My husband and I don’t linger in one place.
With the switch to remote working in early 2020, moving became easier. In 2021, we were looking for somewhere to spend the winter. In the fall, Thailand opened its borders to foreign tourists.
We have vacationed in Thailand before. We have been to Phuket, Samui, Chang, but for wintering we chose the most peaceful place we knew – Pangan Island. We have already been there in 2019.
Until a few years ago, Pangan was a non-tourist destination, frequented mainly by yogis, hippies, party people and independent travelers who like off-the-beaten-path routes. In recent years, it has become more popular, with hotels being built, roads being paved, and more bikes and cars coming to the island.
At the same time, Pangan still retains the flavor of a place like a big village where everyone knows each other. There is no airport, no multi-lane roads, no traffic jams, no big shopping malls, no brand advertising and only two traffic lights on the whole island.
I’ll tell you how much it costs to winter in Pangan and how life on the Thai island works.
How Pangan works
Pangan is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the southeast of Thailand. It is famous for the monthly Full Moon Party, which takes place on the beach. It attracts partygoers from all over the world. In addition to them, the island is favored by yoga and meditation practitioners. Pangan combines the incongruous – parties until the morning and multi-day retreats in yoga centers.
The island is small. From the pier in the central part of Tong Sala Island, where the ferry comes from the mainland, you can reach the southern or northern point of the island in 30-40 minutes by bike.
There are only three supermarkets on Pangan and not as many cafes, hotels, stores and massage parlors as on neighboring Samui. The infrastructure is much less developed, but that’s why most travelers come to the island: to get away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. Here you often see barefoot foreigners not only on the beach, but also in the supermarket. A friend of mine, who has been coming to Pangan with her family every winter since 2012, says: “We come here as if we were going to our grandmother’s village.
The climate on the island is different from the mainland of Thailand. The rainy season here is not in the summer like on the mainland, but in the fall, from September to early December. We arrived on Pangan at the end of November and caught a week of heavy rains. It rained day and night. From mid-December the tourist season begins – hot and dry winter. It lasts until the end of March. Prices for accommodation and food rise significantly during this time.
Life on Pangan is concentrated on the coast, the center of the island is mostly jungle, with only the occasional secluded resorts and retreat centers. The island is divided into districts, which are named after the nearest beaches.
The most touristy places are the neighborhoods of Tong Sala, Sritanu, Haad Yao, Chaloklam and Haad Rin. Before the pandemic, these areas were full of bars, yoga studios, parties and cafes. Now the island is coming back to life. But Haad Rin, where the Full Moon Party takes place, still has many abandoned hotels and closed bars and stores, due to its distance from the central area of Tong Sala.
For family winterers I recommend the quiet neighborhood of Chaloklam: there are no noisy parties, busy roads and there is a kindergarten Le Petit Prince, where they teach in English. I also recommend a quiet part of Tong Sala, away from the central roads. This area has the most developed infrastructure: central pier, supermarkets, bank offices, logistics companies, furniture store and post office. And there is a good choice of housing there.
The most picturesque beaches are Haad Rin, Haad Yao, Zen, Tan Sadet and Salad. On Pangan the sea is shallow, and the possibility of swimming depends on the tides. At low tide the water goes away from the shore for tens of meters.
Money
The currency of Thailand is the Thai Baht, 1 THB. In Pangan, you can only pay in baht and most often in cash. Cards are accepted only in Tesco Lotus and Big C supermarkets and in chain stores 7-Eleven and Family Mart. At first we randomly asked if we could pay by card, but then we stopped and got used to paper bills and the clinking of coins.
We had a Black card. We tried to withdraw money from it at a Krungsri Bank ATM, but the Thai bank charged 220 THB. The minimum amount that could be withdrawn was 3000 THB. I heard that if one or two letters in the name in the passport and on the bank card do not match, the transaction can be refused. The same if the card is not named. But we didn’t have any problems.
