We’ve spent about a week on the island of Koh Phayam. A couple of days before our dive trip and a few days afterwards. Neither of us have had any experience on other Thai islands, but we’ve been told by a few people that Koh Phayam is what the more built up, popular islands were many, many years ago. The only vehicles on Ko Phayam are scooters and a few tractors (or maybe just one and we’ve passed it numerous times!) There are no cars or trucks or buses and only about three major “roads.” The island is small and you can scoot end to end in about 10-15 minutes. Not all places (including the one we are currently in) have the luxury of 24 hour electricity, wifi or hot water. We are here during the shoulder season, so it’s pretty quiet, but many things are being cleaned up and ready to go for high season. Even when it’s busy, the beaches are so big and plentiful that I think it would be quite easy to still find a quiet spot for yourself.
We’ve been burnt, eaten alive by numerous insects and left with numerous itches, stung by a bee, discovered sand everywhere, and been beaten up by Thai massage therapists to the point of crying. But, we’ve also spent lots of time chillaxin, swimming, body surfing, exploring, reading, eating and just marvelling at the fact that we get to be here in Thailand enjoying it. It is something that I know I (Rocky) have desperately needed for quite some time. Kop Khun Ka Koh Phayam!
We head off today for the last phase of our adventure. We have a plan A and plan B in place and will find out tomorrow morning which of those plans ends up happening.
Conditions weren’t quite right at the pier in Ranong when we set out for Koh Phayam.
We were transported to a different pier where we (B-Rod especially) marvelled at how such crappy looking boats could actually sail (luckily our ferry was not one of these boats)
We stayed at two different locations and beaches during our time here. Both of them were mere steps away from the ocean
Place #1 was $20/night, a bit more rustic and had a swing to hang out on.
For place #2 we splurged at $24 to have our own bathroom and enclosed walls and still got a swing
This is the best pic I could get, but I was up early one morning when I heard an unfamiliar squawking in the trees. I looked up to see a cool bird.
I searched around to discover that it is a hornbill bird (posting this pic from some random person on instagram, to give you an idea of what they actually look like). Apparently they are famous birds on the island and surrounding areas.
Other views around the island.
