March 4th, 2013 - Panwa Beach

Panwa is just a tiny corner of Phuket, but it has plenty to offer. After having explored the main areas of Panwa (primarily Cape Panwa and the Ao Yon beaches), we’re now pushing out a little further to see what else we can find. It’s a slow process, mind you—we are going to be here a while so we’re trying to draw it out as much as we can—but a worthwhile one.

Today we wandered up the hill, then up a few more hills because wow this place is hilly, past Ao Yon Senior and Ao Yon Junior beaches and all the way up to Panwa Beach. We’re talking a 40 minute walk, at 3.1 km one way, so a good trek but not unreasonable.

Wandering past Ao Yon beach.

We aren’t 100% certain that Panwa Beach is the correct name, but Google suggests it is and if Google doesn’t know, no one does. This particular beach is bracketed by Kao Khad Road (also spelled Khao Khad) and if you continue along Kao Khad road instead of going down to the beach itself, you’ll eventually hit Kao Khad Views Tower (a 2.2 km walk from the turn off on Kao Khad Road) and Klong-Mu-Dong Views Point (just up the road), which we look forward to visiting another day…but not today.

Kao Khad Road

Actually getting to the beach was…well, it was a bit of a process. There’s no simple path with a sign exclaiming ‘This Way to the Beach!’ so as it turns out, you just have to pick a spot that looks vaguely path-like and hope for the best. It’s good we know this now, because at the time we left it too long and went past all the little driveways for restaurants that we should have just used instead of searching for some fabled public sign to guide us.

So we trespassed. Yep, we are living a life of crime now. We found a hotel, walked right through it, jumped over the fence with the bright red No Entry sign and finally made it to the beach! Nice hotel, too. No one called us on our trespassing, presumably because we’re the only ones neurotic enough on this island to even care about trespassing, but I’m almost surprised that they didn’t since I’ve no doubt we looked terribly guilty while doing it. We had a lot of forced nonchalance going on, the way you might think of someone in a 1960s Public Service Announcement about to do something unlawful like sell drugs to little children in a dark alley, and they start whistling innocently while saying, ‘Oh, don’t mind me, I belong here! Keep walking, nothing to see!’ That was us.

Exhibit A: The No Entry Sign, AKA The Commencement of Our Life of Crime

Anyway, this is a fantastic beach. It’s not as clean and empty as Ao Yon Junior, but it stretches on forever and is full of interesting things. We walked along it for a solid two hours and still couldn’t see an end in sight. There were a few people swimming, though the water had a lot of silt in it, so I don’t know that it would be a great swimming beach but you can swim in it.

The day started out as overcast, so of course we just traipsed right out of our apartment all carefree and utterly lacking in sunscreen—as you can imagine, we came to regret this immensely, but not until long after our enjoyable walk when the burn really sank in. We looked like pretty pink lobsters by the end of it, but it was worth every horrible, horrible sunburned shoulder and scorched nose.

This is Panwa Beach. Picturesque, isn’t it?

If the sky is fairly clear and you look across the water to the other side, you can get a pretty good glimpse of the Big Buddha from here, too.

See that? It’s tiny from this distance, even with the zoom, but that is indeed a very Big Buddha.

Since we took the long way to get down to the beach, we ended up starting near the end of the rows and rows of resorts (e.g., Cloud 19 and By The Sea) and walking through the uninhabited area first, then working our way back. Walking along this beach, not far from where the rows of resorts cut off, we found a secluded little shrine tucked into a cave with a tiger statue inside and some offerings set out.

The cave shrine.

A closer view so you can actually see the inside of the cave shrine.

There is also a small mangrove swamp along the beach.

A mangrove swamp. I know, I’m not convinced five mangrove trees counts as a mangrove swamp either, but the internet says it is close enough.

Also from this area, you can get a great view of all the ships out on the water.

Probably not an actual pirate ship, but I’m going to pretend it is anyway.

The beach is surrounded by lush vegetation on one side and the sand is full of skittering creatures. We came across dozens upon dozens of crabs of all shapes and sizes, some rather disturbingly large and intact fish skulls, and a dead horseshoe crab, among other things. It’s a cool place to explore.

Cute Regular Living Crab.

Creepy Dead Horseshoe Crab.

Another view of the Beach!

We walked until we could walk no more and turned back to check out the other, more inhabited side of the beach. Aside from the many resorts that connect to Panwa Beach, there are also a couple good restaurants, massage places, and a little shop offering touristy items as well as fresh fruit (we stocked up on longan and mangosteen!). It sounds like it should be a busy place, but it really isn’t. Or at least, it isn’t after High Season. It’s all very laidback and quiet and there aren’t too many people.

Some of the restaurants and little shops along the beach.

We stopped at one restaurant called ‘On the Beach’ which, as advertised, is indeed on the beach. It has an excellent view of the ocean, cheap prices, good food, and friendly service.

On the Beach menu.

Since we went to a restaurant to take a break and eat, we could have easily just walked behind the place and up the driveway leading to the road. But because that would have been too easy, and because we are outlaws now, we trespassed again. Finally, we made it back up to the road and splurged on a taxi for the way home to avoid the daunting 3 km walk in the scorching sun.

All in all, I think this may be our favourite beach yet. There are things to see and do, some gorgeous sights, and a deep sense of peacefulness to the atmosphere. We’ll definitely be returning here!

-LuckyStar