Monitor Lizards in Bottle Beach

The picture is a scan of a photograph taken at Bottle Beach in 1999. I remember the occasion fairly clearly. One of the Thais working at Cookies had caught a giant monitor lizard and had put it in a wicker cage.

The lizard had awful smelling breath. Its tongue flicked menacingly through the gaps in the cage. From head to tail the creature was nearly a full arm-span in length.

The lad who had caught the lizard was full of pride and glee. He kept making the joke that it was going to be chicken curry tonight.

That same holiday we saw more giant monitor lizards sunning themselves on the rocks below the Panviman swimming pool in Thong Nai Pan Noi.

It seemed at that time that these harmless (if left alone) but nasty-looking creatures were all over the island.

In 2008 I encountered a group of Thais and Burmese on a building site. They were a friendly bunch and I sat and had a glass of lao khao with them (Laotian white spirits). They also offered me some sun dried meat. Much to their amusement I declined their offer when they had managed to explain to me that the meat was lizard.

Since that time I have spotted fewer and fewer monitors around the island.

It is tempting to suggest that as beaches such as Bottle Beach and Thong Nai Pan Noi got more developed the lizards had less space to lounge and prey on insects (and whatever else they eat) in peace and quiet.

There are also deer on the island around Than Sadet. They were released as a tribute to the King who loved the waterfall next to Haad Than Sadet. I’ve never seen these deer. I hope the East Coast changes caused by the new Airport don’t reduce the numbers of deer.

The challenge for Koh Phangan is to develop its infrastructure and tourist industry without damaging its beautiful natural environment.

Jungle Bar Closes

It is very much in the nature of businesses in Koh Phangan to change hands periodically. In many cases the land is leased and when the business stutters it is eventually sold to another party who re-names and launches.

There are, of course, very successful ventures like Panviman (Thong Nai Pan), Haad Yao Divers and Drop in Bar (Haad Rin) that seem solid business ventures and are not likely to close. In Haad Rin the lease costs are very high and one bad Full Moon Party might be all it needs to make the leaseholders walk away. By many Koh Phangan landowners it is seen as the safest option to lease land for resorts, bars, shops, spas and restaurants rather than attempt to develop a business themselves.

Another common story is that a place was successful for several years but hits a decline. This is the tale with the Jungle Bar in Thong Nai Pan Noi. It started in 1997. I remember it was my birthday and I went there to have a couple of cocktails. The lad serving us had no idea how to make our drinks. Still I liked the place. It had plenty of relaxed seating on mats as well as a couple of hammocks. The nightclub lighting and the feeling of being on the edge of a jungle all made it a cool place to me.

Now fast forward to 2007, ten years later. The Jungle Bar’s Monday night is packed throughout the high seasons and still busy at other times. The bar has become something of an institution, and the Thai couple running it minor celebrities.

For a long time it was DJ Ton on the decks. It went from vinyl to CD and never really made it to computer mixing. He played all the crowd favorites and often ended the night with an hour of hard and loud techno. People would get drums out and bang along. From 1am to 5am there would be continual whoops from enthusiastic revelers.

The success of the Jungle Bar in Thong Nai Pan Noi had one obvious consequence – the setting up of another nightclub bar on the beach. A good business idea in Thailand needs to be copied. The Hideaway got going around 2006 and had a big Friday night party.

The other consequence was that Noi got a bit of a reputation as a party beach; so much so that a German business started having a 10 day minimal techno festival every summer. They bought with them a large group of Europeans, most of who stayed at Baan Panburi, as well as big name DJs.

The loud noise put people off staying at Sandee Bungalow. The other dubious types of behavior that goes with a party scene put off the traditional visitors to TNP – the hippies. Prices and accommodation quality both started to go up.

Then the beach took the next leap to a high end resort beach. And it wasn’t long before the party scene evaporated. It was this change of scene that caused the Hideaway to close in 2011 and for the Jungle Bar to finally bite the dust in 2013.

The lease has been allowed to run out. The Jungle Bar will be torn down and replaced with small units for rental as businesses. The land is next to the new Buri Rasa ‘Village Square’ and could well be used to create a profitable business that caters to a different and richer clientele.