Housing
The prices of accommodation in Pangan depend primarily on the tourist season. From mid-December to March, everything goes up in price. For example, a one-bedroom house with a kitchen in Tong Sala area cost 600 THB per day at the end of November 2021, and 900 THB in December. The price is also influenced by the number of rooms, quality of renovation, neighborhood and distance to the sea, rental period – daily or long term.
A one-bedroom house with European renovation and air-conditioning for a month or more will cost 15,000-20,000 THB per month in high season. It will have a living room-kitchen and a bedroom. Bungalows without a kitchen will rent for up to 6,000-8,000 THB per month.
A rental contract is not always signed. Sometimes Thais rent houses and refuse to draw up documents for unknown reasons.
We didn’t look for accommodation in advance. Even though we had been to Pangan before and were familiar with the neighborhoods and beaches, we decided to rent a house for a week first, rent a bike and go to see the options live. This is a common way to find accommodation if you’re not traveling in high season. In season, there is a risk that finding a vacant house will be difficult.
The day before we moved from Phuket to Pangan we rented a house on Booking. 9 nights in a small cottage complex cost 4926 THB. There was a kitchen and we did most of the cooking at home. At the reception we rented a Honda Click bike for a week for 1750 THB.
When we arrived, we didn’t recognize Pangan after the long months of the pandemic. Sure, it’s not as developed and touristy an island as neighboring Samui and even less so Phuket, but even it seemed quiet and abandoned by everyone. There were far fewer bikes on the roads and fewer people in the supermarkets. The almost empty beaches, closed cafes and abandoned hotels were striking.
We started looking for new accommodation from the south of the island, the Haad Rin area, and gradually worked our way towards Tong Sala and up north to Sritana. We stopped at various resorts along the coast. Almost all of them were empty, even the staff could not be found at once. A house by the sea with no kitchen and a bed in the center of the only room cost from 7000 THB per month in early December, and in popularized locations near the Full Moon Party – from 15 000 THB. You can haggle when renting, but we didn’t.
We traveled for a few days and decided to look for a house not on the beach. It is noisy in the evenings and it didn’t fit our criteria: silence and lots of privacy. For longer stays, I recommend looking for accommodation away from the roads and beaches. Pangan is small, it takes 20-30 minutes by bike to get to most beaches, so there’s no need to be tied to one neighborhood. The island is young and partying, so a friend of mine doesn’t sleep well in her beach house. She jokes that there are parties at night and a DJ practicing during the day.
As luck would have it, a colleague of mine who used to live in Pangan gave us the contact details of a realtor she knew. He flew to Bali and offered us his own place to rent until his return. We liked the option: a house in the busiest area of Tong Sala, but at the same time in the back of the island, where the noise of roads does not reach. It was a 7 minute walk to the nearest beach.
I often hear that living in Tong Sala is like living in Bangkok, with just buildings. But near our house, there were three small ponds and frangipani trees blooming. Black squirrels scurried along the branches and varanas crawled past the porch to do their reptilian business. It was a beautiful place.
Sometimes athletes came to the ponds to run. There was also a Thai grandfather – like Kant, every day at the same time – and a ten-year-old Thai girl who was learning to ride a pink moped.
It cost us 15,000 THB per month to rent a two-room house. We also paid a deposit of 5,000 THB. It is rare to find two air conditioners and a large refrigerator in a house for such a price. Lucky we didn’t have to buy dishes, linens, blender. In Pangan, they are sold in supermarkets, the big furniture Home Mart in Tong Sala and in “twenty-batniks” – roadside stands with all sorts of household items.
We also paid for electricity. If you use the air conditioners, it costs 3500 THB a month. If we ran out of gas, we would buy a gas cylinder for the kitchen for 400 THB. Water and internet were included in the rent.
In mid-April, the owner of the house returned from Bali and we moved into the cottage complex where we lived when we arrived in Pangan. We rented a one-bedroom house with a kitchen and a small living room for 17,000 THB per month, including electricity, water, internet and cleaning bills.
