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

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.

Wat Pho Herbal Sauna

Wat Pho in the village of Bantai is easily reached from Haad Rin or Thongsala: just take the turning to Thong Nai Pan next to the 7-11 on the main road and head up the road for a couple of kilometers. On the left you will see the tall tower, pointed roof and enclosure that denote a Buddhist temple complex in Thailand.

The herbal sauna at Wat Pho is famous in Koh Phangan, as it is the only one of its kind on the island. It used to be free, and run using donations. It was shut for several years and then re-opened in 2007. Since starting up again, guests are now charged 50 Thai Baht to use the herbal sauna. The monks are given help with the upkeep of the place thanks to a joint venture program.

During busy times of the year it is a good idea to go down to the temple and book the use of the herbal sauna. At other times of the year you can normally turn up and get into the sauna straight away. The sauna is open from 2pm to 7pm every day of the week.

It is believed that Thai massage was invented by the Buddha’s personal physician. This is more than likely to be apocryphal but it nevertheless clearly highlights the connection in Thailand between medicine and religion. This is certainly the case with herbal saunas. The herbs are chosen to be build strength, detox the body and cleanse the skin. The herbal combination includes lemongrass, turmeric and jasmine

When you arrive at Wat Pho for a sauna you are given a sarong. You strip off, put your clothes and valuables in a locker and then preserve your modesty using the sarong.

You enter a narrow room with ceramic benches on either side. The steam comes from piping venting from the walls. The steam has a strong fragrance. It is a low small room with little space and you soon get very hot and are dripping with sweat. Those who say the sauna is not hot enough are well off the mark: it is more than hot enough to purge yourself of toxins.

The average person can’t take more than an hour in the sauna before they call it a day. When you decide to stop the sauna experience a monk will offer you a cold drink or a hot herbal tea.

A common method is to go into the sauna for 10 minutes and then go outside, ladle some cold water over yourself and cool down for 5 minutes. This process can be repeated for a few times to acclimatize the body before trying to bear the heat for 15 or 20 minutes. Any more than that and you might evaporate into steam. It is not a good idea to play chicken with another sauna guest as the steam places stress on the heart and respiratory system.

Wat Pho herbal sauna is a great experience and a bargain for only 50 Thai Baht. Even if you don’t believe in beauty and spa treatments this experience is one worth having.