The story of the Jungle Bar has no doubt similarities to the history of many businesses in Koh Phangan and Thailand. The country is moving fast and so is the business scene. 

Buri Rasa in Thong Nai Pan Noi: 12th Best Hotel?

Buri Rasa is the latest luxury offering on Thong Nai Pan Noi beach. It is built at the end of the public road that leads to the beach where the Star Huts used to be. For those who remember Star Huts, it will come as no surprise that Buri Rasa is completely dissimilar.

Building on Koh Phangan’s most exclusive beach has been going on frenetically since 2011. The same company has been busy putting up another 20 odd Rasananda units while having to build a whole new resort next door. They have been focusing on the Rasananda villas and this means they are really sweating on the deadlines for Buri Rasa.

It is very much a sign of the times that as far as the internet goes Buri Rasa is ready and open for business. They are already selling rooms. The truth is that only a fraction of the 63 promised rooms are actually up and running. All this is excusable. What is bizarre is that the hotel is already regarded on Trip Advisor as the 12th best hotel on the island. This just shows how flawed Trip Advisor really is. If only idiotic Google would stop displaying 20 pages of their misleading reviews on their searches people might be able to find more information about where they are planning to visit. The internet is the home for a polyphony of voices, not one voice pretending to speak for everyone.

Buri Rasa has gone for contemporary style hotel style rooms with all the mod-cons and private balcony. The resort starts at the edge of the village and leads down to the beach. They have gone for a European style parade of shops and coffee shops complete with covered areas and wall paintings. It promises to be very chic and expensive when finished.

At present the pricing seems to be a bit wrong for Buri Rasa. It has a swimming pool but lacks spa, fitness room, wine cellar and the other amenities that give a place 5 stars, and yet the room rates are comparable with Panviman and Santhiya.

No doubt lots of rooms will be discounted through travel agents and for special promotions. You have to inflate your prices to seen to be giving a bargain when you discount.

In comparison Star Huts were always slow to put up their prices. They had an archaic system for booking in advance and displayed a healthy contempt for interior design, swimming pools and for fusion cooking.

Oh well the times are changing. Virtual hotels championed by corporate internet sites are now the thing.

Reviews of Santhiya Resort and Spa on Thong Nai Pan Noi

Santhiya Resort and Spa was the second real hotel on Koh Phangan. And it choose the opposite end of the beach from the first hotel, namely the Panviman on Thong Nai Pan Noi

Panviman is a great hotel and so is Santhiya. They have differing styles. Panviman seems lower key and Santhiya is a brash and luxurious place that announces itself very loudly. They have some very expensive villas with private pools and great sea views.

Below is a list of real reviews of the Santhiya Resort and Spa:

Boris Steiner 

2009-12-16

The Hotel was really amazing! You feel like you are in paradise. I personally enjoyed most the room with pool access, but this might be up to the person you stay with!\r\n\r\nThe hotel is suitable for couples, honeymoon etc. Makes sure you are not going with a buddy (like i did) to have a nice and pleasant stay and really can use everything to the full extend!\r\n\r\nFor the location i can just give a four, as the beach directly next to the resort is even more beautiful! But the good thing is, you just walk 5 minutes!
     

Orit Ziv
2009-12-12 

   
A grat and beutifal hotel. An hour drive in a very bad road too quite. Recomended for people that would like to b alone.
       

Eva Christina Bengtsson
2009-06-28

     
Great hotel. We had a super view from our room. Breakfast was excellent. Staff very friendly and always at your service. The beach at the hotel was not very good but just a few steps away around the corner you reach a nice beach. Pool terrific. This hotel I would like to return to.
     

