Mae Had Beach, Ko Phangan

[femi fan]

Greetings lucky island dwellers! Couple of questions for a chiang mai resident if i may...

Spent the 90s visiting samui and phangan and tao at every opportunity. Upon moving up north from bkk i've rarely got back there, such is the pity. My last big visit was in 2007 and i was overjoyed to find mae had beach and chalokhlum beaches pretty much as they always were. In particular my normal abode of island view cabana in mae had was exactly the same, heaven!

Question is, has anything much changed to island view cabana resort, or to the beach area and village itself? Or does it still beat to its own slow drum?

And in case anybody can find out, i cannot locate island view cabana's phone number anywhere in my records. Any chance?!

Will be coming down in december for ten days, and thoroughly looking forward to it.

Edited September 13, 2010 by femi fan

[samuijimmy]

Island View did a bit of a make over last year... nicer cabanas, & re-make of the restaurant... little more up market, but same staff & owners... yes great place! & always busy!

I will PM you their number....as owner's private number....

[nocturn]

Island View did a bit of a make over last year... nicer cabanas, & re-make of the restaurant... little more up market, but same staff & owners... yes great place! & always busy!

I will PM you their number....as owner's private number....

yes, island view is still quite reasonable, though after the makeover i think they are doing 1100 per night for beach front more depending on who you know / how long you stay .

i am particularly fond of bungalow number one for its proximity to the outdoor shower.

Maehaad is still one of the best sunsets on the island bar none, though the local police like to set up a search point on the road to catch people heading down to the beach with a sunset joint.

the village of chaloklam is also still pretty chilled, though there are more and more things to do there.

the only caveat is the guy running island view is a bigoted ass, i have see him treat visiting Thais like utter <deleted>, forcibly throwing them off the beach after 6 pm. i watched this happen nightly this past songkran. there is also a sign up in big red letters in Thai forbidding Thais to use the beach.

koh ma was hit pretty hard by this seasons bout of coral bleaching, but so was everything.

[Gatorade]

Island View did a bit of a make over last year... nicer cabanas, & re-make of the restaurant... little more up market, but same staff & owners... yes great place! & always busy!

I will PM you their number....as owner's private number....

yes, island view is still quite reasonable, though after the makeover i think they are doing 1100 per night for beach front more depending on who you know / how long you stay .

i am particularly fond of bungalow number one for its proximity to the outdoor shower.

Maehaad is still one of the best sunsets on the island bar none, though the local police like to set up a search point on the road to catch people heading down to the beach with a sunset joint.

the village of chaloklam is also still pretty chilled, though there are more and more things to do there.

the only caveat is the guy running island view is a bigoted ass, i have see him treat visiting Thais like utter <deleted>, forcibly throwing them off the beach after 6 pm. i watched this happen nightly this past songkran. there is also a sign up in big red letters in Thai forbidding Thais to use the beach.

koh ma was hit pretty hard by this seasons bout of coral bleaching, but so was everything.

"the only caveat is the guy running island view is a bigoted ass, i have see him treat visiting Thais like utter <deleted>, forcibly throwing them off the beach after 6 pm. i watched this happen nightly this past songkran. there is also a sign up in big red letters in Thai forbidding Thais to use the beach"

I'm curious, how can this jerk legally throw people off a beach? I thought that ALL beaches belong to the King!

[femi fan]

Island View did a bit of a make over last year... nicer cabanas, & re-make of the restaurant... little more up market, but same staff & owners... yes great place! & always busy!

I will PM you their number....as owner's private number....

got the number thanks mate, and have replied to you. I should add that you're welcome to try and cheer me up over what i see as this bad news on the makeover! IVC, and mae had, was surely one of the most chilled places in the world that hardly anyone knew. I guess that's why it all stayed much the same for so long. What about the path that led to the waterfall and the huge monitor lizards? Last time i was there three years ago there were a few bungalows along the path, but all empty. I was there in june, so perhaps low season. Are those bungalows open for business now?

Any other ideas instead of ivc and mae had? Phangan to me was always basic cheap bungalow on beach facing west, still very 'traveler' oriented rather than tourist oriented. Perhaps i need to go further down the western coast to get what i need. Any recommendations below had yao beach? Anyone?!

[femi fan]

yes, island view is still quite reasonable, though after the makeover i think they are doing 1100 per night for beach front more depending on who you know / how long you stay .

i am particularly fond of bungalow number one for its proximity to the outdoor shower.

Maehaad is still one of the best sunsets on the island bar none, though the local police like to set up a search point on the road to catch people heading down to the beach with a sunset joint.

the village of chaloklam is also still pretty chilled, though there are more and more things to do there.

the only caveat is the guy running island view is a bigoted ass, i have see him treat visiting Thais like utter <deleted>, forcibly throwing them off the beach after 6 pm. i watched this happen nightly this past songkran. there is also a sign up in big red letters in Thai forbidding Thais to use the beach.

koh ma was hit pretty hard by this seasons bout of coral bleaching, but so was everything.

