Two years ago was my first trip to Koh Phangan and I felt immediately in love with this tropical paradise. To start this adventure, we flew from Munich to Bangkok and then to Koh Samui. From here we took a ferry with “12Go Asia” directly to Koh Phangan. Yes, the journey is maybe a little bit arduous, but you will be rewarded amply on arrival.
After arriving at the Haad Rin Pier in the south of the island we were picked up by the hotel shuttle of the Coast Koh Phangan Resort & Spa. Just like my first stay here, I chose again this stylish and minimalistic design hotel. It is an adult-only hotel and I highly recommend this beautiful location. It is my favorite resort on the island and it offers high standard to affordable prices. Delicious food will be served by the beach and you are surrounded by super friendly staff. My personal highlight was the infinity pool where I could enjoy the tropical summer to the fullest.
Thai food & street food markets
Since my first trip to Thailand I have been an absolute Thai food lover, as i like this mixture of Chinese, Indian and European influences, all the flavors and the tasty dishes. The Thong Sala food market is the best place to go to enjoy typical Thai food. Strolling through this market with all its scents and numerous food booths, almost feels like being in food-heaven. Here you can find for example my favorite Thai dish, Pad Thai, and a variety of tasty fruit shakes. We use to go there several times for dinner. When it comes to Indish food, the Om Ganesh is my absolute recommendation. The food is beyond belief and the service staff just super friendly.
Conscious community, digital nomad scene and the best coworking spaces on Koh Phangan
When I am in the mood to do a little detox break and to get rid of some tensions, the Orion Healing Centre is the ideal spot to do so. Situated in Sri Thanu Bay in a peaceful ambience this Detox retreat is excellent for nourishing your mind, body and soul. In addition to the classic courses and treatments such as outside Yoga classes and meditation, you can do chackra balancing or crystal healing just to name a few. For me it is a perfect combination of healthy food & treatments and spirituality:
What I really appreciate is the nomad community and the coworking spaces on Koh Phangan. F.or me as a remote working woman I continue to run my business wherever I am on this planet. I am passionate about what I am doing and I am so happy to find here so many online entrepreneurs who are living their dream lifes. Beachub next to the ZEN beach is my favorite coworking space on the island. I love to work here on my projects at a beachfront desk or from a hammock with an ocean view. It is the perfect place to get to know new people and have inspiring conversations. This time I spotted another digital nomad hotspot, the Dots Café. Besides well-equipped working spots, you’ll find a big selection of coffees, sweets and milkshakes.
Dreamlike beaches create dreamlike pictures
You`ll find plenty of them here to linger and enjoy the sun. The Haad Than Sadet Beach is a beautiful white sandy beach at the east coast of Koh Phangan. It is framed by metres high palms and the surrounding is kind of unreal. A small, rustic wooden bridge leads to the neighboring Haad Thong Ra Beach, perfect for a little bit of adventure time and collecting some fresh coconuts. But attention friends the sand can get really hot here. You’ll find here also the massive smooth rocks in the clear water which are so typical for Thailand.
Mae Haad Beach and Koh Ma island in the very north is definitely worth a visit. When the weather is good and the waves are not to high you can even walk to Koh Ma island. This is an absolute extraordinarily experience!
Zen Beach is a THE place to be to see magical sunsets. Drummers and other musicians come together for jam sessions. It is a meeting point for free spirits, hippies and artists of any kind. The atmosphere here is magical and will be remembered forever.
But guys, even when the tourist beaches are clean and well-kept, you can find heavily polluted places here, and I can tell you, since I was here the first time in 2018 it gets worse. It really scares me. Used plastic have become a global environmental problem. That’s for sure and it is really alarming and everyone should do its part to help to change this. The Ocean Cleanup for example is a non-profit organization which develops technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. It is necessary to support organization like this because we are all in this together, it is our planet and we need the ocean to survive.
And even if you are in such dream locations, you should not close your eyes to the local grievances. Free-ranged and stray animals, especially cats and dogs, can be found very often here on the island. This was the reason for the veterinarian Shevaun Gallwey, to establish a nursing clinic in 2001 to give help to those estrays. The first animal sanctuary on Koh Phangan was born. Today, The Phangan Animal Care for Stray, PACS, is an institution with the important task to give help and medical support to sick and needy animals without owner and to control their population and everyone should support aid agencies like this.
Koh Tao and the Nang Yuan archipelago
What you should not miss to also visit Phangan´s sister island Koh Tao and the Nang Yuan archipelago. So, my mum and I booked a tour with a speedboat to go there. But don´t forget to take your sick pills with you, especially when the sea is a little bit rough.
We went snorkeling and spotted beautiful colorful fish, the water here is absolutely amazing, crystal clear and azure blue. The islands of Nan Yuan are located off the northwest coast of Koh Tao. The ascent to the Nang Yuan viewpoint took about 20 minutes and i can tell you it was really challenging, but it is definitely worth it. This viewpoint leaves you breathless, from the top you have an overlook over the islands, which are connected by sandbars. I had to show this spectacular place to my mum, as it is a must-see!
Koh Samui – Phangan´s bigger sister island
We’ve spent our last days in Thailand at the The Coast Samui, the sister hotel of our Phangan Resort. The room is pure luxury with all comfort and exceeded our expectations. My personal highlight is the outside private whirlpool!! We were welcomed with a glass of ice-cold Prosecco, what more could we ask for! One of my favorite location here on Samui is the beach bar Coco Tam’s at Bophut Beach. You can sip your cocktail on a swing seat at the bar or take place in one of the huge bean bags in the sand and look at the sea & the little yards moored in front of the beach. Relaxing in a warm summer breeze, it’s just perfect! For our last excursion we decided to visit the island’s landmark The Big Buddha Statue. It is about 12 metres high and located on the offshore island of Koh Faa. After you have climbed up the 73 steps to the monument you have a wonderful view of Bophut Beach and even Koh Phangan in the distance.
Beautiful Thailand I will be back soon
It was the perfect time to leave the autumnal, gray Germany and spend some time on these tropical islands. Who said the rainy season isn’t good enough? Often the beaches are almost empty and as I never go on vacation ONLY, I used the rainy days to work. “Bad weather isn’t bad, it’s just what you make out of it”. Koh Phangan is as well a digital nomad hotspot as a hotspot for spiritual people, who love yoga, meditation and healthy food.
Summarized Thailand means to me: chilling, getting a massage, drinking coconuts and fruit shakes, making beautiful pictures at the beach, jumping into the bathtub-warm-blue water, discovering the island by scooter, which makes me feel so free and independent and last but not least having the best premises to continue with my business.
What a beautiful and inspiring life here, bye bye Koh Phangan, see you next time! More Thailand blogposts about my time in Krabi, Koh Phi Phi and many other places with lots of tips and recommendations you can find here:
https://blog.franzis-footprints.com/category/intercontinental_destinations/thailand/.
