Thai Heaven! Koh Yao Noi Island

Don't you dare jump on me!

This blog is slightly out of sequence and should have been posted before Hollis' awesome video but hey, I've been busy! Read on....

Thailand has it's ups and downs but for us we found most of it to be up especially when we landed on a small island off the east coast of Phuket. It's tiny and can be driven around in less than an hour. There are no stop signs, traffic lights or even a Starbucks; although they do have a 7-11. It just wouldn't be Thailand if there was no 7-11. The main industries are rubber production, and tourism although the island doesn't even exist on most maps. It was on the advice of the owner ( Kim)  of our last accommodations that we decided to come here and are we ever glad we did!

The "sap" or latex being collected from the rubber trees

The latex is flattened and hung to dry to get ready for shipping

These rickety old machines are used to flatten the rubber. Driving through these forests it smells like balloons!

It's difficult to have the "beach hut" experience in Thailand much anymore. The huts have been replaced by towering condos or luxury resorts that can accommodate way more people, but not here. We have stepped back in time.

Our cute little bungalows on the beach!

Liz and Remy's front porch

Pasai Cottages are located right across the street from the Andaman Sea with a gorgeous view of the rocky karsts that jut straight out of the sea. Our bungalows rented for about $18/night  each and had their own bathroom with cool water shower. The boys were a bit weirded out by the flimsy nature of these little places but we loved them!

We spent our first 6 days enjoying the sun and puttering around the island on it's one 18km road that passed through several little villages. Each village had it's own personality and we quickly discovered quirky people and fun things to do and see in each of them.

Joy spoke very good English and quickly became our friend

 

 

 

Super cute musicians

A typical middle class house on the other side of the island

We would often drive all the way to the other
 side just to get cheaper water at the 7-11or feast on the most delicious pad thai. There is zero crime on the island so the one police station is pretty dull and the roads are safe because there are no cars so the boys were free to ride the bikes and explore on their own.

Let's get back to the main road!

The 5 island tour by longtail boat was one of the highlights for us . We spent the day with a nice German couple and visited some of the most beautiful beaches we have EVER seen.

heading out for an incredible day

we are VERY happy in this picture

A boy and his rope swing

Imitation of the little Japanese tourist

longtail boats

 The Thai cooking class was the other treat.  Remy and I made a 5 course meal with our teacher, Mina and brought it home to enjoy with the boys.

Produce from Mina's garden! She even grows her own rice!!

"What a paradise!! let's stay longer!" And so we moved to the more deluxo places down the street called Sabai Corner.  The bungalows were similar to the ones on the beach but these ones were built on the hill in the jungle so we could watch the birds and feel like we were living in a tree house! We found ourselves there every morning enjoying their ocean view and homemade bread for breakfast anyway so we packed up our stuff and off we went, happy as clams.

Moving day

Our bungalow is peaceful and private

And then the rain started..... At first it was pretty cool to see how much rain would fall in such a short period of time. It never got cold so we could enjoy it from the relative safety of our hammock on our deck while we sipped fruit juice or Lipton tea. This was fun for a day or two as we learned the cycle of the rain and could bust a move to the village or our favorite restaurant before the deluge started again. But it just never stopped.

waiting out the downpour

 For 7 long days it absolutely poured on and off and we just couldn't get dry. The air was so wet it crept into our bungalow through the slats in the walls and all our stuff was just ever-so-slightly damp.  By day 7 we were all kinds of cranky and ready to move along. Moving day was sunny and bright right until we got to Krabi via water taxi where we caught a car taxi to the airport bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We literally just closed the trunk of the car on our packs when the skies opened up. Phew- we dodged that bullet!
Kuala Lumpur will be another shock to the system and if it's raining there to it's ok, we will just go see a movie.


~Liz