A slice of the Real Thailand

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Last time we were on the island of Ko Yao Noi ( Noi meaning north) we made friends with a Thai couple, Som and Jak. They'd both been working at Holiday resort where we were staying but as trade dropped they both found themselves out of work.
They were lovely people and asked us to keep in touch. When they knew we were returning to the island they insisted we meet up.

Som has done well for herself and now works as a receptionist at the neighbouring expensive hotel. Jack has started his own business running boat trips. On our second day there neither were starting work until 2pm so Jak asked if he could pick us up in his car at 11am to go out for the day together.

First we went to their house. Jak was keen for us to see it and was obviously very proud of it. Som was waiting there to greet us. The house resembled a lock up garage with a huge roll up metal door. Inside was an empty tiled space then a bedroom curtained off. Behind was a tiny, tiny kitchen and bathroom. No windows anywhere.
Jak asked why we didn't get in touch sooner then we could have stayed with them. I pointed out there was only one bedroom and he said that we would have had the bedroom and they would have slept on the tiled floor! We promised we'd let them know next time! People are so generous sometimes.

Across the road from their house were a load of caged birds. Apparently it was a kind of competition between the locals. They gambled on who could make their bird song three times first. Strange sport and very cruel for the birds in tiny cages!

From here they took us to their local restaurant for lunch. It was more like the Warungs in Indonesia where food is sitting behind a glass counter in large containers. Probably Cooked hours before. Nothing looked too appetising, Jak could see my hesitation and began to explain what each dish was. One was fish in broth, another lumps of grey, skin covered, bony chicken in broth and another with watery looking boiled vegetables.
Som was already sat at the table and four huge bowls of sticky rice had been doled out. In addition, dishes of fresh raw vegetables adorned the table and a jug of ice cold water. I t was beginning to look a bit more appealing. Jak ordered a bowl of each to be put on the table and we could help ourselves and try everything. To my delight a dish of fried omelette was brought out too. I added tiny bits of the spicy broth to my rice and stuck mainly to the egg. Stan took a bit more than me and ended up with his eyes watering and sweat rolling down his face. The local people can take their food a lot more spicy than the ttourists. It caused some amusement but all in good humor. When the plates were empty Jak produced some brown lumpy liquid in plastic bags and proceeded to pour it into bowls and hand to us. It had a sweet nutty taste and we enthused over it so as not to offend but downed a big cup of water each as soon as it was finished to take away the sweetness.

Our next stop was the garden built to welcome the king on his visit to the island twelve years previously. To be honest it had seen better days!

After a brief walk along the King's jetty we moved on to one of the piers for views of more lime karsts and then through several villages. It was interesting to see the islanders and how they live and just how little they have but seem very content with their lives.
We ended the day driving through some more remote mangroves where the road came to a dead end and we had to turn round and go back.
Jak dropped us off back at our bungalow just before 2pm so they could both go to work.
Before leaving he asked if he could take us out that night to see how the local people spend their evenings, we asked him to pick us after dinner.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach then dinner and a sunset beer at Green coffee shop.

At 8 pm on the dot Jak was there again to meet us. We drove to the pier stopping off on the way to buy beer.
At the pier Jak proceeded to put a rafia mat down on the concrete floor and sit crossed legged. He saw our hesitation and .moved it to the steps. I'm ashamed to say neither Stan and I can sit crossed legged these days. We also hot cushions from the car.
Jak explained that after a hards day's work this is where the local families come to spend their leisure time and relax. All around little groups had set up and were eating dinner from the food stalls that had set up. I felt guilty for saying we'd eat first as I think Jak had intended us to eat there.

We watched the fishermen watch the water intently then throw in their net , seconds later pulling it out again with their catch. The first thing we saw was a huge catfish, the fisherman proceeded to snip it's fins off and throw back into the sea then put the squirming fish into a bucket, it continued to squirm for ages and I felt very sorry for it!
Next was an octopus, as it was dropped from the net it tried to walk away and as its head was touched it thrashed it's tentacle s around furiously making the fisherman jump back quickly. If they stick onto you it's really hard to get off again.
Eventually, two men working together they tied a string lasso style around its head and hung it up on a post. It continued to squirm for almost an hour before dropping limp. Apparently it has to die slowly to be the der enough to eat. I hate to see this cruelty but had to accept it was their way of life.

We finished our beer, had a walk around the food stalls and along the pier then asked Jak if we could go home.
He took us the long way round so we could see the villages after dark as he said everything looked different at night.
It had been a long day. We said a weary goodbye and thanked Jak for showing us so much.

Next day we had a very early start and Jak insisted he would take us to the pier for our boat at 7.30am.
We felt like royalty!

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Photos

First stop, the jetty the King arrived on 12 years ago.
Sadly now deceased

Son in her swish uniform
Whereas we had just walked along the sea front through strong wind and rain!!

Mangroves
Clicked the wrong image but can't delete the photo