Hi folks, just found this forum and very glad I did!

I have rented a house in Wok Tum on Koh Phangan for 6 months starting at the beginning of November.

I was wondering if anybody has any information about the place? What facilities are close, good local restaurants/bars, that kinda thing?

I am in my late 30's and am not looking for the whole party scene, I'm going for a relaxing break, so please bear this in mind when recommending places.

Thanks in advance.

Hi folks, just found this forum and very glad I did!

I have rented a house in Wok Tum on Koh Phangan for 6 months starting at the beginning of November.

I was wondering if anybody has any information about the place? What facilities are close, good local restaurants/bars, that kinda thing?

I am in my late 30's and am not looking for the whole party scene, I'm going for a relaxing break, so please bear this in mind when recommending places.

Thanks in advance.

Wok Tum is just outside Thonngsala before hing kong and sri Thanu. Being so close to thongsala you are very near the shopping etc, everything is quite nearby.

A i recall it is one of the last stretches of decent beach in the southwest, once you get to Sri thanu etc, it is all mangrove

Wok Tum is just outside Thonngsala before hing kong and sri Thanu. Being so close to thongsala you are very near the shopping etc, everything is quite nearby.

A i recall it is one of the last stretches of decent beach in the southwest, once you get to Sri thanu etc, it is all mangrove

I was aware that it was close to Thongsala, I think it's even within walking distance of the house I have rented (well if you don't mind walking a couple of miles).

How's the cost of living in the area compared to the rest of Thailand? I have paid for the house fully and have a small residual income of around £1000 per month, I'm pretty sure that should be plenty for day to day living expenses and suchlike?

I've just had an email from the Thai embassy here in the UK responding to a query I sent them about a visa, they are suggesting I get a non-immigrant multiple entry category O, does this sound right to you folks?

Thanks in advance.

i thought the non-immigrant O was for someone supporting a thai spouse or kid? i ask because someone recommended that visa for me as well. as for cost of living, 1000 pounds a month is plenty to live on here, you can even save some.

i thought the non-immigrant O was for someone supporting a thai spouse or kid? i ask because someone recommended that visa for me as well. as for cost of living, 1000 pounds a month is plenty to live on here, you can even save some.

It says on the application that type O is for visiting relatives or long stay.

Now I do beleive the real advantage in taking a non-immigrant instead of a tourist miltiple entry is going to be the fact I can get myself a Thai driving licence whilst I am over there?

Wok Tum is just outside Thonngsala before hing kong and sri Thanu. Being so close to thongsala you are very near the shopping etc, everything is quite nearby.

A i recall it is one of the last stretches of decent beach in the southwest, once you get to Sri thanu etc, it is all mangrove

I was aware that it was close to Thongsala, I think it's even within walking distance of the house I have rented (well if you don't mind walking a couple of miles).

How's the cost of living in the area compared to the rest of Thailand? I have paid for the house fully and have a small residual income of around £1000 per month, I'm pretty sure that should be plenty for day to day living expenses and suchlike?

I've just had an email from the Thai embassy here in the UK responding to a query I sent them about a visa, they are suggesting I get a non-immigrant multiple entry category O, does this sound right to you folks?

Thanks in advance.

if you can get a non imm multi entry O, go for it, by far the best way to stay for longer term. tourist visas are running into all kinds of problems.

wok tum is pretty quiet in the evening. you should eat at Wan's restauraunt in Hong Kong (on that little connector road between the beach road and the hospital road). very good food at low price and very friendly.

JJ's is ok for a beer and a game of pool.

steve

Cheers Steve, thanks for the info.

Quiet is good, not worried about that at all.

Just to answer girlx's question, anyone can get a non-imm visa (well, depends on the consulate), it is the one year extension that is (generally) for those married to a Thai. The extension means you don't have to leave the country, is all.

As for Hin Kong (Hong Kong is a bit further away Steve ), it is a bit far to walk, but it all depends on where your house is.

Thong Sala has a fairly decent night life now, not the singles scene of Hadrin, mind, but more expats and locals. Long Shots (behind Phangan Divers) is pretty good, as well as the Chequered Flag (both offer free pool). The girlie bar scene (aka the horny mile) is outside Thong Sala on the way to Ban Tai, if that is what you are after.

Bua Kao is good, as is Casa Italiana for western food. Thai food, well there are loads but the guy opposite the Thai Military Bank sells curries and soups during the day. Hot and spicy, local food.

Thanks sbk.

I don't mind a bit of a walk to things, I've always found it a great way to kill time (you know how it gets when you have nothing to do all day).

Is there a decent bank in Thongsala? I'm involved in a couple of business ventures in the UK and will possibly need to set up money transfers and suchlike whilst I am in Thailand.

Thanks sbk.

I don't mind a bit of a walk to things, I've always found it a great way to kill time (you know how it gets when you have nothing to do all day).

Is there a decent bank in Thongsala? I'm involved in a couple of business ventures in the UK and will possibly need to set up money transfers and suchlike whilst I am in Thailand.

There may not be a decent bank, but most of the major thai banks are represented. I belive there is an SCB, TFB, bangkok bank etc..

i have had many problems with the bkk bank there, the staff are very uncooperative, one staff member even hung up on a woman calling from a bangkok branch when she called to ask why they rejected a cheque with all the right signatures etc...

Many have mentioned similar issues to me. a freind tried to close out his account and they didn't want to let him it took 2 days of arguing.

He should have just drained the account rather than explain that because of the abysmal service he was moving on to somewhre else.

In answer to your cost of living question, cost of living in KPG is quite high. especially if yu eat and drink farang.

that said, by renting a house you have avoided many substandard bunglow operations that have upped prices in the last 5 years without any value added to the facilities. You are also savinga considerable sum by avoiding samui altogether.

the supermarkets have also improved. lipimpong outside thongsala is now bringing in stuff from tops, and if you can cook chicken at the thongsala market is essentially free (read inexpensive) and vegetables are cheap like water, though ironically on KPG water isn't that cheap or abundant.

Thanks for the bank info t.s.

I guess the best option will be to use the telephone/online banking offered by my UK banks. I think I can probably just about manage every transaction type I may need to make using them.

I'm pleased by your comments about saving through renting the house, I really had no choice, it is imperitive I have an internet connection whilst there, an internet cafe just would no suffice, so I basically went and found a house that had an existing internet connection and rented it. Not the cheapest around but it had everything I needed and Wok Tum looked nice and queit.

I won't be eating farang very often, just not my style, I can eat that here, drinking may be another thing altogether, I do like my beer

Keep the info coming please folks, I've already identified a couple of potential problems because of all your good advice.

Thanks!

Hello mac.wheeler,

I've been working a few days on this Koh Phangan / Google Earth Mash Up ...

... it's still not finished ... but it contains already a lot of Information about the surrounding area of Wok Tum.

Satellite Map of Koh Phangan