Drone Over Koh Phangan Airport

It was announced this week that the Thai authorities plan to ban drones. No doubt countries around the world will have to review their privacy laws in line with new developments in technology which allows people to photograph places that were previously hidden from view.

For a couple of years the site for Koh Phangan Airport at Than Praphad on the east coast of Koh Phangan was open for people to visit. That is not to say that people were officially allowed on the building site, but rather there was nothing to stop people from driving a bike down the rough lane and taking a look around when the workers were not around. This year a gate went up on the site. It seems Kan Air have started taking security a bit more seriously.

This did not stop Florenz Kittel, who has a company based in Koh Samui called Eagle Eyes, from flying one of his drones over the airport site.

There has been a lot of genuine interest about the project especially from tourists hoping to use the planned service to cut down on travel time often looking to go to the Full Moon Party or the other parties in Bantai. Despite little official response from Kan Air, Bangkok Post regularly runs stories about the company to keep the project in the media spotlight. As you can see from the YouTube clip there is a lot of work remaining to be done. There has been mention of Kan Air looking for financial partners for the new airport.

Putting all this speculation to one side, the clip does show the beauty of the east coast of Koh Phangan – the sheer cliffs, the virgin forest and the hilly terrain.

Than Sadet

Than Sadet is the most historically important beach on the island on account of it being visited by 3 different kings of Thailand, including the present King Bhumibol and the much revered King Rama V. The latter visited the forest and beach of Than Sadet over 10 times. It is in his honour that the small village was named 'Than Sadet' meaning 'royal river'.

The forest at Than Sadet is protected by national park status. For the time being no big hotels have been built at Than Sadet. It is uncertain that the park status will prevent development in the area. It is hoped that if the local families consent to large-scale development that the national park land is preserved as it makes a gorgeous backdrop to the stunning beach often called Haad Sadet.

The beach is divided into two sections. Just south of the main beach is a smaller beach called Haad Thong Reng. It is also sandy with large rocks strewn around the bay. There is one basic backpacker place to stay. Than Sadet used to be a traveller secret - an awesome beach hidden away from the world with just basic bungalows for rent. It attracted long stay visitors on a budget who wanted a remote beach idyll. It still retains the same feel only now there are air-copn bungalows for rent. Families now stay at Than Sadet. Plaa's, Mai Pen Rai and J.S Hut all welcome families.

The power is still from generators and there is no mobile phone coverage. The road is still a dirt road that gets treacherous after heavy rains. For many this is as it should be. Anyway here is a short movie top give you an idea about what Than Sadet is like.

Haad Khontee

Haad Khontee is part of the Haad Rin peninsula. It is the first beach you encounter as you move north from Haad Rin Nok. You can see the beach from the southern tip of the Full Moon Party Beach. It looks very close and inviting.

Indeed Haad Khontee is only 1 kilometer away as the crow flies. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can walk up Haad Rin Nok and find a trail head leading to the next beach. The mountainous terrain in Koh Phangan means that many of the trails seem counter-intuitive, heading the wrong way. They were established as the easiest way over the rocks and through the jungle.

A good account of how not to get to Haad Khontee is provided in this blog post. Following the coast means scrambling over huge boulders, with the sea crashing all around, as well as forcing your way through thick jungle. Don’t do any hiking in flip flops or without water, sunblock and some snack food.

Always ask a Thai person where a trail starts. The Haad Yuan trail from Haad Rin starts just outside the town. This trail doesn’t go via Haad Khontee. The best options for visiting Haad Khontee is to ask around taxi drivers. The beach was deserted but now has one resort – Khontee Resort. It is a basic bungalow resort composed of wooden bungalows and wooden reception and restaurant. The resort is serviced by a dirt road through the jungle. A decent 4 wheel drive vehicle can do the journey, especially when there isn’t too much mud. The less bumpy option is a taxi longtail boat from Haad Rin Pier.

Haad Khontee

As with the other east coast beaches, Haad Khontee is a gorgeous white sand beach. It’s about 200 meters long. Due to its position and the coastal drift the beach gets lots of drift wood, flotsam and jetsam on the shore. Having the resort on the beach helps to keep it cleaner.

Another thing that should be noted about Haad Khontee is that it is good for swimming near the shore, but don’t try to venture beyond the headland as there are strong currents in the sea. Bungalows at Haad Khontee Resort start at 1,000 Thai Baht a night. It is quite expensive for what you get, but the remoteness and isolation of the beach partly justifies the premium rate. If you stay a few days you might be able to negotiate a room discount.

