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. 

Jungle Flight

For many people the place at the start of the long concrete stretch of road that winds down the big hill on the road from Thong Nai Pan to Bantai was thought of as the ‘bird and monkey’ place.

I know the chap living there. Chai is friendly and always spots me when I go past on my motorbike. His is the type of business that I really want to see succeed on the island. He has built it up a business from nothing without a massive cash inflow from an outside investor.

I think he has gone one step closer to making his small tourist business viable. He has rebranded for a start. It is no longer ‘bird and monkey’ rather it is ‘Jungle Flight’.

Tourists, especially those staying at Thong Nai Pan, have plenty of disposable income to spend on activities while on holiday. Chai has aligned himself with this trend by building two long ziplines in the jungle.

In total there are 400 meters of line. He has done a good job. He uses heavy duty steel lines and has built concrete towers to attach the lines. I gave it a go the other day. The ziplines are on the side of the hill. You feel really high off the ground and in the forest canopy. It is quite exciting going down the ziplines. It also provides a great view of the area.

To try the lines costs 400 Thai Baht per person. If you go in a group then discounts are possible. You can also combine a go on the ziplines with a jungle safari. For a 3 hour jungle safari and zipline experience it is 800 Thai Baht. Again group discounts are available.

Koh Phangan is 90% untouched rainforest. This is the great asset of the island that has not been properly exploited for tourism. It is something that people would want to see. It is part of the new eco-movement in tourism. The fact that it is a local lad doing it makes Jungle Flight also a responsible tourism spot.

For more about Jungle Flight visit http://kohphanganjungleflight.com/

Re-Vamp of Thong Nai Pan Magazine

Thong Nai Pan Magazine is a rare thing on the internet. It is a destination guide that is not set up solely to make money from affiliate links. Nearly all the websites about the various beaches on Koh Phangan are blatantly about selling rooms for Agoda and the like. They contain information primarily about hotels and resorts and nothing else.

Although many of these sites have been punished by Google’s new algo update in March 2012, the new search results are even worse! Much more so. I frequently do a search on some KP related topic and I get 10 pages of search results that are 90% Trip Advisor. TA has its place but it only needs 1 listing. People are getting turned off Google for this reason and starting to explore the net through social media.

Corporate entities are trying to get the lion’s share of traffic about what are seen as key terms, and Google is helping them. The internet was once a place to find information; it is now becoming a place to sell people things.

It is thus a breath of fresh air to see the new look Thong Nai Pan Magazine site. Not only is it still on page one but it also attempts to give all the information a visitor to Thong Nai Pan Noi or Thong Nai Pan Yai could want. Yes, it covers accommodation, but also things to do, kids’ activities, places to visit, diving, Thai massage, events, bars and restaurants. It is the most comprehensive guide to Thong Nai Pan online by a long shot. It is also full of pictures and slides shows.

One look at the site and you can tell a lot of thought has gone into presentation and to making information accessible. There is a search box, a site map and plenty of links on each page as well as on the drop down navigation bar. Moreover, they have included loads of maps. Not naff Google map smears, but ‘hand drawn’ digital maps that help people locate a business if they were staying at Thong Nai Pan.

Thong Nai Pan is undoubtedly a special place and it now has a special website to accompany it! Don’t bother with wikitravel (manipulated by business owners and lacking in information), Trip Advisor (piece meal, out-dated and biased) or any of the rash of cheap sites put up to cash in on TNP’s hotels. Go straight to http://www.thongnaipan-magazine.com