We liked how quickly issues were resolved. Once we wrote to the administrator on WhatsApp that the internet speed had slowed down, asking if there was anything we could do about it. He replied, “Ok.” In 10 minutes a car arrived, three Thais changed the router, followed by two girls who came and cleaned up after the repair. All this took 10 minutes. And so it is with any domestic issue: “Ok” – and everything is solved.
Our cottage was surrounded by palm trees, mountains, trails to waterfalls, and just across the street was the Wat Maduea Wan Buddhist temple. Perhaps the downside is the neighborhood with other houses. They are not crowded and the resort is quiet, but we had a more secluded stay at the previous place. True, there was no reception with a miracle administrator and we had to deal with household issues ourselves. It involved in the local life. It was more complicated, but more interesting in terms of getting to know the culture.
Another disadvantage of the cottage complex is that it is located in the back of the island, a 10 minute bike ride from Tong Sal.
How to get around the island
There is no public transportation on Pangan, but hardly anyone walks either.
Cabs. There are no apps like Uber or Grab, which is popular in Asia. Sometimes Thais work as cab drivers, for this you need to write to them in “Watsapp” and drop a point on the map. You can ask for contacts at the hotel reception or in the chat room of the islanders – everyone is willing to share. Once we booked a cab from the immigration office to home – it’s about 3 kilometers away. We were with bicycles and a minibus came to pick us up. The trip cost 300 THB.
Songteo is the local equivalent of a cab: covered pickup trucks with benches that drive along central roads and popular places. You stop it on the road, negotiate a price and off you go. For example, a five-kilometer ride from the pier to Sritanu or Chaloklam costs 400-500 THB.
One day we were riding our bike and got a flat tire. A songteo was passing by. It cost 400 THB to load the bike inside and drive 2-3 kilometers to the tire repair shop. I think, if you want, you can bargain.
Hotels also sometimes organize a transfer by songteo. When we came to the island from Phuket, the receptionist of our resort met us in the late afternoon on a songteo and helped us load and unload our things. He didn’t charge us for the transfer to the hotel. A week later he drove us to our next accommodation and didn’t ask for a fee either. Thais are good about tipping, so we left him 200 THB.
Bike is the main means of transportation in Pangan. It can be rented on a daily or monthly basis. A Honda PCX costs from 400 THB per day and 8000 THB per month. A Honda Click 125 costs 200-250 THB per day and a minimum of 4000 THB per month. The price depends on the season and year of manufacture of the bike. The rentals are easy to find: they are located along the roads, you will immediately recognize them by the large number of bikes on the street.
We bought a Honda Click 125 bike in good condition for 15,000 THB from Mangkorn Bike for Rent. When we left, we sold it to the same company for 14,000 THB.
Once every ten days we filled up for about 170-180 THB, a liter of 95 gasoline at a gas station cost 38 THB. Along the roads every hundred meters they sold bottles of fuel for 40-50 THB for 0.75 liter. It is convenient to refuel in this way, but I do not vouch that the gasoline on the roads is not diluted.
It is not very convenient to travel by car: the island is small, the roads are narrow, and sometimes there are traffic jams at exits and intersections. Renting a car for a day costs from 600 THB, for a month – from 12,000 THB. Usually a passport is left as a deposit.
I recommend asking about insurance: Thais often do not insure cars. You will also need an international driver’s license, otherwise in case of an accident the driver will automatically become the guilty party.
Food
We bought groceries from local supermarkets Makro Food Service, Tesco Lotus and Big C. We spent about 20,000-22,000 THB per month. In supermarkets, the imported goods departments have all the products we are used to.
Occasionally, the supermarket would not have avocados, limes, or the herbs we needed, such as mint, parsley, or cilantro. Then we would go to the market in Tong Sala. There are no price tags on the products there, and I didn’t ask for the price myself either. I would take what I needed and put it in my reusable bags – the Thais approved. Then I would give it to the seller to weigh. Once I paid 140 THB for two large mangoes, one large avocado and a bunch of greens.