It is surprising how close Haad Khontee is to the commercial heart of the island, and yet it is one of the least visited and least known about beaches on the island.

Haad Khontee Update

Haad Khontee Resort has closed. All that is left are some wooden bungalows slowly being reclaimed by nature. This makes Haad Khontee a 'free beach'. You could bring a tent or even try to make one of the disused bungalows a temporary shelter.

However, be sure to bring plenty of water, food and other supplies as the nearest shop is either back in Haad Rin or on the next beach up the coast, Haad Yuan.

For those interested in snorkelling, Haad Khontee has a few corals off the coast that are worth exploring. This is one of the few places where you can go snorkelling on the east coast.

Best Party on East Coast

The east coast of Koh Phangan is probably the least renowned on the party island for its parties. All the big parties happen in Haad Rin and Baan Tai. In Chaloklum on the north coast there are a few lively bars and a jam night at Omega bar. On the West coast you can party the night away at Rasta Home (Haad Yao), Jack’s Bar (Haad Yao) and Eagle Bar (Haad Yao). You can also attend a free beach rave at Pirates Bar on Haad Chao Phao 2 days before the Full Moon Party. Hin Kong has open mike nights on Wednesdays and band nights on Saturdays at the Jam Bar. All of these venues and events cast the east coast as the least interesting in terms of night life.

This is particularly true since Thong Nai Pan Noi dismantled its nightlife – Hideaway closed in 2012 and Jungle Bar is a shell of its former self. The mantle of the TNP party beach was never really adopted in Yai – Game Bar is too laid back and sophisticated to really get the house jumping, and Funky Buddha only opens when it fancies – which is not often.

This leaves only one contender for the accolade of the best party on the east coast: that is Guy’s Bar in Haad Tian. Every Friday they have an all night party. The party features resident DJs as well as the semi-famous Peter G who does the Blue and Green Sramanora Waterfall Party in Ban Kai. It is a free party and it is well attended not just by a horde of Haad Rin party-people but also by the ex-pats on the island.

It is a simple bar with a corrugated tin roof, wooden furnishings and low seating and cushions – very much in a traditional Koh Phangan vein. The power for the party is from a generator.

Haad Tian is a typical east coast beach in that it is small, without an off-shore coral reef and isolated. Normally, the beautiful beach is populated by just a few people staying at one of a couple cheap bungalow resorts or the New Age Sanctuary.

You can only get to Haad Tian beach by longtail boat or 5 km jungle trek from Haad Rin. Few taxi drivers will attempt the dirt road to Haad Tian and certainly not at night to carry drunken party people. The majority of those who go to the Friday night party at Guy’s Bar come by longtail boat and stay all night and take a boat back to Haad Rin.

People choose the east coast to escape the cares of the world and the noise of the party scene, but for one night in Haad Tian something of the colour, beats and insanity of the Haad Rin/Ban Tai party zone happens on the east coast.

Linking up the East Coast

Than Sadet Roundabout

The challenge for regional planners and for developers will be to ‘link up’ the beaches on the east coast of Koh Phangan. When you look at a road map of Koh Phangan it will soon become apparent that there are no roads on the east coast of the island.

Instead there is the Baan Tai to Thong Nai Pan road that winds its way over mountains and through jungles. From this road a number of dirt tracks go down to such east coast beaches such as Than Sadet, Haad Yao and Haad Nam Tok.

There are a number of footpaths joining up parts of the east coast. There is a path from Thong Nai Pan Yai to Haad Sadet, one going from Haad Rin Nok to Haad Yuan and one going from Haad Sadet to Haad Thong Reng. It is not impossible to walk up the east coast, beach hopping, but it is very difficult; and such an undertaking would be very much going ‘off the beaten track’.

At first glance at the geography of the region, the notion of an eastern coastal road seems a challenge for engineers that might be prohibitively difficult and expensive. However, the same was said about building an airport at Than Prapad. Moreover, work is already underway creating a road that goes around Koh Phangan. The first stage is to finish concreting the Baan Tai to Thong Nai Pan Road. The next will probably be upgrading the Thong Nai Pan to Bottle Beach Road. Then it is likely that the road will be extended to Chaloklum. When this happens Thong Nai Pan will be easily accessible from the north of Koh Phangan. At that point the east and the west will be joined.

If eastern beaches like Haad Sadet and Haad Thian become centres of hotel development there will be pressure to first provide better access roads to these beaches – The Haad Sadet road is already underway – and to build roads going north-south, not just east-west.

