A dream comes true

[by Franzi] Still in Phuket we took a taxi (350 Baht = €9.09) to Chianwanich Pier, a bit outside of Phuket Town, to take a boat to Ko Yao Yai. When we arrived at the pier, we quickly realized that it was not tourist-oriented. A ferry was docked at the shore and was constantly loaded with various goods by almost falling apart cars. We bought a ticket for a speedboat (200 Baht/person = €5.19), which departed shortly afterwards. We were the only tourists on board with two other couples, the rest were probably residents of the island. It was already clear here that the island is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. The rough sea made me feel a bit sick, and I couldn't enjoy the first impression of the island as much as Jonas did. Because after about 30 minutes, we were already at the southern pier of the island. For Jonas, this was paradise, as he often emphasized, simply dreamlike beautiful. He was incredibly excited about the vast, but hardly touristic island. Although Ko Yao Yai is quite large in terms of area, it is mostly covered with jungle and therefore uninhabited due to the mountains. In addition, the inhabitants here are Muslims, so there is no pork or alcohol here, which is why typical Thailand backpackers don't come here because of the lack of parties. So far, there are also very few luxury resorts, so tourists with money are unlikely to visit this island. But for us, it was perfect! An island away from tourism.

When we arrived at the hotel, or rather the bungalow resort, we checked in and each received a bottle of water and some sliced watermelon as a welcome gift. It was a small, very charming resort with 5 bungalows and a restaurant, all owned by a family and mainly run by the owner's daughter, who was super friendly. When we were shown our hut on stilts, we were initially amazed at how big it was. We found a room of about 35m² with a huge bed, a desk, a shelf, a TV, air conditioning, and a minibar. In addition, there was a veranda of about 7m x 2m and a bathroom (quite expensive at 600 Baht per person per day = €15.60). We were quite satisfied with our choice of accommodation!

As soon as we arrived, we unpacked our bathing suits and went to the beach. We walked through the grounds of the nearest accommodation, the luxury resort GLOW Elixir, to get to the beach because we read that the most beautiful beach in the area is located there. Indeed, we found an absolutely dreamlike beach: white, powdery sand and turquoise blue water! However, to avoid being with the guests of GLOW Elixir, we walked along the beach to a section that we had to ourselves. Unfortunately, there were some large rocks in the water, but that didn't bother us much because the beach section was still breathtakingly beautiful. We found a spot and enjoyed the sun to the fullest. That's how we spent the rest of the afternoon:

There were not many restaurants to choose from on the island, so we decided to have rice and noodles at the restaurant of our resort (220 Baht = €5.73). It was freshly prepared by the daughter who runs the resort. And by fresh, I mean really fresh. Herbs were picked in the garden, and whatever was not available was either brought by the neighbor's scooter or bought. And you could taste this freshness, it was exceptionally tasty!

For the next day, we rented a scooter to explore the island (250 Baht/day = €6.51). Since our bungalow was in the south, our destination was the beaches in the north. After a short stop at the 7-eleven and a total of 40 minutes of driving, we arrived at a tip in the north of the island. The drive there took us through dense rainforest and past many wooden huts. But at some places, we could also catch a glimpse of the sea.

When we arrived at the tip, we expected to find a powdery, white sandy beach with turquoise blue sea, but we were a bit disappointed. The sand was very coarse, and the water was slightly dirty. After a short break, however, we quickly had enough of the view and continued driving to another beach.

All the "sightseeing" beaches were well signposted and not too difficult to find. But the next beach disappointed us as well. There were crabs running around everywhere, and the water was nowhere near as blue or clean. After a few more attempts, we gave up and headed back to enjoy the absolutely beautiful views one more time. We could even catch a glimpse of the Phang Nga Bay, the Thai version of Ha Long Bay.

Since there was almost no traffic on the island, I wanted to give it a try and see if I could ride the scooter (again). Riding alone worked out fine, and I could also take gentle curves. But with Jonas sitting on the back, it was a completely different feeling. It was not as easy to maintain balance or ride around curves, but I managed. Although I was a little unsure in the beginning and probably still am, I think that's always the case in the beginning. With almost no traffic to distract me and hardly any intersections to cross, I drove here for the first time and it was really a lot of fun.

It's a completely different feeling than just sitting in the back all the time, much more a feeling of control, but at the same time, it's also a feeling of freedom - simply great! Although we didn't find a real dream beach that day, we had a super great day where we could enjoy the island and its tranquility.

As we liked the island so much, we decided to extend our stay by another night without any problems. During that night, we were even the only ones at the bungalow resort.

From the next and last day on Ko Yao Yai, we made it a beach day. After breakfast, we walked along a dirt path behind our bungalow resort to the beach. It was steep uphill at first but quickly steep downhill again. The beach consisted of large rocks where we arrived, but as we walked a bit further, it became sandy. Apart from a Muslim family, there was no one else on this beach. Out of respect for their religion, we asked if it was okay for us (especially me) to go into the water in swimwear, that is, swim trunks and a bikini. That wasn't a problem for everyone, so we settled a bit further away under a tree in the shade. The nice thing about this beach was that it was super long and empty. The sand was still quite coarse, and the water was not the clearest, but it was still great to lie here. After a small lunch break in the bungalow, we went back to the beach section near GLOW Elixir because we liked it the best. Once again, we had the beach section to ourselves. We enjoyed the beach on Ko Yao Yai one last time and watched the sun set over the sea.

We were already picked up at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning to continue our journey by speedboat. But more about that in the next blog.

Until then,
Franzi and Jonas