Nataliia and Oleksandr Globenko
2009-04-22 

   
Amazing and relaxing luxurious hotel, making you feel as being in paradise from the first minute you arrive there. Stayed in Santhiya Garden Villa Suite for 4 nights in April, 2009. There is nothing negative we could find about this hotel. Villas look gorgeous, all of them new, spacious, made of carved teak wood, with really LARGE verandas (there were 2 sun beds with a small table, normal dining table with 2 chairs and a large bathtub on ours). Almost all walls of the villa feature large windows from the floor to the ceiling, which can be easily closed by the curtains if you look for 100% privacy (though rich rain forest trees and flowers around your villa will provide enough privacy to keep the windows open). The wooden roof of the villa covers only the part of the veranda so if you are afraid of getting burned with sun ask for a large beach umbrella and hotel staff will easily provide it in shortest time). All in-room facilities were excellent: starting from cosy cambric bathrobes and slippers embroiden with golden elephants and ending with a variety of elegant glasses in the bar. Service was very nice, all staff friendly and trying to be as helpful as possible. We were impressed with the welcome and check-in procedure. The hotel is large, its villas are situated on different heights of mountain hill but don’t be afraid of exhausting climbing up/down as there are many wooden-decorated hotel cars available upon call from your room or near the reception which will give you a drive as many times per day as you may need (free of charge). The private beach of Santhiya is very good though if you look for a really airy sand – walk through the rocks (1 minute) to the nearby beach. If you want to swim in the deep water – do it on the hotel beach, if you prefer walking for 20-30 meters in shallow water – the neighbor beach would be your choice. Closer to the left side of the private beach of the hotel (side of the speedboat pier) there is a nice coral reef with different fish and underwater habitants so do not miss the opportunity to snorkel there. We are not the swimming pool fans but the pool in Santhiya is the most excited infiniti pool I’ve ever seen in reality or on the pictures. It’s a great pleasure either to relax in jacuzzi section or massage your back and shoulders under the streams of the waterfall. What is very important – they use high quality cleaning system so no clorine can be felt in the smell of your skin or swimming suit. We didn’t try Santhiya’s restaurants because of their high prices and were very happy about many dining facilities on the nearby beach (you can eat in any of them and won’t be disappointed). Still, the breakfast at Santhiya was very good, serving not only European but also Thai food. In general, we were more than satisfied with the hotel which even exceeded our expectations. We took the special room rate at Sawadee.com (our room cost us around 172 USD/night with breakfast and all taxes) and consider that there hardly could be possible to find better alternative on all Samui group islands for the period of our stay.
     
Pamela Molnarova
2008-09-11

    
Absolutely fantastic! We have nothing to add. Beautiful rooms, luxurious, beautiful resort, nice place to stay. Great breakfast, beach, level of service provided. We loved the place and we recommend it to everyone who needs the luxurious accommodation for a reasonable price. Thanks to Sawadee and a special hotel offer (buy 6 pay 4 nights) we paid less than 50% of the normal rate. The only con was the price of the food in the restaurant, which equals to the European level. However the quality was more than corresponding. We had there the best Pad Thai noodles ever. Most of the time we ate in restaurants on the beach next to the hotel resort as the prices were on the level as you are used to in Thailand. We recommend this hotel and we would love to come back again.
      

Michael Rasmussen
2008-08-03 until 2008-08-10      Santhiya Resort and Spa, Thong Nai Pan Noi
We had a PERFEKT stay really relaxing and fantastic facilities on the whole resort. We enjoyed the golf cars taking us to and from our room (just press 0 on the phone and the golf car is there instantly). We loved the evening walks on the nearby Thong Noi Pan beach, with is calm and cool/trendy bars dinner places. We DEFENTNENTLY WILL BE BACK... Love from Michael & Diana, Copenhagen DK.
      

Grassagliata
2008-07-28 until 2008-08-05

      

Magnifique, exceptionnel à tous points de vue. Beauté des paysages, gentillesse du personnel, la plage, la magnifique piscine. Un endroit magique. On a déjà envie d y revenir.
 

Reviews of the Panviman Resort on Thong Nai Pan Beach

As you can see from reading the reviews below, The Panviman Resort on Thong Nai Pan Noi is a popular high-end resort. It has a spa, 3 restaurants, and a big pool with an infinity lip with views over the bay. There are 72 rooms to choose from. The cheapest are about $150 a night. The most expensive have their own private pool. Panviman was the first luxury hotel on Koh Phangan and they have obviously developed excellent customer service. However, Steven T's comment is a reminder that in Thailand it is still very hard to get anything 'complimentary' if you complain. Thai staff just aren't trusted with that type of responsibility and the manager might be having a bad day (such things exist in paradise).

