Banyan Tree Resort Koh Samui has opened what might be the quirkiest if not Thailand’s cutest bar – a cocktail caravan remodelled from a classic 1960s tuk-tuk. The MP4 Midget is virtually unseen on Thai streets today but, previously the ‘frogs’, as they were nicknamed, were everywhere. Thousands of these 12 HP 350cc three-wheelers were manufactured by Daihatsu and exported to Thailand from 1959 to form the nation’s taxi fleet. This particular frog was discovered in Trang by Banyan Tree Samui’s Head Chef Rainer Roersch, who says he sensed immediately that a novelty tuk-tuk would make for the ideal art installation on Koh Samui’s beachfront. Refurbished and dubbed the Froggy Sea Breeze Beach Bar, the emerald-green van is home to cocktails, beer and spirits for in-house guests and non-guests in a quiet cove in the island’s southeast between Chaweng and Lamai Beaches. The Froggy Sea Breeze Beach bar is open from 5pm – 11pm every evening. Highly recommended is the sweet n’ sour Froggy Melon, garnished in mint leaves, or The Botanical, a gin and absinthe-infused cocktail guaranteed to kick-start any engine.
Chin Chin at Tuk Tuk Bar
