Meet Pae Pae! He is the owner of one of the most delightful bars in Koh Phangan. Pae Pae is one of the people who if you meet one time, he will become your friend. Probably for life! He is so popular that some people will pop in for one drink to say hello but will end up staying all night just because of this lovely guy!
Pae Pae spent a lot of time in Bangkok, he used to work with the taxi companies there and has had a bar previous to this one here on Koh Phangan. He definitely seems to fit into the island way of life a bit more than imagining him in the city. You can often identify this charming man by his rasta coloured hat or otherwise the red one of the same style.
Pae Pae loves travellers and all of the expats that have come to call Koh Phangan home, this is because they seem to share his more outlandish sense of humour, this is one extremely funny man by the way. As well as being fun and entertaining, Pae Pae is also very caring and a good friend to those that have the pleasure of knowing him. He will go well out of his way to make sure people feel happier if they are upset and he really loves all the people he comes into contact with.
(Pae Pae getting some Reiki from Kea)
Pae Pae has worked very hard this last year to get his bar up to standard yet it remains a Thai bar, nice and relaxed with no frills or show offs. The furniture is all bamboo and he has recently added more decking, which he built with his own hands, with lots of thai cushions for people to sit on the platforms with or lay in the hammocks and fall to sleep even if you wish.
Pae's friend Kea tells us about her time there;
'I walked past the ramshackle old bar, on the side of the road leading to Thong Sala's main drag pretty much every day after Muay Thai training. And pretty much every day I was greeted with an overtly friendly and extremely enthusiastic wave from the quirky looking Thai man who obviously owned the place. You can't help responding to friendliness like that as it's something so seldom, if ever, seen in Britain. I mean you literally haven’t seen anyone so happy to see a complete stranger in all your life. And he is like that to everyone!
I'd wave back, a much smaller, less animated but nonetheless sincere wave and this would seem to spur him on even more. "Hello my friend" he'd bellow across the dusty road... "I'm Pae Pae and YOU are my family ... come and sit with me my friend." Well, this was WAY out of my reserved British comfort zone so I'd always make my very polite excuses and speed up slightly as I waved and walked away. But over the weeks his innocent, authentic and charismatic charm began to win me over. He was an odd but charming looking character. Big, flared pink cotton pants, bare chest and six-pack, wild dreadlock-style hair and a red gold and green Rasta cap ... NOT your average Thai man. (It was a little later on in our friendship that I discovered he was from Laos, not Thailand.)
His exuberant personality eventually melted my innate shyness and I responded to his hospitality by popping in one day, unannounced. I think he was at the back of the bar stacking beer crates or something but when he came out he beamed an impossibly enormous grin at me and with wide open arms said “Welcome to Pae Pae’s … this is YOUR home!”
And that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. In the weeks to come I met one of Pae Pae’s best friends; the famous Maria Mckaffe, more commonly known as Smakaffe. This is a woman who seemed to know everyone on the island and I mean EVERYONE! Her and Pae Pae had a sensational chemistry and I hung out with them pretty much every evening.
It was fascinating watching Pae Pae meet and greet his customers. He would shout across the road, just like he did to me, to complete strangers that they are his family and that his bar is their home. I don’t think there is a single person who has met this beautiful man that has not liked him. How could you possibly not like Pae Pae?! He has the heart of a child, the soul of a Buddha and a smile that will stay with you for a lifetime.
Life at Pae Pae’s did indeed feel like being at home. Our little ‘family’ grew rapidly as more and more travellers and tourists turned up and joined us. And the more people came the more Pae Pae’s business began to grow. By the middle of the summer season he had transformed a crude, messy and rather unattractive looking outdoor space with a corrugated iron roof and a few plastic tables and chairs into a beautifully decorated, stylish outdoor bar, with a raised chill-out area, Wifi, fairy lights and an impressive cocktail menu. Virtually everything in his bar was made from recycled materials. And everything was lovingly built by his own hands. He even made six small tables from a pile of pre-used wood. He handed out different colour felt-tip markers and let his customer’s graffiti their names and personal messages onto them, which he later immortalised with a coat of yacht varnish.
The whole bar has Pae Pae’s lovely signature etched all over it. It’s always full of friendly happy people basking in the warm, tropical night air, swinging in hammocks, lounging across the scattered cushions and listening to deep house and gorgeous atmospheric music. I will never forget my time there and all the wonderful people I met. It REALLY was my home and Pae Pae really is MY family.'
He loves art and invites people to write and doodle on specific places of the bar that he has sectioned for this and has also let many artist’s paint his side wall.
Pae Pae also had his friend down earlier this year to teach him some more dishes to cook so that now his standard of thai food is even more impressive, and very reasonably priced with a comfortable place to sit, eat, chill and have a beer. He also offers cocktails from a wide range of spirits at his bar.
Even if you don’t want to eat, or necessarily drink, you should go and visit Pae Pae in Thong Sala (the bar is opposite Pranthip Market). He is such a good character you will wonder why you never went there before!?
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