These questions are partly the territory of land speculators who look to predict the future and get in on the ground floor. Opposed to the money incentive are those purists who love the east coast beaches exactly because they are hard to get to and cut off from the rest of the island.

Than Sadet

Than Sadet literally means ‘royal river’. The area was given this name in honour of King Rama V who visited the area several times during his reign. It is customary to also call the beach Than Sadet although perhaps more accurately it should be called ‘Haad Than Sadet’.

Despite its beautiful beach and royal connections, Than Sadet has resisted becoming a major tourist attraction on the island. This is because of the difficulty of reaching the beach, and because it is a small beach owned by local families who have kept to the simple formula of catering to backpackers with basic Thai style bungalows.

Things are slowly changing. The road from Ban Tai to Thong Nai Pan has been paved and now work is starting on improving the road to Than Sadet. At present the island’s electricity supply doesn’t reach the beach resorts at Haad Than Sadet. Instead, electricity comes from generators that are switched off in the evening. No doubt over the next few years this will change.

Waterfall and National Park

Than Sadet is a village, beach and large national park that stretches over a wide area. It is free to enter the park. The park is famous for its waterfall course that was a favourite spot of King Rama V. He signed his name on one of the rocks. Subsequently two other Kings of Thailand, including the present King Rama IX, have added their signatures.

The picture shown below was taken in July when the water levels are at their lowest. The best time to visit Than Sadet waterfall is between December and February.

In this picture you can see all three royal signs. From left to right, the authors are Rama V (in 1901), the current king Rama IX (in 1962) and Rama VII (in 1928).

Accommodation in Than Sadet

There are a couple of bungalow outfits to stay at on the beach. The most popular is Mai Pen Rai Bungalows. They are located right on the beach front. These beachfront bungalows cost between 1,000 THB and 1,300 THB a night depending on the season. They come with fans and are beautifully built using natural materials. Some are built around the large granite boulders which are a feature of North East Koh Phangan. Bear in mind that all electricity in Than Sadet comes from a generator, which is switched on only between 11am and 4pm and 6pm and midnight.

Mai Pen Rai Bungalows also has a beach restaurant. The food is good, particularly the Western dishes with a French co-owner overseeing the kitchen.

At the opposite end of the beach to Mai Pen Rai bungalows there is a cluster of small restaurants and bungalow resorts clinging precariously to the steep headland.

View

The climb to the top of the headland is by concrete steps pinned into the granite rock face. It’s not far, but it is steep. It is worth making the effort as the view from the headland is magnificent. The picture is taken from the restaurant at Silver Cliff Bungalows, where small bungalows with an equally good view are available for 400 to 500 THB a night. You can't book these bungalows online, only by telephone a few days in advance. This said they are rarely full, and there are plenty of other places to choose from, so if you want to stay perhaps it’s less hassle to sort it out when you get there. Bon chance!

East Coast About to Open Up

In June 2013 work began on the small stretch of road just before Than Sadet that remained dirt track. When it is completed (due 1st October) it will open up the east coast of Koh Phangan to further tourist development.

At present it is only the Thong Nai Pan area that has luxury hotels and a mass tourist appeal. However, this situation could all change within a few years. The west and south coasts suffer from large tidal differences. In the high season of July and August the sea recedes a long way at low tide. It means people have to walk 1 km out to be able to swim. Although beaches like Haad Salad and Haad Yao on the west coast have coral reefs and diving and snorkelling opportunities, for those just wanting a swim these beaches are far from ideal. The best swimming beaches are definitely on the east coast in places like Thong Nai Pan, Than Sadet, Haad Nam Tok, Haad Thian and Haad Yao East. It is these pristine beaches with great swimming conditions that developers will be looking to build hotels and luxury resorts on.

Koh Phangan Airport is under construction and due to be finished in late 2013 or early 2014. With a good road linking the airport to the east coast beaches it is only a matter of time before people stop looking at Ban Tai and Haad Rin and start casting their attention to the eastern beaches.

In Snowdonia in Wales high gates have been placed in the park that are commonly referred to as ‘granny stops’. They are designed to deter the masses from over-running the national park. Only the better and fitter climbers and walkers make it over the high gates to enjoy certain parts of the park. This is to protect the environment.

The bad condition of the Ban Tai to Thong Nai Pan Road was in effect a ‘granny stop’ that held in check mass tourism and large scale development projects. When the 3.75 km part of the road is paved the granny stop will be removed and more people will start to explore the beautiful east coast.

The least well known beaches in Koh Phangan are set, in a few years, to become the best known. That is ‘progress’.