Dolphin Bar and Café Opening

Last year Dolphin Bungalows on Yai shut down their restaurant. When they did so the people who had been running the place decided to branch off and start their own restaurant. After a hectic few months of building Giat and Kim opened the new Dolphin Bar and Café.

The restaurant / bar is located by Thai Terrace on one of the roads leading down to the beach. It is a 2 story building using local and natural materials. There are plenty of interesting Asian artifacts to look at and several inviting eating and drinking areas. Upstairs there are jungle views and outside there are views over a pond.

The official opening party was held on February 15th, 2013. Despite missing the hoped-for Christmas opening the party was a great success. Lots of people turned out and the festivities went on to the wee hours of the morning.

For the party chicken cooked in large earthen ware dragon pots was served along with many other Dolphin faves.

Dolphin Bar and Café is now fully open. It won’t be long before all their friends from their Dolphin Bungalows days find the new restaurant. They won’t be disappointed: the new menu has fresh salads, pasta, homemade bread sandwiches, tapas, real coffee and healthy breakfasts. It is a beautiful spot with a cool building and landscaped garden. The Dolphin Bar and Café makes a great spot to enjoy a few drinks.

Future planned events include a ‘chilled’ party night and food nights such as baked pork rib specials.

It won’t be very long before the new Dolphin Bar and Café becomes an entity in itself. At present people are apt to get confused with a Dolphin Bar on the beach and a Dolphin Bar just off the beach. The names are the similar but not the experience.

Note:
Dolphin Bar and Cafe will soon have its own website

Game Bar

Game Bar has long been known amongst travelers to Thong Nai Pan Yai as a late night haven for those looking to party the night away. Situated on the main street, just past the 7-11, Game Bar is now the only destination away from the beach that hosts since Funky Buddha went 'dormant'.

Recently, the establishment overhauled its look and feel, making it more family-friendly by day and expanding its menu. The new Game Bar has comfortable booths, pillow-covered mat seating, plush couches, and picnic tables on a street-side area where diners can enjoy their food in the sun.  The owner Keio has made the effort to make the Western food more as it is 'back home' for a lot of people. Ranging from savory ham and eggs on toast and a variety of pastas, such as the indulgent blue cheese penne (xxx baht), and standard Thai fare, the extensive new Game Bar menu will take time to navigate.

Management has put some time and thought into changing the feel of this place and they’ve been successful in creating a bright, welcoming day-time space, while retaining the evening party trade by night. At lunchtime, you’d never know that come sundown, it’s also the place to party.
Game Bar still stands as a night-time haven for those looking to cut loose without the worry of closing times or disturbing the peace. It’s the regular parties that make this place a must on your Thong Nai Pan checklist if you enjoy a fun night out. On a busy night, the small dance floor spills across the bar, tempting even the most timid of dancers into the fold while listening to the wonderfully quirky DJ Lye,and sometimes, a lucky DJ from afar, spinning mostly dance beats. Expect to have a lot of fun with a lot of happy people.

Game Bar opens bright and early for breakfast and remains open until the last customer standing.

End of an Era

It was always going to happen. Well ever since Santhiya was finished in 2006. That was the second hotel on Thong Nai Pan Noi. When it was discovered that Santhiya was filling its expensive rooms and pool villas the writing was on the wall for the budget backpacker places in Thong Nai Pan Noi.

It should be considered a good thing that the urge to ‘up-grade’ Tapan Noi bungalows was resisted until 2013. They haven’t been upgraded yet, but they have been shut down; meaning that there aren’t any bungalows for less than 1,000 Thai Baht a night left on the beachfront. That is a bit sad.

Tapan Noi or Baan Tapan Noi attracted lots of people, including many loyal customers who came back year after year. The bungalows on the rocks were simple wooden structures. The ones at the back didn’t have a bathroom. None had air-con. Instead they had a lot of character. The bungalow on the headline point was a gem – with lots of pointed plants outside and access to two beaches. Another bungalow had a bedroom and an entrance area big enough to install a basic kitchen. There were also a couple of bigger bungalows directly on the sand that were highly coveted and usually only let by the month.

The people running Tapan Noi are a friendly bunch. They got to know their long-stay customers and were always ready for a joke and a smile.

The northern end of the beach was ideal – it was free of the nasty early morning drone coming from the Jungle Bar and Hideaway Bar. Instead there was the relaxed I Sea Bar for a drink. Until 2011 there was the excellent Krua Tapan restaurant to enjoy authentic Thai food as well as the Tapan Noi restaurant.

Now that idyllic set up has gone. The Tapan Noi restaurant is still there as is the I Sea Bar but the cheap bungalows – the life blood of that part of the beach – have been taken out of the equation.

At the moment they are just standing there rotting. No doubt in the low season they will be pulled down and will be slowly replaced with air-con bungalows that will make their way onto the Thong Tapan website. It makes business sense I suppose but in terms of culture and pluralism the beach is a poorer place for their closure.