Tsunami warning system will be installed in Koh Samui, the famous resort island next to Koh Phangan. It is estimated, that installation will be completed by the end of June 2006. The warning system will be linked to the National Disaster Warning Center in Nonthaburi Province.

Saras Kitchen is no doubt one of the best restaurants in Koh Phangan. Saying “the best” I don’t mean, “fancy”; from this point of view, Saras Kitchen is probably the worst. If you are looking for a restaurant with tasteful interior – you may consider skipping “Saras Kitchen”, but if you know how to recognize and appreciate a high quality food and cooking - “Saras Kitchen” is just the right place to visit.

I became aware of this restaurant from the leaflet, put in my hand by a young boy at the “Chicken Corner” in Haad Rin. The leaflet’s text was as follows:

We don’t have Western food,
We don’t have Israeli food,
We have only Thai authentic food.

Despite of being surprised from the fact, that having “Thai authentic” meal could have been an issue in Thailand, I followed the leaflet’s instructions and found this restaurant, placed behind the Outback bar.

The building carrying the sign “Saras Kitchen” featured the dining area (with characteristic plastic tables, chair and maps), the kitchen and… sewing workshop (which can also be useful). The interior decoration was apparently not their strongest point. But the food… oh my… “Saras Kitchen’s” shrimp was so delicious that after my first lunch I came back for dinner at the same day, and the next day I’ve have even brought 5 friends with me straight from the Cocohut Village resort…

None of us remembers the exact moment of discovering the Haad Yuan beach. This is a small, picturesque beach accessed from Haad Rin by the longtail (taxi boat). Experienced walkers should also try the 5th km mountain path. Despite its proximity to Haad Rin, this beach looks much less crowdie. In spite of the fact that our permanent residence in Koh Phangan was in Leela Beach – my sister chose to spend couple of days on Haad Yuan, trying to properly allocate the huge amount of time between reading, swimming and staring at the sea from the terrace of the bamboo resort restaurant.

Although I’m definitely not the “laying-on-the-beach-till-the-crane-will-pick-me” tourist kind, I decided to join her for one-day. I had no regrets whatsoever! In Haad Yuan I took the best pictures of the trip (taking nice authentic pictures of pure solid beauty is a thing that stands on its own) and had a meal in one of the best restaurants on the island.

The bamboo resort restaurant offers an unbelievable variety of Thai, Burmese (the two chefs are from Myanmar) and Western dishes. As for me, the best choice was the grilled and spicy red shaper fish, (my sister still dreams of their Tom Yum Kung soup). The restaurant is relatively expensive comparing to Koh Phangan standards (for example, my red shaper cost 250 baht), but it’s worth every bath. After the meal, you can savor the beauty of the beach, sea and mountains surrounding them, or … take a nap on a mattress inside the restaurant.

The 5th Samui Regatta, including series of boat races, is taking place this week at Koh Samui, the closest island to Koh Phangan. The competition will last 5 days, from May 22nd to May the 27th. The participants come from all over the world: from Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Thailand.

The boat trip around Koh Phangan was one of the best experiences I have had on the island. I would have never considered it if I was alone – but fortunately, my mom and aunt were persistent enough to convince me to participate. Boat trip is the easiest way to take a quick look at different parts of the island, before making final decision about the sites you want to see in more detail.

In Haad Rin one can choose between two well organized boat tours: “Reggae Magic Boat Trip” and “Snoop Dogg Boat Trip”, both include Than Sadet Waterfall, the spectacular beach Thong Nai Pan, the small island Koh Ma, which is best for diving and snorkeling, and another site (in our case it was the lovely Bottle beach). Both trips include free lunch, both cost 500 baht, and since we could hardly find any differences between the two trips – we coincidentally chose the “Reggae Magic Boat Trip”.

At the very first day of the trip, I was woken up at 10 am - too early comparing to Thai vacation standards. I’ve got out of bed unwillingly and felt like a somnambulant that nothing of fortune can happen to her on this particular day.

Fortunately, I was wrong. At the very moment we arrived at “Reggae Magic Bar” (gathering point) – everything looked much better. Except for us three, the group included a Korean couple, three British guys, four Israelis, four Australians, two Swedish, three Americans, two Spanish and one physically tiny but energetic Thai guide, who was also the “Reggae Magic Bar” owner. The guide welcomed us, “Good morning, ladies and ladyboys“, and we all turned to the beach, where our boat has been already waiting.