So here are the reviews of Panviman Resort

Cameron Teys
2010-03-20     

Me and my wife had 5 nights here for our honeymoon and it was amazing! Worth the journey to get there. Staff were so friendly, location is stunning, room (spa villa which we were upgraded to free of charge from a deluxe villa) was incredible. Great peaceful location overlooking the bay. Great food (especially breakfast) and a short walk down the beach to the village. Couldn t have been better.
     
Lorna Gordon
2010-03-04  

  
I can't recommend this hotel enough, everything was fantastic. We had a deluxe cottage
     
Veronica Capone
2010-03-01

     
Beautiful hotel, beautiful staff who made us feel very welcome and special - nothing was too much trouble. The staff really make this hotel something special.
     
Finn Sonsby
2010-02-18    

The stay at Panviman was indeed a wonderful experience. First of all a real killer location with fantastic view to both beaches. great ambiance and service. I like the style that is not so comtemporary. Highly recommended and we will definitely be back some other time.
     
Steven T.
2009-07-24    

Disappointed! First, the swimming pool was out of order. Water was green and really disgusting. Now these things can happen, so if they do, a small compensation from the hotel would be appreciated (eg free bottle of wine, or a free meal, or a free spa treatment whatever but here - nothing!!). Second: the beach. Next to the beach there runs a stream but basically this is a sewer. Really disgusting! We had dinner on the beach and visited the Rasananda resort which is REALLY nice. I strongly suggest booking either the Rasananda or the Santhiya. On a positive note: the staff were very friendly and polite.
     
Peter Lim
2009-01-02     

Although a bit far from everything else, Panviman Resort is in one of the best locations in Koh Phangan to rest and relax. Its pools, rooms and facilities are by far one of the best I had seen, and staff are very hospitable. It is up a large hill which was hard to walk up, but gave great views on the beach and sea below. I highly recommend this resort for couples wanting to spoil themselves in luxury, and being far away from all the troubles of busy cities.
     
Jason Laurence
2008-11-15  

   
To stay at this hotel you must love the quiet romantic beauty that would see you isolated from the rest of the island. We stayed here two nights to get away from it all and Thong Nai Pan is very beautiful. This hotel is situated on the top of the cliffside and naturally, there are a few steps to climb and a steep hillside to walk most places. I enjoyed it because all I had been eating for days was bacon and egg breakfasts! This hotel offers free taxi to and from the main town (some cab drivers wanted 1500Bt to drive to Thong Nai Pan one way due to its remoteness) and free internet. The value for money was definately there given this hotel is fairly expensive. I would recommend for a few days but not a long stay. You can t beat the beauty of Thong Nai Pan and getting there on the island s mountainside roads is truely an adventure.
     
Dupichot
2008-08-01 until 2008-08-08

     
very nice hotel but much inconvenient it is seated on a hill and no shuttle service is available we asked 3 times for a coach and received three times a negative answer it is really tiring to get up from the beach
     
Mr J. Atkins
2008-07-23 until 2008-07-25     

Great hotel and fantastic location - certainly the best value for money (we had a Superior room) during our two week trip to Thailand. If you want to escape the frenzy of Koh Samui, then head for Koh Phangan and the Panviman. Beautiful setting on a headland overlooking two great beaches. Yes, the road is a little rough getting there (50 mins. from the port) but the relative seclusion and outstanding natural beauty of the setting more than make up for it. We particularly liked the pool area and the beach at Nai Pan Noi - good swimming (unlike much of the west coast of Koh Phangan) and several beachside restaurants/bars to choose from for lunch/dinner. Food at the hotel was fine, though being a four star, was obviously quite a bit more expensive than down on the beach. Breakfast - an excellent buffet. Overall, excellent rapport qualite prix as the French say (basically value for money). We would highly recommend the Panviman to all those planning a trip to the Samui archipelago.