Drinking water is a separate expense. In Thailand, you should not drink tap water. In Pangan, some of the water wells outside the house are open, and varanas and chickens get in. We bought clean water at the 7-Eleven convenience store in five-liter bottles for 40 THB. It took about 20 THB per month.
Cafes. Pangan has cafes with local food, a Saturday street market called Pantip in Tong Sala and night markets with food. There are also cafes with Indian, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Russian and Japanese food. We don’t eat Thai food, so we preferred Europeanized places and cafes at yoga centers, such as Orion, Pure Vegan Heaven, Deli Devi, Yoga House.
We spent about 5,000 THB per month on cafes for two people – that’s two trips a week. The average price of a meal was 200 THB. For example, pumpkin ravioli cost 220 THB, fruit bowl – 200 THB, vegan pizza – 250 THB, raw food cheesecake – 180 THB. The portions are usually quite large.
There is no international fast food in Pangan. It’s this detachment from the big world that many people come here for.
Medicine
Once I needed medical help: it felt like I was constantly hearing the hum of an airplane in my right ear. It was the first time I encountered such a problem, so I decided not to self-medicate and consult a doctor.
My husband and I have insurance from T-Insurance, I opened a chat on the bank’s app and asked what I should do. To my surprise, the operator passed the information to the insurance company without even asking any questions.
When I arrived, there were no lines at the hospital. The lobby was clean and tidy. I was asked about my symptoms, filled out paperwork, and waited for about ten minutes.
When the doctor was free, I went into the office. I was examined and diagnosed with otitis media. I received free ear drops, antibiotics and instructions on how to take them.
Within ten days the symptoms were gone. However, the drops ran out early, so I bought another bottle at the pharmacy for 300 THB. Without insurance, treatment in Thailand would have been much more expensive. This was the first time I had to seek medical attention abroad and I was satisfied with the service.
Shopping
Purchases from Lazada are brought by one of the transportation companies – Kerry Express or Flash. It was more convenient for us to pick up our orders ourselves from the pickup points. They are located in Tong Sala, five to seven minutes by bike from our house.
The goods can be returned within a week of receipt. I have not encountered such cases, but acquaintances say that they return money without problems.
In the Lazada app you can catch coupons for discounts or free shipping. Bonuses depend on the number of purchases.
What to do in Pangan
Bike rides. Pangan is a fairly hilly island, so a bike ride makes for a good workout.
We rented bikes from a Thai man in Srithanu: his location is listed as Phangan Cycling Shop on Maps.me. Renting a bike for a day cost 150 THB, for a week – 500 THB, for a month – 1500 THB. The selection of bicycles is large: there are modern and retro, small and 190 centimeters tall.
We left our passport as a deposit, so there were no problems. The Thai guy already knew us – he saw us from afar and rolled out from under the awning exactly the bicycles we usually took. He had forty of them – I can’t imagine how he remembered them all.
Yoga and gym classes. Pangan offers most yoga classes, multi-day vipassana and detox programs. For example, in Orion Yoga Center a trial class costs 400 THB, five classes – 1750 THB, ten classes – 3000 THB, a monthly subscription for any class – 4500 THB.
The duration of the lesson depends on the type of practice. Usually it is 1-1.5 hours, you can go in the morning or in the evening. There are people from different countries in the group, and the teachers speak English. After the lesson, everyone goes to the café at the center for a delicious and healthy meal and socializing.
There are several gyms on the island. One of the best, in my opinion, is Podium Gym in Tong Sala. It has two floors with two large rooms for strength and cardio exercises, air conditioning and showers. A one-month pass costs 1800 THB, a single visit is 250 THB.
