Chaloklum

One of the best beaches in Koh Phangan is Chaloklum. It is in the north of the island, accessed by a good road from Thongsala that goes over flatish jungle. The noticeable thing about Chaloklum is that it has kept its character – it’s not been overtaken with expensive luxury resorts, nor has it become solely a party center. It has these elements but it remains very much the same place as it was 15 years ago. As a result Chaloklum is a favorite with regular returnees to Koh Phangan.

Chaloklum consists of a road that runs parallel to the beach. Along this road there are still a few of the traditional wooden Chinese fisherman’s houses. This invites comparisons with Fisherman’s Village in Bophut, Koh Samui. However, unlike in Bophut many of the houses are still used by fishermen instead of being converted into boutique bars, cafes and shops.

The Chaloklum village is an intriguing mix of the old and the new. There are local shops and restaurants next to boutique places like the Mandalai Hotel and Sheesha Bar. There are also backpacker bars, dive shops, book shops, DVD places etc. On the corner next to the main road is a very handy 7-11 where you can buy cheap drinks and snacks.

Beaches

The main beach at Chaloklum is long – 2.5 km long. Near the center is a pier that the fishermen use. There are good swimming spots to either side of the pier. Being such a long beach it is easy to find an uncrowded part of the beach. Indeed Chaloklum never feels particularly crowded.

The best beach is a sand bank just off the coast. It is accessed via a bridge from Malibu Beach Bungalows. The beach is thus called Malibu Beach. As is so often the case, it is claimed to be a ‘private beach’ but in law it isn’t. The sand is fine white and the sea clear.

From Chaloklum there is a path through a forest to the small beach of Haad Khom. It can be done by motorbike or 4 wheel drive. From March to November some of the bungalow places in Haad Khom shut as it is the lower tidal months. There is an extensive coral reef system at Haad Khom that makes it a great spot for snorkeling.

Haad Khom has no mains electricity. It is a quiet and hippy style beach popular with long stay visitors. Here you can strike a deal to pay for a fan bungalow on a monthly rate. Coconut Beach and Garden Bungalows has bungalows starting at 300 THB a night. Ocean View Resort has bungalows from 450 THB. Often there are no seasonal variations in price at Haad Khom and certainly no minimum stay requirement because of the Full Moon Party.

Activities in Chaloklum

Chaloklum is one of the better places for those who like to do something other than lie on a beach and read a book. Diving is popular. There are a few dive schools at Chaloklum, the best of which is probably Chaloklum Diving.

The wind sometimes gets up in the bay. There is a place on the beach that offers kite boarding and wake boarding.

Near Chaloklum village there is a place that offers elephant treks in the jungle. Opposite is another place that has archery.

From Chaloklum it is possible to walk to Haad Khom and from there you can take a coastal path over to Bottle Beach. For those people intent on a big adventure, the trail continues on to Thong Nai Pan Noi.

Nightlife in Chaloklum

Chaloklum is not a party beach. It is much more laid back and less packed with bars and bodies than Haad Rin. However, it is not a bad place to go out for a few drinks. Drinking spots include the stylish Sheesha Bar where you can get a sea view and suck on a Sheesha pipe. Opposite is Omega Bar. On Wednesday nights Omega Bar has a jam session. They have amps, instruments and a stage. Often ex-pats appear to get some lively jamming going.

In the jungle just off the main village road is Crow Bar. It serves a range of cocktails and snacks and often has a party night. The newest bar in Chaloklum is Zhaba Jazz Bar. It is a converted fisherman’s house on the beach that plays jazz music.

For trance heads in the high seasons there is often an all night party 1 km from Chaloklum. It is the Paradise Waterfall Party, near Paradise Bungalows. The waterfall is not much but there are permanent buildings in the jungle that provide alcohol, food and chill out areas. The party is similar to most of the other parties in Koh Phangan (the Half Moon, Shiva Moon, Black Moon and Jungle Experience) in that it is mostly psy-trance and progressive house beats.

Accommodation in Chaloklum

There are a number of places to stay the beach and nearby. At the west end of the beach is the popular Chaloklum Bay Resort. It has plenty of bungalows both fan and air-con. It also has a small pool. For hotel style rooms there is Viva on the Beach.

A new place is Buri Tara Resort and Spa. It is at the east end of the beach. It has air-con cottages and the resort has an impressive free form pool overlooking the beach.

If you hunt around you can still find some of the original fan bungalows that go for about 300 Thai Baht a night.

Moscowfish

The best band to emerge from the growing musical scene in Koh Phangan is Moscowfish. The core of the band consists of 2 Canadians that hail from Vancouver - Ted Hall and Ea Birkett. They've set up a recording studio in a converted fisherman's wooden house on the island. They enthuse alot about the creaky wooden house, but they clearly love the place.

Moscow fish are a live band that mixes electronica with acoustic and electric guitars as well as other instruments. It is hard to pigeon hole Moscowfish they sometimes sound like the triphop of Portishead other times like a folk punk band. On their facebook page Moscowfish describes their music as: Other / chill-out, contemporary creative, folk/punk/blues, / electronica acoustic.

Whatever the genre it is a sound that works, and that is original. Below you can see a Youtube video that they made on Koh Phangan that features images from the island:

You can catch Moscowfish at several venues around the island. They play every Half Moon Party in Ban Tai. The Half Moon Party is a Jungle Party that is held 1 week before and 1 week after the Full Moon Party. To find the schedule for the Half Moon Party click here.

Moscowfish also sometimes play at A's Coffeeshop. To find their latest gig date go to their website: moscowfish.com.

The band also has a soundcloud page with lots of great songs for you to check out:

http://soundcloud.com/moscowfish

Despite the sometimes formulaic nature of the party scene in Koh Phangan it is clear to see that the beautiful island is also starting to attract those who want to create not just 'play' and imitate.

Jungle Experience

The Jungle Experience is one of the several parties in Koh Phangan that sprang up shortly after the Full Moon Party gained international recognition. The party is held in the jungle as opposed to the beach. For people who are really keen on hard techno and psy-trance the Jungle Experience is in some ways better than the FMP.

Ban Tai is the village on the road between Thongsala and Haad Rin. There’s a turning just before the 7-11 for a road that goes to Thong Nai Pan and Than Sadet. About 1 km up this road is the home of the Jungle Experience in Koh Phangan.

The party always happens 2 days before every Full Moon and Black Moon Party. The FMP itself doesn’t always fall exactly on the night of the full moon when there is a clash with a Buddha Day holiday.

Jungle Experience is great value at only 300 Thai Baht for entry with 1 free drink. If you go before 11pm entry is free. Time and effort has been put into the area of the party. There is a river that runs through the site. There are water features, fluorescent displays, a ‘magical flower garden’ and organic light installations.

As well as selling alcohol all night long (although they should stop at 2am) there is also an all night Thai restaurant for those who need to stock up on carbohydrates.

Unlike the Full Moon Party there is one DJ playing at a time. One sound system brings people together. The 12 plus sound systems at the FMP tend to fragment the crowd.

The music at Jungle Experience is very much the ‘Phangan Sound’ – namely hard and progressive beats and psy-trance. It’s what Thai DJs on Koh Phangan do best. The DJ team includes popular Thai and foreign DJs resident on the island.

Naturally the party is made better with fire dancing, VDJ displays and of course the gradual heightening of the tempo as time goes on. The party ends at 8am.

Jungle Experience is not the biggest or most original party in Koh Phangan but for those who love the Half Moon and Black Moon parties it is worth going to. The one sour note is that many of the villagers living in Ban Tai have complained about the noise keeping them up all night. Nobody has paid much attention to them it seems.