![]() On an island like Koh Yao Noi, there was little for him to worry about. Our guesthouse was run by the local police officer, who burst out laughing when we asked if his job kept him busy. This wasn’t a rare occurrence - all over the island, locals offered us rides or simply stopped to ask where we were from and welcome us to their island. I thanked him and declined, and then five minutes later, another local did exactly the same. One day, I was waiting by the side of the road for my boyfriend, Dave, and within a couple of minutes, a local pulled up beside me on a bike and asked if he could take me wherever I needed to go - at no cost. It’s hard not to feel safe on an island where the locals are so unaffected by crime. ![]() It’s not an uncommon sight to head out for a walk and see every scooter parked up with the keys still in the ignition. One thing that reiterated this was the fact that nobody cares to lock their scooters here. ![]() People still care to find out your story and ask what brought you to their island, and they genuinely care about your answer - it isn’t a sales technique. There aren’t any scams because there simply aren’t enough travellers to make money out of. I want to kick off this blog post by explaining why, exactly, you should be aiming to travel to Koh Yao Noi.īecause Koh Yao Noi is yet to attract the hoards of tourists that other islands do, the locals aren’t yet over tourism. And while there’s internet in many of the guesthouses, it’s still a destination where you’ll find it easy to disconnect. You’ll still fall asleep to the sound of crickets rather than the pumping of bass. There are still few tourists, not many accommodation options, and a handful of lovely restaurants. While at this point in time (2023), it’s not quite as undiscovered and there’s a whole wealth of information about the island online, it’s still the perfect place to come if you’re looking for respite in Thailand. I first visited the island in 2012 and have returned three further times since then. The locals on Koh Yao Noi don’t want the word getting out about their beautiful home and so far, it seems to be working. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find alcohol on the island or that bars don’t exist - it’s just that on this island, there’s one option instead of an entire street lined with them. Muslims make up a whopping 90% of the population in Koh Yao Noi and they’re doing everything they can to prevent their home from turning into yet another party island. Based on location alone, it should be swarming with tourists. It’s located right within of tourism triad of Phuket, Krabi, and Phi Phi, and that makes it incredibly easy to get to. On paper, it makes zero sense that Koh Yao Noi is so rarely visited. Talk about making the best decision of my life! Phang Nga National Park from Tabeak Viewpoint - now one of my favourite guesthouses in the world! I jumped on a ferry the next day and landed on my feet, at a guesthouse with this incredible view: I took a deep breath and booked my ticket, telling the travel agent that yes, I knew that no tourists go there and that was exactly why I wanted to go. Fortunately, in 2023, there’s a hell of a lot more information around. I couldn’t find out any information on what was there, what it looked like, and whether it was a good choice for tourists. I wandered into a travel agent and looked at the list of destinations that was scrawled across a chalkboard.įew travel bloggers had ever been there, not many guidebooks spent more than a paragraph discussing it, and a quick google showed information about the island was scarce online.īack then, in 2012, I could find exactly two websites with useful information about Koh Yao Noi and they were both many years out of date. I was certain there were plenty of trash-filled islands where I could sleep on the beach for next to nothing in this country, but that wasn’t exactly my idea of paradise. I wanted an island that wasn’t built for tourists, that wasn’t incredibly expensive, and was still worth visiting. It was time to find an island that was the exact opposite of where I currently found myself. It was as I approached my second week on Phi Phi that I decided to take matters into my own hands. Spoiler alert: Koh Phi Phi was not, in fact, an undiscovered island. I guess I was yet another a travelling cliché who was convinced The Beach didn’t have to be a work of fiction that I too could discover my own island paradise and keep it all to myself. ![]() Koh Chang, Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta - I’d enjoyed my time on all three of them, but they weren’t the vision of paradise I’d held in my mind for so long. We’d been travelling in Thailand for four months at this point and I’d expected so much more from the islands. Only one boat a day.”ĭave and I exchanged glances and I could tell he was wondering if we were making a huge mistake.
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