Kayaking. Next to our house was a resort on the beach. They offered kayak and sapa rentals there. Sometimes on weekends we would take a kayak and sail to a neighboring unnamed island. Rentals cost 150 THB per hour. The activity usually took about three hours with a walk around the neighboring island. The main thing is to remember to bring SPF 50 cream and a bottle of water.
Massage. There are fewer salons over the pandemic, but still enough for a small island. There are quite simple sheds right on the beaches and spas with different types of services. An hour of massage costs from 300 THB.
A long winterization period offers advantages. For example, you can get a massage in a course of several sessions. I went to Revive Health Massage once a month for an hour-long facial massage, and my husband went there for a back massage. The face massage cost 500 THB per session and the back massage 400 THB.
The master was recommended by acquaintances – contacts of proven masseurs are passed from hand to hand. I am satisfied with the effect of the procedures and the attitude to clients in this salon: smiling, friendly Thai women offer to sit down and wait if the master is late, they don’t mind chatting after the massage, and they also serve tea and bananas.
Internet and communications
Thailand has three cellular operators: Dtac, True Move and AIS. You can buy a local SIM card with your passport at 7-Eleven stores. The salesmen will tell you which tariff to choose, and you can top up your account there.
Simcards are sold with different internet packages and for different periods of time. The prices are about the same for all of them. We bought a True Move SIM card back in Phuket for 300 THB. The tariff included unlimited internet for 30 days. Outgoing calls cost 1 THB per minute, incoming calls from Thai numbers were free. The internet was stable, enough to send to a computer or other phone. We only used incoming calls, mostly from couriers.
The wifi in Pangan works in almost all cafes, hostels and resorts. The speed is enough to watch movies via streaming services. There is no public wifi on the streets and beaches.
Laundry on the island
There are no washing machines in homes on Pangan – locals and tourists do their laundry in laundromats or public machines.
At first we used the laundry service near the house. We brought clothes and bedding by bike and picked up clean, dry clothes the next evening. The service cost 40 THB per kilogram of clothes and 40 THB for each piece of linen. All in all, it cost about 250 THB per wash.
We did laundry twice a week. We did the math and decided to use public machines: it’s cheaper and doesn’t take much time. The prices for washing are different, depending on the volume of the drum and the area of the island – usually 30-50 THB.
I would bring the laundry to the machines, which were parked at an intersection a couple minutes by bike from our house. I would load the laundry into the machine, drop four 10 THB coins into the coin slot, and the laundry would automatically start on medium mode. I brought the laundry detergent with me. After an hour, I would come back and pick up clean laundry. The coin receiver accepts only tens. I had to collect coins in advance and have a kind of “bank” for washing at home
What’s the bottom line
Two years after our last visit to Pangan, we revisited our favorite place in Thailand. We watched the island half-empty at the beginning of the tourist season and how it came alive by New Year’s Eve. We were glad to see that Pangan retains its authenticity, rustic rhythm and simplicity. The feeling that travelers themselves create and preserve the vibe they travel halfway around the world for.
I think it was definitely worth it to go through the winter without snow and sub-zero temperatures. It was an interesting experience for me, and I got to know myself better. For example, I really missed the change of seasons on Pangan. I knew that spring was coming and it was like I could smell the scent of the earth saturated with melted snow, but the evergreen palm trees around me hadn’t changed in months. To the mind, it’s strange. But the sun, the beaches, and the variety of fresh fruit still looked very tempting.
I also realized that air conditioners in the house are a must: they are the key to a healthy work environment. It blows all thoughts of beaches out of your head. But on weekends, you can have a great vacation.
And on weekdays too: we had half a day to watch the sunrise at the sea, do yoga to the sound of birds singing and crickets chirping, ride a bike, swim in the clear water, sit in a wicker chair in a green cafe and read while your morning bowls are being prepared. All of this is available as soon as you get out of bed – no airplane and no border control. The only thing that matters is to keep your perceptions fresh during your months in the tropics, to be able to recognize and appreciate these moments.
