Koh Phangan History

King Chulalongkorn
(Rama V, 1868-1910)

Koh Phangan has been known throughout Thailand for a long time. Koh Phangan has been a popular destination for many kings of Thailand since the end of the 19th century. One of Thailand's most highly revered kings, King Chulalongkorn, or Rama V, visited the island not less than fourteen times between 1888 and 1909. His favourite place was Than Sadet or "The Royal Stream" as he named it. His name is carved in the rocks and can still be seen today.

However, the history of Koh Phangan dates back much longer than that. The Bronze Drum of the Dongson Culture (500 BC-100 BC) that was found in Koh Samui in 1977 is evidence that there were settlements of people on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan more than 2000 years ago. Some historians and archeologists believe that the first group who migrated to Koh Phangan were the Muslim Sea Gypsies (Pigmy, Semung and Proto-Malay) who traveled by boat from the Malay Peninsula.

Koh Phangan industries, coconuts and fishing

About 200 hundred years ago Chinese migrants from Hainan came to settle in Koh Phangan. They first earned their living by fishing and later also from the tin mines in Thong Nai Pan and Sri Thanu. Laem Son Lake is one of the old mines that was used until the 1960's. The coconut industry was another important source of income for the island. Coconuts and coconut oil was shipped to Bangkok and other areas around Thailand. In the reign of King Chulalongkorn, a royal officer reported that 300 families lived on Koh Phangan and most of them were Thai and Chinese.

Koh Phangan was under Chaiya administration until 1897 when it became a sub-district of Koh Samui for 63 years before being upgraded to a district in 1970 with 3 of its own sub-districts.

Haad Rin in the late 80's

The big change on Koh Phangan started after the first bungalows were built to welcome foreign tourist travelers about 20 years ago. The islanders changed their ways of life to grow with the tourist industry. Koh Phangan has become a very popular destination for visitors to Thailand, and more and more tourists are finding their way here every year.

The name of Koh Phangan comes from the word "Ngan" (meaning sand bar) as there are many sand bars offshore around the island. These sand bars can be seen at low-tide and they protect the island from the strong monsoon.