gone

Things often disappear without any fanfare in Thong Nai Pan.  The exception perhaps is the finishing party for Baan Pong on Noi beach. This, however, was not much of a swan song, since Better Than Sex was all ready at the time of the party for Pong to move to. This is different to the silent disappearance of Hideaway, Jungle Bar, White Sands, Star Huts, Otto Bungalows, Que Pasa, the original Luna Lounge, The Rock Bar, the Doors Bar and Tipi Cantina. The list could go on to fill this entire post.

The reasons places shut and websites are taken down are numerous. Sometimes it is bad planning, sometimes the competition have too much money and clout, and sometimes what seemed like an easy way to make money turns out to be far too much work  for those concerned.

Kids Club

The Kids Club in Yai might be in the latter category. They set it up and had some initial success in terms of attracting paying customers; providing fun for children (both Thais and foreigners); and getting publicity. They set up a Facebook page and posted pictures and garnered a respectable amount of likes. Yet, the page soon announced that they were looking for a buyer. Sadly, no buyer was forthcoming – after all what is there to buy? Rented accommodation with a handful of toys is not much of an asset. It is the teachers, carers and qualified staff that make a playgroup valuable.

It is a shame because the big hotels in Thong Nai Pan do far too little for children. They are more concerned about ripping families off by charging for a compulsory breakfast for kids who stay with their parents. In the case of Rasananda it is 1,500 Thai Baht. That is outrageous. None of the hotels offer organised events for kids or qualified child minders. They want to think of themselves as ‘5 star’ but can’t be bothered trying to offer child-related services that are normally offered by real 5 star hotels. When a hotel says they have ‘babysitting’ services they mean they have a cleaner or bar tender who will look after your child while you go down the beach for a meal.

Indian House Buddha Raksa

This beach side place on Yai beach hasn’t closed down. They seem to be doing quite well. There was also a wedding in the family recently. So congratulations are in order.

What has changed about Indian House Buddha Raksa is that they have let their website slip. Obviously the foreigner who set it up (and never finished it) gave up in the end and let it slip into oblivion. I suspect that the Thai owners are happy just using Facebook. It is simple and seems to do an adequate job in promoting a business and announcing events, improvements etc. There is very little money in website design anymore thanks to content management systems that make coding skill unnecessary for making a web page. Moreover, Facebook is free whereas renewing an URL costs money.

The only thing I would mention is that Indian House Buddha Raksa used to be simply ‘Indian House’. It is less of a mouthful to say and makes more sense than the present moniker for the business.

Dolphin Bar and Café Becomes Siam House

Dolphin Bar and Café have made the decision to end the confusion between their bar and Dolphin Bungalows on the beach. They continue to receive emails addressed to Dolphin Bungalows. Visitors looking to book a bungalow online are confused. This is because Dolphin Bungalows have never bothered with a website. It was only last year they bothered to tell anyone their email address.

The solution has been for Dolphin Bar and Café in Yai village to rename. It is now Siam House. However, for the time being they are still reminding people that they were formerly known as ‘Dolphin Bar and Café’. This is because they have numerous glowing reviews on Trip Advisor under their old name. It takes a while to change these things.

The website address www.dolphinbarandcafe.com has been kept but the website has been completely changed. The header shows the new name but also explains that the place was once called ‘Dolphin Bar and Café’.

It is hoped that over time the new name will stick, the TA reviews will be updated and that the website will move to a new address. Then the confusion will finish.

As an aside, the new look website is particularly cool. It uses great photos taken by Myscha Oreo and has a stylish and easy to navigate feel. A big improvement on the last website design.

It is expected that the original and funky Siam House will go from strength to strength as visitors to Thong Nai Pan now have greater expectations. Accommodation prices have increased and people now want something more than the standard Thai / Western menu. They are looking for places with a bit of originality and good customer service. The days of just opening up a basic business on or near the beach and watching the money roll in are going. Those who ignore review sites do so at their peril.

UPDATE: This beautiful website was taken down in 2016. Also Siam House have decided not to use the dolphin bungalows branding, web address etc.

