Hippie Bar, Koh Phayam

Koh Phayam’s most recognisable landmark isn’t a temple or a viewpoint — it’s a three-storey pirate ship built entirely from driftwood, rising out of the sand on Buffalo Bay. Hippie Bar (often spelled Hippy Bar) is the island’s best-known spot for a sunset drink, and the structure alone is worth the ride over to Koh Phayam.

A Pirate Ship Made of Driftwood

The bar is the build. Over the years its owners have pieced together timber that washes up during the monsoon into a towering ship — a bow facing the beach, then a labyrinth of decks, ladders and balconies climbing three floors behind it. Nothing about it is polished, and that’s the point: it’s rough, salt-bleached and faintly ramshackle, and people climb all over it for photos long before the first drink. Come once in daylight just to see the thing properly, and again at dusk when it’s lit.

Sunset, Fire Shows and Reggae

As the light goes, the bay fills with the lights of fishing boats and the bar settles into its rhythm. Fire dancers spin on the sand most evenings, reggae and live acoustic-and-djembe jams run from the decks, and the drinks are cheap — local beers and buckets, mostly. Grilled-seafood carts set up nearby. It’s sociable and slow rather than a club: low tables, woven mats, and the kind of crowd — long-stay travellers, scooter-tanned regulars, a few locals — that still turns up on Thailand’s quieter islands.

Getting There

Koh Phayam has no cars, so you get around by rented scooter or motorbike taxi. From the main pier it’s about 15 minutes across to Buffalo Bay (Ao Khao Kwai). If you’re staying on the busier Ao Yai side, factor in the ride back in the dark after a few drinks — the island’s tracks are unlit.

Insider Tip: Arrive 30–40 minutes before sunset to climb the structure and grab a deck spot facing the bay while there’s still light — the upper levels fill fast, and the ladders are easier to manage sober and in daylight.

Watch out: It’s a driftwood structure with open edges and steep ladders three storeys up — fine sober at sunset, less so several buckets in. Mind your footing on the upper decks, and don’t ride an unfamiliar scooter home drunk on unlit island tracks.