Bang Rong Floating Restaurant

The east coast of Phuket is very, very different to the west coast. All the main tourist areas are found on the west coast, while large parts of the east coast are almost untouched by tourism. Much of the coastline is mangrove forest, with large areas of rubber plantations in the hills, along with shrimp farms, small fishing villages, quiet bays and some great views if you drive round the hilly back roads.

Bang Rong, a small Muslim community, is close to Bang Pae (where you can find a waterfall and the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project). From Bang Rong Pier you can take a ferry to Koh Yao Noi. We've been here several times in the past and we have always liked the small family run floating restaurant (it's called Chum Chon restaurant, though we always just call it Bang Rong, after its location) reached by a wooden walkway through the mangroves.

• View Location on Google Earth



You might see monkeys in the trees nearby...



I think we'll be back again soon, and here's why... It's quiet, it's relaxing and it's friendly. We probably had not been for a year, but they remembered us and commented on how big the kids looked. We felt a bit guilty that we only went for drinks, so bought a couple of plates of fried rice for the kids too. Next time we'll go for a proper lunch!





You realise its floating when other people step "on board" and your table starts to bounce. We were a little paranoid about the kids running around, but we decided I could not try to run after them or my 100+ kilo frame might sink the place, or at least spill a few drinks.

Out back they keep the fish, either for sale in the restaurant or at market. The whole area is full of fishing folk who are only just starting to make any money from tourism. The restaurant is very cheap - we paid 150 Baht for 2 plates of shrimp fried rice, 4 cokes and an orange juice. They don't make much from that! By the way, the owners are a muslim family and they don't sell beer here, so don't come looking for a quiet place for a cold Singha!







There are some kayaks for rent, and we intend to do that one day soon. A couple of small groups of tourists came through the restaurant to use kayaks as part of a safari tour with Bang Pae Safari. The family from the restaurant were the paddlers on the kayaks, which disappeared round the corner up the mangrove creek and were back in 15 minutes - a very quick taste of nature! I think the guy said you can rent one for 150 Baht/hour (if you paddle yourself).

UPDATE: Kayaking in the Mangroves (August 2009)



I think we have found our new favourite quiet place to sit and relax for an hour. It's very peaceful here, just the odd longtail engine to disturb the silence.






Looks nice, right? Here's some of our other favourite spots...

• Layan Beach
• The Beach Bar
• Paradise Beach