Jetskis in Koh Phangan

I stumbled upon a free website made for Phangan Jetski based in Thong Nai Pan Yai the other day. The site is really bad and obviously ignored by the person who made the site as it is full of spam comments. Moreover, the website is misleading in the extreme as in the video section they have a video of jetskiing with dolphins. Unless you click through to YouTube you won’t discover that the video was actually taken in the Maldives not Koh Phangan!

This flagrant misrepresentation sums up the jetski experience not just in Thong Nai Pan and Koh Phangan but throughout Thailand. If you don’t believe me Google the term ‘jetski Thailand’ All 10 entries on the first page catalogue the numerous scams perpetrated by jetski companies. Operators are meant to have a captain’s license, but the police never check. In Phuket the mafia control the jetski business. You can see a YouTube video that shows a scam in action. A very minor scratch is treated as major damage – Thais crowd the foreigners and start shouting in order to scare the money out of the tourists. A cop then turns up and arranges a small discount. He is in on the scam.

I was going to post pictures of jetskis in the water in Thong Nai Pan, but thought this will just encourage people who look at pictures without reading the text. Don’t hire jetskis in Thong Nai Pan.

Here are the reasons why:

1. They pollute. You can smell the petrol fumes from the jetskis.
2. They are noisy.
3. They are dangerous. Jetskis coming and going pose a threat to people swimming in the sea, especially children who are harder to see and who don’t instinctively get out of the way. Going out to sea in a jetski is also dangerous as the coastal waters contain lots of rocks just below the water.
4. It doesn’t matter if you rent a jetski from a foreigner or a Thai person the result of scratching the jetski is the same: they will refuse to return the passport until they have $1,000 in cash. A scratch costs only a few hundred Baht to fix, and can be done simply.
5. The police won’t help you. Your resort manager won’t help you. The only thing that will help you is having 2 passports!
6. Most people don’t go anywhere on a jetski. They simply circle around the bay and then come back. People stop to stare at you jetskiing not because they think you are cool, but because they are wondering why any idiot would want to make so much noise and cause so much pollution in such a lovely spot.

Please save yourself heartache – don’t rent a jetski in Thong Nai Pan. It is illegal to demand a passport as a deposit in Thailand, as a foreigner should have his or her passport nearby at all times. Saying this won’t help you when hiring a jetski but it should alert you to the fact that the really precious thing is the passport not the jetski.

In fairness to Phangan Jetski they claim to offer the option of buying insurance. Who underwrites the insurance is not revealed. It is just stated that 80% of damages are covered. Whether that means the amount asked for is only $200 instead of $1,000 is unclear.

Also in fairness to Phangan Jetski they have some good reviews on Trip Advisor – indeed 19 good reviews. However, the bad review mentions paying 900 Euros for a jetski that sank – the tourist was picked up by a fishing boat!

More Road Improvements

One of the longest running sagas concerning Thong Nai Pan has been the road. Until the 1980s it was nothing more than a footpath from Baan Tai to Thong Nai Pan. In the 90s it was a dirt road traversing mountainous terrain that became treacherous after heavy rain. In the early noughties the big hill was paved and then in 2012 the road from Than Sadet to Thong Nai Pan was put in. Now they are working on completing the job.

Work is currently underway to concrete the last section of dirt road between Jungle Flight (at the top of the big hill) and the Than Sadet turning. As can be seen from the photos the preparatory work has been done flattening the dirt. Next up is the road laying team who will lay the road in sections.

Such is the nature of road building in Koh Phangan that it seems unlikely that the road from the Baan Tai turning to Thong Nai Pan will be entirely finished but it looks like 2014 will see 90% of the road finished.

The road is of a quality that exceeds any other on the island. The decision to do such a good job is no doubt down to the airport on the same road. If people are to be encouraged to fly to Koh Phangan they will want to be able to quickly get to their hotel once they land.

The saga is not over, but the old fears of being stranded on the Thong Nai Pan road have become a thing of the past. There is more reason to worry about other roads on the island such as the road to Than Sadet or the big hill separating Baan Tai from Haad Rin.