hi and goodbye to all my friends and acquaintances on Ko Phangan. we sold (leased actually) our house and have left the island and are now living in 'real' Thailand, in Cha-am, about 2.5 hours south of BKK.

we have loved the last 6 years in KPN, made many great friends, drank a lot of beer, and generally had a great time. we will miss the island and my beautiful house a lot. we will not miss the 2.5hr Raja boat ride and subsequent 10 hour drive to BKK however.

as some of you know, we are starting a cider making business, Tactical Nuclear Cider - http://www.fullmoonwinery.com/. we have 8 rai of land in Cha-am and are building a factory and will start production in about 2-3 months after all the permits are finalized. we hope to be selling in the south by December this year although our first sales will be in BKK. we tried to start the business in KPN but found it was not possible because the local government offices we need to get permits from are not willing to come to KPN! oh well, its for the best since the cost of doing business in KPN is far too high for a large scale commercial manufacturing operation.

so bye for now and we'll be back for holidays i think. there's not much to do around here although i do like the simple things the mainland has to offer, like cheap shopping, local music festivals, and NO DRUNKEN FARANG MOBS, Muay Thai speaker trucks and Thai's treating you like 2 legged ATMs.

steve

I wish you all the best with your relocation and your new venture.

As we are going quite often for weekends in Cha-am, we will pay you a visit in a new venture.

P.S.: Are Wan & John still on the island?

Looks Good

Good Luck

Live long and prosper!

Cider... sounds like good news!

Any chance for the locals to buy direct from factory?

Good luck and welcome to Cha-am.

Cider... sounds like good news!

Any chance for the locals to buy direct from factory?

Good luck and welcome to Cha-am.

i'm thinking about selling direct from the factory via Thailand post in 3 liter wine bags, not sure about the legalities of that yet, still looking into it.

John and Waan are still in the restaurant and very busy at the moment

Also if we never meet (are we?), I whish you good luck for your new business and I envy you for your new location (I'm a bit bored about KPG).

good luck in Cha-Am Steve! Gotta admit, the boat does get tiresome.

Good luck Steve with the relocation and new venture. Brewing cider sounds a very astute business. I live on Samui and never drink the stuff because it's so expensive. Are you looking to change the price structure, or just offer a different type of cider or both?

sounds good , what strenghth is your ciders?, best of luck to you,

I loved cider back in the UK. Used to frequent a pub called The Ram, in Godalming, Surrey. Special Cider House. Four pints and I was wll p****d . Kept trying to convince the Landlord to rename the pub: Whippet Inn Cider House, but he wouldn't have it!!!

Good luck Steve with the relocation and new venture. Brewing cider sounds a very astute business. I live on Samui and never drink the stuff because it's so expensive. Are you looking to change the price structure, or just offer a different type of cider or both?

both, we make tropical fruit ciders like mango and passion fruit and the price will be the same as premium beers like Heineken and San Miguel

Good luck Steve with the relocation and new venture. Brewing cider sounds a very astute business. I live on Samui and never drink the stuff because it's so expensive. Are you looking to change the price structure, or just offer a different type of cider or both?

both, we make tropical fruit ciders like mango and passion fruit and the price will be the same as premium beers like Heineken and San Miguel

When you come down here via Samui will you bring some cases with you?

Good luck Steve.

i left Samui recently, i still cannot beleive how much better it is living on the mainland. wished i had done it years ago. hope your venture takes off, if you get customers in Pattaya area be sure to let me know.

Hey Steve! Good luck in the new venture! Glad that things worked out for you with the sale of the house! If your ever back on the island give us a shout! SAGE Land & House - Ciara and Charlie

Thai produced cider sounds like an excellent idea. Just like another poster, the imported stuff is very expensive (Magners 270-330baht per bottle) so a locally produced brew would no doubt be cheaper, good luck in the venture and I have saved the Full Moon Winery to my favourites in hope of learning when it comes down my way.

Great news and cant wait to try the cider, keep us all posted on progress and welcome to Cha am