I think bunglow no 1 is the furthest from ko mah? I used to stay round the corner where there were only about three bungalows.

Local police setting up blocks... man does this sound depressing! Mae had was so chilled and so out of the way of even the police. As for the owner, what then will he make of me bringing my thai wife?!

Any recommendations for a decent beachside bungalow resort at chalokhlum? I did like that place and used to visit it if i wanted any 'action'!

If the bungalows are going for a thousand, and i'm coming for just over a week, and i can get the owner to remember me, what might be a decent price to get from him do you think? I think he will recall me, but i was very chilled and quiet three years ago, but he can't get too many from chiang mai coming for nearly a month!

[sbk]

Perhaps the owner has changed recently I haven't seen the owner of IVC in quite some time) but I've known the original (Thai) owner of Island View Cabana for 20 years and have always found him to be pleasant and polite. Perhaps he doesn't like litter on the beach. Perhaps the visitors use their toilets and amenities and never bother to pay. Just curious if you asked him why he didn't allow Thais and if you are certain the owner was the man in question as I was under the impression that he has had a manager for a few years now.

[samuijimmy]

Quote SBK "Perhaps he doesn't like litter on the beach" .

Exactly!!! SBK you hit the nail on the head! that is his reason....

The Thai's come and picnic on his property above the high tide line, ( I would assume what belongs to the King is up to the high tide line...) which he pays to keep clean. The Thai's leave their bags & everything behind.... I seen it many times. .... a few farangs too!

Not what paying guests want to see, enough rubbish gets dumped off the fishing boats.....

Still the same owners that you would have known, SBK..... I know people who have been going there all those years....

[ham]

Perhaps the owner has changed recently I haven't seen the owner of IVC in quite some time) but I've known the original (Thai) owner of Island View Cabana for 20 years and have always found him to be pleasant and polite. Perhaps he doesn't like litter on the beach. Perhaps the visitors use their toilets and amenities and never bother to pay. Just curious if you asked him why he didn't allow Thais and if you are certain the owner was the man in question as I was under the impression that he has had a manager for a few years now.

no change, still the same family, and he is a nice guy, only he is taking care very much his place!! And this place is a very nice place. All bungalows were built "new" last year. The front beach bungalows go for 1000- 1500 in the high season and the rest of the year you can easy bargain with him. You can still find easy a bungalow on his site for 400 Baht. Always good service in the restaurant. This beach is also for many tourist "the beach to go with the bike etc. It is my beach too, for a beach day

After all changes it is still a cool place to go. Nobody get stopped when coming with his thai wife or a thai husband.

You get some pictures on my web site! Just scroll down to get to the link (small pictures) "go cabana"

[nocturn]

Sbk et al, that maybe your experience, but not mine, the gentleman I am speaking of is not elderly but say mid 40's to 50, if even. One would imagine him to be nicer to friends and family.

Having spent many hours, days, nights at IVC I beg to differ that he is a sweet, gentle fellow. Nor is his concern purely about litter.

I also believe thai a thai need not be accompanied with a foreigner simply to access crown land. You state this as if that makes it better.

I have watched on a number of occasions this man's agressive behavior towards his countrymen.his actions are consistent.

He is rather notorious, but islands are small, and offering public proof is unwise. He seems to focus on thai tourists, but then most locals don't hit the beach to relax.

That said I have always been well treated, and my daughter loves it. Bungalow 1 is front row closest massage and restaurant. Great yam talay and coconut shakes. The sunset is to die for.

Mae haad is undergoing constant development, but the beach remains lovely.

[nocturn]

Might I add that these were paying customers, renting snorkels, eating in the restaurant etc.

I respect any bungalow owner that fights to keep his place clean, and understand where abuse of facilities might rankle, but he was well beyond reasonable in his treatment of people.

Let me also add that the staff and general atmosphere is lovely, don't get me wrong I truly love the place. I simply mentioned the actions of one individual.

[femi fan]

Mae haad is undergoing constant development, but the beach remains lovely.

I wonder why it's happening now? Like i said before, i went back there three years ago and was so surprised, and thrilled, to find mae had, and IVC, to be exactly the same as years back. In fact basically the north-west corner was a delight. I recall had yao too before it got developed, but that had obviously long since changed.

How come mae had is now being 'developed'? Nowhere else to rape?!

While the thread continues to bubble along, maybe islanders can add to it places that still retain the yesteryear vibe and style of bungalow. Mind you, i shall be finding out in december first hand!

I bet maenam beach in samui has retained its ways better than many beaches in phangan now, or am i sadly mistaken there?!