|
|
| Special Offer |
|
|
FEB
Wonderful Island! We’re making it easy breezy for you to experience Koyao Island Resort! |
|
Thai Air Magazine – Reviews Koyao Resort
The best of Thailand
The quiet life
Koh Yao Noi proves to be a serene break from everywhere else, even Southern Thailand’s more popular resort island by Michael Spencer
AWE-INSPIRING SCENERY HAS ALWAYS
Resulted in a rich tapestry of myths and legends, Thailand’s Phang Nga bay, where dozens of pristine island rice sheer from the water, dripping with tropical forest and pocket with caves and vertiginous cliffs, is no exception. old people on the bay tell the tale of a giant sea serpent that once used it’s magical pore to help a women give birth to a baby girl. In return the serpent demanded that his son be allowed to marry the girl when she was of age. When the time came however, the women forgot her promise and arranged for her daughter to marry a local prince instead. Learning of the women’s treachery, the sea serpent swam towards the Krabi shore in a rage splitting in half the largest island in the bay on the way.
The pandemonium caused by the arrival of the sea serpent at the wedding ceremony disturbed a powerful hermit who was meditating in a nearby cave. The hermit, who apparently had a low tolerance for noise, transformed the warring families and sea serpent in to the oddly shaped mountains that are now so prominent around Krabi’s picturesque Phra Nang peninsula.
I was mulling over this story on my way to Yao Noi, the smaller of the two island allegedly created by the sea serpent’s head long dash for Krabi. I had heard that Yao Noi was a tranquil paradise where the local still lived a traditional life based around fishing and farming. I was frankly skeptical that such a thing could be possible just an hour’s ferry ride from Phuket’s booming property and popular tourism scene, but I was interested to find out for myself.
The ferry to Yao Noi leaves half a dozen times a day from Bang Rong pier on Phuket’s east coast. On this crossing, a couple of passengers has taken their motorbikes with them and other where laden with miscellaneous provisions necessary for existence on the relatively remote bay island.
It was a fine sunny day and although there was a good breeze, the sea was quiet smooth as the boat took us deep into the heart of Phang Nga Bay. Storms can blow through here, but generally, the water of the bay are far calmer and more sheltered than the open sea. There was magical quality about the surrounding seascape.
In every direction Limestone Island and the outcrops studded the bay, and of in the far distance I could just make out the jagged outline of the mountains lining the Krabi shore. As the ferry entered the narrow strait separating Yao Noi and Yao Yai Island, I spotted a solitary rock in the middle of the channel the local believe is a scale that fell off the sea serpent as it crashed through on its way to the ill-fated wedding.
First impression of Yao Noi seemed to confirm what I had been told. Brightly painted fishing boats were moored outside wooden houses on stilts and I glimpsed a heron stalking about in the shallow water by the shore. A group of fishermen sat quietly mending their nets and talking in low voices. And there was a indefinable air of serenity that hung over the scene.
One of the largest island in Phang Nga Bay, Yao Noi is nearly 10 kilometers long and is quite narrow except in the south where it widens out. A slender concrete-topped road wends its way around the periphery of the island and locals either walk or get around on motorbikes and bicycles. Cars are a rarity I only saw three on the island but there are probably I few more that are only used on special occasion. The other rarity is dogs. I didn’t see any at all; apparently the predominantly Muslim islanders are all cat lovers.
Over the next couple of day I discovered Yao Noi to be an idyllic place where the pace of life is still slow and unhurried. The island’s four thousand inhabitants live to a rhythm dictated by the weather and seasons, underpinned by an evident sense of community.
The best way to explore the island is by bicycle or motorbike and I spend a leisurely day paddling through rubber-tree plantations and emerald green rice paddies absorbing the vignettes of island life. I discovered there are simple pleasures to be enjoyed like watching the fishing boats unload their catch or browsing through the fresh fruit and vegetables in a tiny village market. Village houses hark to an earlier era when wood was the only construction material and their owner seemed to take great pride in stoking their gardens with a bright profusion of flowers. And everywhere, the ubiquitous island cats lie lazily on the balconies, seemingly asleep but with one eye on the songbirds hanging from the eaves in ornate cages.
Most of the villagers live on the south as the rugged north of the island is completely undeveloped. There are some excellent trails that run through the forest in this part of the island with a chance to see some wild life and the reward of stunning panoramas of Phang Nga Bay an its island from the hilltops. The islanders are comparatively dark skinned compared to most Thais a legacy perhaps of the chao leh, sea gypsies of the Andaman sea, who where the original inhabitants of the bay. Bust like most people in South Thailand they are also a mix of Thai, Burmese, Chinese and Malay ancestry. This is reflected in their distinct dialect that has its roots in all these cultures especially Malay. Of course everyone also speaks standard Thai and sometimes English now that a few visitors are beginning to discover the charm of Yao Noi.
For the moment, accommodation is limited to the delightful koYao Island resort with its Thai/Balinese-style villas set in palm gardens by the sea and a scattering of bungalow operations and homestays catering to more intrepid travelers to the island.
Gavin Pereira, the ebullient general manager of KoYao Island resort, is not surprisingly an ardent fan of the place.
He is also a mine of information about everything from how many spices of crab are found on the island four – and anecdotes about its most famous visitor, princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who apparently has a soft spot for Yao Noi and its inhabitants. This is definitely not a party island, he warned me, it’s very quiet here. He was right, but that is absolutely the charm of Yao Noi. The absence of anything to do expect relax is a wonderful encouragement to do exactly that, and I gave in without a struggle.
For the more active visitors there actually are a few things to do, like snorkeling, paddling along the coast by kayak or hiring a long-tail boat to explore some of the 44 other islands in the bay.
Most of these are uninhabited and rarely visited by anyone but fishermen and bird-nest collectors. Wildlife thrives as a result and it is not uncommon to see monkeys and monitor lizards as well hornbills, giant fruit bats and the ever-present sea eagles that hover over this pristine domain.
There are signs that Yao Noi is beginning to attract more interest from the outside world, and an upscale resort property, the Evason Hideaway, will open here next year. Managed by the Six Senses Group, well known for its sensitivity to environmental issues the resort is designed to integrate with its surroundings rather than alter them.
Sensitivity is crucial if Yao Noi is to retain its special charm in the face of development. As on most islands, water resource are limited, and given its size, it will obviously never compete with the mass market appeal of Phuket, its much-bigger neighbor. In main time Yao Noi seems destined to continue peace, serenity and some of the best views in the world.
November 2006
| Newsletter Sign Up |
 |
 |