To climb the boat, we were forced to enter the water, and walk about 10 meters toward the boat. As we got the board, and everyone had enough time to take a sit and ensure that his or her camera is safe - The guide welcomed us again and suggested that till the end of the trip we should all act like a big family. Although we were absolute strangers, and most of us came from strongly individualist cultures, everyone liked this idea. The guide offered some water, coke, fruits and cigarettes, and the boat left the beach. Our first stop was the famous Than Sadet Waterfall.

(Posted by Danielle, 14 y.o.)

Useful Information
Reggae Magic Boat Trip
Haad Rin, tel. 01-0859137
Snoop Dogg Boat Trip
Haad Rin, tel. 09-5293828, 077-375364

Continuous rain has been observed in the province of Surat Thani for the last six days, causing risk of floods and landslides. The province’s Governor Vijit Vichaisarn of possible damages has warned Surat Thani residents living in proximity to rivers and hillsides. Resorts’ owners and operators in Koh Phangan and neighboring islands have been advised to take preventive measures.

Participating in the Full Moon Party as part of visiting Koh Phangan is one of the “musts”. During the last decade this party has gained notoriety due to the growing amount of drug users. That fact alone surely doesn’t justify skipping it … although the Full Moon does attract some “werewolves”, the general ambience of the party is amazing. It cannot be explained by words. Thousands of joyful, exhilarated people dance together in the most beautiful place in the world to the sounds of the coolest music (trans, house and more)… it’s astonishing.

By the way, at the last Full Moon (April 2006) I’ve met the sweetest Japanese family: parents, children and an 80 y. o. grandma. They all danced together and took their pictures, and as the grandma got tired, she sat in the middle of the dancing circle.

As for the whole drug scene, the gumption of our resort employees must be mentioned here. Some guy had a heart attack in the resort’s restaurant a day after the full moon. I was sure that it’s epilepsy, but my friends explained to me that it’s consequence of using drugs. Nobody of us, foreigners, knew what to do… Till four or five employees arrived in the restaurant to help the guy, and succeeded to ‘cure’ him in 10 minutes by rapidly pressing on different points of his body. It was a prolific thing to watch. It seems like these guys can be trusted in any situation.

Thai tom yum soup is one of my favorite meals among Thai Cuisine. During my stay in Koh Phangan it was my daily meal. If one had squeezed me– pure tom yum would have drip out my ears. As soon as I got back home, I’ve made my own version of the Thai tom yum recipe, and it was definitely not bad. However, it did not reach the delicate authentic flavor of the dish served in Mam’s small restaurant- my friend from Koh Phangan.

The first time I had a meal at her restaurant was quite coincidental. Mam is a great cook with a unique charming personality. Unfortunately, she is also the worst marketer on the island. Her small restaurant, placed in a hidden passage not far from the “Chicken corner”, can be seen neither from the beach nor from the main street; there are no signs; and she never distributes any leaflets. Since the restaurant is inexpensive, most of her clients are locals. Nonetheless, Mam is extremely professional as a restaurant manager, cook and waitress for the tourists: each meal in her restaurant had its own unique blend of vegetables, fruit and sea food and it is never too spicy, too hot, too cold or too fancy. On top of it all, Mam is always ready to prepare that special meal just for you.

Speaking about Mam, I’ve almost forgotten to publicize the promised Thai tom yum soup recipe…

Ingredients:
4 cups of cold water;
2 cups of coconut milk;
1 tbs. of tamarind of lemon juice;
1 tbs. of lemon grass;
1 tbsp Kaffir Lime;
1 chili pepper;
1 tbsp soy sauce;
2 tbs. Brown sugar;
Fresh cilantro;
Peeled shrimp.

Instructions: Boil the water and the coconut milk; gradually add all the ingredients except from the shrimp. Mix the soup. Simmer 5 – 10 minutes. Add the shrimp. Simmer 5 – 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

The Public Transportation Bus is the cheapest way to travel in Thailand. For instance, the one-way night ticket from Bangkok to Kon Phangan, including the bus and the ferry, will cost you as low as 650 baht. Usually, the shuttle bus is taking passengers from the pier in Surat Thani to the bus station and back.

