What to do if your Parents come to Koh Phangan

When you come to Koh Phangan on your travels you should be a bit more ‘grown up’. Well we say grown up in the sense that you’re not a kid anymore at least but most of us still have a massive inner child (don’t forget about them!) but can now class ourselves as adults.

So maybe during your long travels your parents may want to pop out and see you, incorporating their holiday with your life changing trip.

Or maybe you are coming on a family holiday here, your parents have found this amazing tropical island to take you to but you know that lots of partying happens here also so you want to check that it is suited to your parents taste as well, which it is we will assure you.

On the other hand, you may be a long termer. Someone who has lived here for a while now and set up home here so your mother and father want to come and visit you here to find out what it’s all about.

And as we’ve said, as an adult you can now enjoy the time with your parents, you may not get so much of it nowadays.

There are many things you can enjoy here on Koh Phangan together, things that you in fact may not do if your on your own or with a group of friends.

Rosalie and Brian Hunt visit Koh Phangan every year to see their son, this is what they enjoy about the island…

Mrs Hunt ‘I like the people they are all friendly. The weather is nice and I like the quality of the food and the artwork on the island’.

Mr Hunt ‘The beaches, especially at Thong nai pan and the warm sea’.

So here are some things to think about and do if your parents are coming to visit;

Hire a car
Hiring a car is reasonably priced here and it will give you the freedom to travel around the island in comfort, good for getting up the hills with your parents who may not be used to the steep hills so a motorbike may not be suitable.

You can take them on a tour to see different parts of the island, beaches, viewpoints and locations for shopping or attractions.

Make a plan
It’s good to make a plan for when your parents are here. If you work then you may want to book some time off for when they visit and they might be used to being more organised than you so get a plan together of what you will do on each day so they don’t get too bored.

If your parents want to just relax at their resort or hotel then that is great but they may also want to see the island and make the most of the time that they're here as they only have a short amount of time.

Find out what they like!
You may already know what they like to do on holiday but you may also not know so find out beforehand what they would like to do whilst they are here.

Are they happy to just spend time with you, do they particularly want to try lots of thai food when they’re here, go swimming or walking or relax and read.

If you get an idea of what they’re interested in then you can plan around this and make sure that they enjoy their visit!

Take photos
As you get older you find there are less chances for some good old family photos and you are sure to be in some amazing settings here on the island so make the most of this opportunity.

People are friendly and will be fine to take a photo for you so you may get a family shot in front of the jungle or at a beautiful sunset.

Maybe you’ll get a monkey on your mum's shoulder or your dad on the beach at the full moon party!

Show them the culture
Don’t be afraid to take them to the parties! Parties, dancing and music are a big part of Koh Phangan culture and people continue to go to these parties well into their forties, fifties, sixties and seventies on their own without their children here and it is absolutely normal.

So take your parents down to see the famous full moon, it is the main reason for this island being known and there are places on the beach at either end where you can have a drink and just watch it to avoid the crowds.

Parties like Jungle Experience have different parts to enjoy, you can take them to see the fire performance and the live painting and they have a good chill out area on decking and Backyard happens in the daytime so you can take your parents down and show them the magic of people dancing and enjoying life with the sun in the sky.

If you are worried about being embarrassed then just have a quiet word with your friends, people will respect that these are your birth givers and will refrain from trying to get you too drunk etc and most people will be excited to meet your family!

Boat Trips
There is possibly no better way to see the beauty of the island than to take a boat trip tour around.

Make sure it's calm seas if you have any wary passengers and lots of companies arrange the whole thing from collecting you from the resort to lunch and refreshments so you and your parents can take a look at Koh Phangan from an amazing new perspective.

Visit Temples
So we have talked about visiting the ‘party culture’ now we’ll talk about Thai Culture.

It is worth showing your parents some of the beautiful temples on the island so they can learn a bit about the real culture here, Buddhism and the peaceful way of life.

You can walk around the grounds and see the stunning architecture and decoration of the temples which they may not have seen before if this is their first visit to Thailand.

They learn about you
If your parents have come all of this way to see you then you should be thankful. It is a great way for them to learn about the real you and your new life in paradise.

You won’t have to justify your decision to live or visit here once they have seen it for themselves and any worries will be put at ease once you show them how safe and loving the island is.

They can meet your friends, clients or people you work with, they can see what you do for themselves which will make them proud and there’s no better way to get to know you more than to be around you and your everyday life in paradise.

And you get to spend time with them as well and enjoy their company.

Resident artist Christopher Thomas enjoys his parents visiting the island -

‘I love bringing my folks to Koh Phangan. Not only do I get to have some quality catch up time with them on the beaches, I get to show them all the new artwork I’ve been painting.

It’s a surreal but memorable experience seeing them with my friends at the full moon party and even better at Backyard Bar.

They obviously loved it more than I first thought as they've been back every year since’

Now you’re all grown up (kind of) you will be able to enjoy spending time with your cherished loved ones without falling out or the winey mood swings that may of happened when you were younger.

You can get them on the dancefloor and chill out with them on the beach and learn about each other and become closer and more bonded.

So, what are you waiting for? Invite them over and we’re sure they’ll love Koh Phangan as much as you do.