Island Life on Ko Phayam

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009 - Thailand - Andaman Coast

03/07/08 - 03/12/08

After traveling through some parts of the Gulf Coast of Thailand, we decided to slow things down with a bit of island life. We figured we would head to the West Coast, the Andaman side of Thailand, and stay in the relatively under-developed island of Ko Phayam (not to be confused with the very popular Ko Pha-Ngan on the East Coast).

Upon arriving on the island we inquired about catching a motor bike taxi (they don't have cars on the island) to Ao Yai, a beach where we wanted to stay, but found this would cost us 70 B each. Renting a motor bike for 24 hrs only cost 200 B... so, we decided to rent a moto and head over there ourselves. The only problem was we had 2 big backpacks plus two day packs and only 1 bike! We strapped one of the bags down and Hannah drove the very bumpy, partly dirt, partly rocky, partly deep sand, route all the way to Ao Yai. The springs were bottomed out the whole way with about 300 lbs of load on them! Quite the start to our island life! And good job to Hannah for not crashing.

Ao Yai is a beautiful white sand beach about 2 km long. Our bungalow (read: hut) was right on the beach and cost about $10 per night. Everything on the island is shipped in: water, food, fuel (for the bikes), and other supplies. Also, the only internet is by satellite (with a slow connection) and electricity is sparse (only from 6 PM - 10 PM every night) and comes from generators. Oh, and our room had no fan (no a/c either of course), no hot water, no electrical outlets, and a whole lot of scary critters like spiders, lizards, and mice! Besides that, our place was awesome, complete with a hammock and a million dollar view!

Island life is simple, don't try and pack too much into each day, and just enjoy the scenery and relaxation. We met people on Ko Phayam that were staying for weeks, sometimes months, on the island. This is a great place to forget about everything and relax. Ahhh...

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Comments

[amy souza]

TOASTY
i'll have to try to toast my bread like that next time! very creative. loving watching your travels from my living room! cheers