The night bus departs from Bangkok at 7 pm and arrives at the early morning hours to Surat Thani. The first ferry will take you from Surat Thani to Thong Sala in Koh Phangan. The night bus from Kon Phangan to Bangkok leaves Surat Thani at the same time - 7 pm.

The main advantage of this route is the low cost, but it involves a certain inconvenience entailed with the timing of the trip.

Next option is the Government Bus, which takes its passengers directly to the pier and saves you some time and inconvenience. A ticket to the Government Bus will cost you about 1000 baht for the night trip.

Finally, the Lomprayah Company suggests a day trip: The trip includes the ferry, connecting Chumpon (on the mainland) to Koh Phangan (and Koh Tao and Koh Samui), and the bus connecting Chumpon to Bangkok. This service is rather expensive, and costs about 1150 baht. Unfortunately, I was forced to use this option due to the lack of available flight tickets from Koh Samui to Bangkok. Despite the price, I recommend it to anyone visiting Thailand for the first time. First, it is still much less expensive than a flight ticket. Second, you can see this trip as a kind of tour across Thailand. Third, the bus is well equipped and convenient.

I would take it again if only for the 20-minute break we had at the remote gas station. During this break, everyone was able to use a toilet with a banana drawn on the cell door (if he was a man) or couple of papayas (if she was a woman); to buy some unknown food suspected of being a fish (since the salesman performed swimming motions to explain what the food was); and finally feel like a local. Like you belonged.

Useful information

Government Bus Schedule: Bangkok - Koh Phangan

Departs from Raja Ferry Port, Thong Sala

Government Bus Schedule: Koh Phangan - Bangkok

Departs from Southern Bus Terminal, Bangkok

Government Bus
Tel. in Koh Phangan: 077-238507, 077-238762
Tel. in Bangkok: 02-4347192, 02-4355605

Bus and Ferry by Lomprayah Company: Bangkok - Koh Phangan

Bus and Ferry by Lomprayah Company: Koh Phangan - Bangkok

Lomprayah
Tel. 077-238412

The full moon parties held in Koh Phangan every month, just like diving in Koh Tao or visiting the weekend market in Bangkok, have been turned during the last decade into one of the most prominent symbols of a typical Thailand vacation. When I’ve asked people about the cultural/historical roots of the full moon party tradition – I was told it began as somebody’s birthday party, although nobody was sure if it took place at 1987 or 1988. The party was so successful, that its organizers decided to repeat it next month… and the rest is history.

Nowadays, the Full Moon Party is kind of a global music festival, attracting thousands of visitors to the island every month (the exact number of the Full Moon Party participants varies from 7,000 in low season to 35,000 in high season, according to the estimation of local resorts’ owners. Rather than being a “party”, the occasion is sort of a variety of beach parties in Haad Rin area… So if you can find any difference between them, you are welcome to choose what’s best for you.

As for planning and participating this party, I have some tips I wanna share with you:

1. If you failed to participate in the Full Moon Party (especially if you really wanted to) – there are some very good alternatives, like the Half moon party and Black moon party. Everyone who stays on the island for 1 week and more will have the option to take a part in one of the above.

2. Be extremely cautious when it comes to drugs. The local police are really enthusiastic about stopping the drug problem flooding the island and therefore have an intolerant attitude towards drug users. If caught for using drugs, you may be either fined of up to 50,000 baht or imprisoned.

3. The exact date of the full moon party can change due to Buddhist calendar, so the party could not withheld at the same day as the Buddhist holiday. Check then exact party date before visiting the island.

4. If you have no intention to participate in the Full Moon Party – consider either visiting the island at a different time of year or look for accommodation at the Northern beaches, far from Haad Rin. It will be much less crowdie and expensive.

5. Be aware of the huge theft phenomenon during the Full Moon Party, either at the party itself or in the resorts… Keep you money, traveler checks, passports and credit cards as safe as possible.

The dates of the next full moon parties are as follows:

Wednesday 09.08.2006
Thursday 07.09.2006
Saturday 07.10.2006
Sunday 05.11.2006
Wednesday 06.12.2006
Wednesday 03.01.2007
Saturday 03.02.2007
Saturday 03.03.2007
Monday 02.04.2007
Wednesday 02.05.2007
Thursday 31.05.2007
Friday 29.06.2007

Tuesday 31.07.2007 

Tuesday 28.08.2007 

Wednesday 26.09.2007