Tim and I have lots of fond memories of Ko Phangan. We have been there together twice before, both off season trips. The first time I visited was August 1996, at the end of my first holiday to south-east Asia. I travelled with Tim down through Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia and back. The second time was in November 2000 on my first and last (until this one) extended journey abroad with Tim. At that point there was still no paved road to Thong Nai Pan beach where we stayed. We had to get a lift in a four wheel drive pickup truck. We were away for nine months and came back a bit earlier than we planned when Tim’s Mum got ill. Tim also went there alone a number of times before he met me.

Ko Phangan is still a lovely island, but inevitably, like everywhere else in the world, it has moved on. The backpackers’ huts on Thong Nai Pan beach have been replaced by resort style accommodation. Star Huts and Yogi’s Biodynamic kitchen are long gone.

Thong Nai Pan Yai, where we stayed this trip, still has more of a feel of the old Ko Phangan, but visitors this time consisted mainly of older couples like us and younger couples with kids. Of course this was the low season, so it might be different in January.

We spent all our time relaxing on Thong Nai Pan Yai beach, although Tim did venture across to Thong Nai Pan for a walk. There are a lot of good things about staying in more luxurious accommodation – there is air con, which I don’t think I could have coped without on this trip, there are no roaches/ other animal visitors and mosquitos were minimal especially inside the huts. For older people like us wanting a holiday for a week or two it is ideal. The accommodation and food was relatively expensive compared to the rest of Thailand, but cheaper than it would be in the peak season of December to April.

Younger people and alternative types tend to gravitate to the west of the island where the full moon parties happen. Although it was low season various parties such as ‘Jungle Adventure’ that involves techno and Muay Thai displays and Waterfall Party that seems to be more esoteric were still advertised as happening in between the full moon parties. If you want to join a drumming circle, do tantric yoga or experience crystal healing the west of the island seems to be the place to go. We were too lazy to hire a motorbike and explore the whole island which would have been fun. In cooler weather there are some good walks to waterfalls in the jungle filled interior.

Thong Nai Pan Yai is not the best beach for swimming as the tide goes out a long way. That’s why it’s popular with families – the sea is really safe for kids. I read that Bottle beach is the ideal swimming beach, but the accommodation choices seem a bit limited there, particularly out of season. To get there you must walk a short distance or get a boat from Chaloklum Beach – I am not sure if it is possible to do this in low season. I think you can also hire a four wheel drive to take you to Bottle beach as well, but all taxi transport is relatively expensive on the island. A standard price to get anywhere seemed to be around 400-500 baht for two and the Grab App is not available. The taxi mafia have the system sewn up.

At the end of Thong Nai Pan Yai beach there are a set of ruined huts. I wasn’t able to find out what happened here. Opposite the ruined huts is the Buddhist monastery which also seems to be linked to the local school. The monastery are doing a lot of work to create a walkway by the river that runs into the sea. They have created a beautiful Peace Pagoda using bottles left over by resorts that have shut down.

We climbed a little way up the cliff that you used to be able to clamber over to reach Thong Nai Pan, the next beach round from where we were staying. The way now seems blocked, The hillside is covered with remnants of old backpacker huts that Tim remembered used to be here. From what we could work out, it’s only possible to get to Thong Nai Pan from Thong Nai Pan Yai now by walking along the road that connects the two bays. However we didn’t try too hard and in cooler weather, with less mosquitos around, it may be possible to find a path.

Thong Nai Pan Yai has a bit of a village centre, with a small market, local less touristy restaurants and small shops. It is quite nice to wander around. Off season it feels like the area hasn’t succumbed completely to tourism, although that is clearly the main driver of the economy. Some fishing does seem to still be going on and the sea seemed quite clean. I read on Reddit that the old huts we remembered on Thong Nai Pan – Yogi’s and Star Huts – had struggled due to massively increasing rents and had eventually succumbed. It’s the same sad story all over the world including in the UK. First come the normal people, then the creative entrepreneurs, then the greedy bastards who push out everybody else and know who to pay off.

One disadvantage of visiting in the off season was that maintenance work was going on, which involved a lot of burning of discarded wood and other debris. This inevitably impacted the air quality and spoiled my enjoyment of the beach somewhat. Overall I think I preferred Ko Phayam, which we visited earlier in the year, to Ko Phangan. It felt less of a holiday resort island and more of a place where we could chat, kick back and swap stories of travelling with other people who have been to interesting places.

We said goodbye to Ko Phangan, possibly for the last time and headed for Bangkok and our flight home.