Koh Phayam

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richard
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by richard »

Thanks Dannie
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by richard »

Well my daughter and partner spent a week there and I suspect they didn't like it :wink:

After all the trouble of getting there they discovered there were no fast food joints, no shopping malls, no bars heaving with bg's, no cars, no taxis. Just quiet roads with the odd motorbikes and bicycles. The food was too exotic and what bars there were were too laid back. The Thais seemed way too friendly and there were no obnoxious Bangkok Hi-so's. Furthermore, the odd farang they met seemed to be relatively sober, laid back and way way too civil. All there really was were acres of deserted beaches and abundant flora in the overgrown jungles.

Of course they will be going back as soon as possible and advising friends to do so as well. They are now determined to make sure that that part of Thailand is kept up to date and remedies the above faults to fall into line with the rest of the Kingdom :wink: I hope their quest fails :)

Their friends who arrived here yesterday for a couple of weeks have already changed there plans to be able to go there in order to monitor the situation and see if any progress has been made to 'civilise' the 9 by 5 kilometer island


Edit..........I know, I know, I've started the places downfall with my posting about it. :oops:
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by joelle »

how did they finally get there ?
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Re: Koh Phayam

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joelle wrote:how did they finally get there ?
Well after reviewing all the options and assessing the overall cost of staying there for nearly a week and bearing in mind their time constraints they decided to go via 'door to pier' taxi from their hotel here in HH. The journey was quick and comfortable and maximised their time on the island. They actually spent more money on getting there than they did on living there.

Travelling cheap in Thailand costs time and on a 2 week trip it is sometimes worth spending more on travel if one has more than one destination planned.
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by svea »

I'm in hua hin now and was at the bus station past the market village. I thought I read that an early morning bus to ranong was available but from that station it's an overnight arriving 530 am ... Aweful, as opposed to an early morning departure which might be awesome! Is there another bus company that has a morning departure?
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by Dannie Boy »

svea wrote:I'm in hua hin now and was at the bus station past the market village. I thought I read that an early morning bus to ranong was available but from that station it's an overnight arriving 530 am ... Aweful, as opposed to an early morning departure which might be awesome! Is there another bus company that has a morning departure?
If you go back to my earlier post, it included this link and it was the second one that departs early morning.
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Re: Koh Phayam

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Just spent a few days on Koh Phayam over the recent long weekend holiday so will tag my trip report and photos onto this thread.

The road to Ranong is still being repaired, it has been under construction as far back as I can remember travelling on it which is well over ten years ago. That said, the journey was pleasant enough as most are when you get off Petchkasem Road aka "lunatic alley". A quick pit stop at Thapli where the road is lined with sarapao and dimsum vendors filled empty stomachs.

We stayed a night in Ranong as the ferry over to the island leaves in the morning. Our resort - "Thansila" - was at the hot springs a few kilometers out of town, nothing overly special but the river proximity provided the kids with enough entertainment.
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Took a drive up the valley to the Ranong Canyon which I'd always wanted to visit - turns out it is just a lake full of fish that you can feed and no real canyon to speak of.
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Back down to the hot springs for a look around - the area is undergoing major renovations with new walkways being installed and foot-bridges across the river.
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We rounded off the day with a visit to Siam Hot Spa, a bargain at 150 baht where you can enjoy the hot and cold tubs, steam room and sauna.

To follow: The ferry to Koh Phayam.
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Re: Koh Phayam

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Up and out by 08.30 we headed into Ranong in search of the ferry pier which is not that easy to find if you've never been there. Essentially drive through the city, to the fishing port area and all the way to the end of it until you run out of land - the departure point is called "tai kaek pak khlong pier". A very enthusiastic ticket sales woman helped us with parking, assuring us that it was very safe, and even sent someone out to get some food for the kids who hadn't had breakfast yet. Tickets were 200 baht for adults, kids free, journey time around a hour and a half.

The ferry was scheduled to leave at 09.30 ... by 10am we were still sitting there waiting for some hi-so's to sort out their iPhones, YSL bags, and gold ray-bans before actually joining the rest of us on the boat. Once all passengers were on-board (only about 10% farangs) the police turned up, photographed a few things and came on to ensure we were all wearing life jackets ... all very serious. Finally the engines rumbled into life and we headed out ... across the harbour to the marine police boat now, they then came on-board, made a quick announcement, photographed a few things and ensured we were all wearing life jackets. All very Vietnamese in its safety efficiency and something I've never seen in Thailand, obviously another junta introduced incentive.
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Koh Phayam is actually the furthest island out, hence the long journey time.
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The weather improved the nearer we got to the island.
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Disembarking we thought it smart to book the return journey on the speedboat considering that it was a long weekend and there were more Thai tourists than farangs travelling here. Tickets for this were 350 baht each, journey time 30 minutes, messing about; zero ... a no-brainer in my book!

A motobike taxi for 60 baht took us across the island to the Chomjan Resort on Haad Kwai. There are no cars on Koh Phayam so all roads are single track concrete for bikes only.
First plan on arrival was to hit the beach ...
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The view from the bay was impressive with a Mergui Archipelago back drop and the Burmese islands of Hastings, Zadetkyi, and Than with hundreds of smaller ones visible from the empty beach.

To follow: Exploring Phayam.
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by Big Boy »

The river in the first couple of photos looks very 'milky' - is there a reason?
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by buksida »

I'm no geologist but its something to do with the minerals in the rocks.
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by Big Boy »

Reminds me of the River Plym with the fall out from the china clay works. Thankfully, cleaned up now.
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by migrant »

Nice pictures as always, Thanks!

Visited Koh Chang a few years back and always wondered about Koh Phayam
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by PeteC »

Note: Don't confuse this Koh Chang with the big Koh Chang in Trat Province in the east near Cambodia. Only reason I can think why there is two, is that they named these things long ago before there was any organized central control or record keeping.

http://www.kohchang2.com/koh_chang_rano ... ation.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Chang_District
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Re: Koh Phayam

Post by migrant »

prcscct wrote:Note: Don't confuse this Koh Chang with the big Koh Chang in Trat Province in the east near Cambodia. Only reason I can think why there is two, is that they named these things long ago before there was any organized central control or record keeping.

http://www.kohchang2.com/koh_chang_rano ... ation.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Chang_District
Thanks Pete, think I was confused. There were some smaller islands south of the other Koh Chang and thought that was it! :cheers:
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Re: Koh Phayam

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It was evident pretty quickly that the island was deserted and 80% of the resorts and restaurants were closed for the low season. Huge green and blue swathes of tarpaulin cloaked beach bungalows and rustic reggae bars which, in a different month, would usually be teeming with 'glampackers' and travellers. The downside of this is that there was little choice or variety for eating out - the upside was we had the place to ourselves!

Another empty and somewhat overgrown bungalow resort.
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The Sun restaurant at the end of the beach, good food and cold beer ... albeit a little lonely!
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Boat charters were very expensive at 3,000 baht for 3 hours, needless to say we rented bikes instead!
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"Open all year" I think not.
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The first day we left the kids to play in the surf and settled in on our little beach with a couple of cold tinnies as the sun dropped over the tantalisingly close, but still out of reach, Mergui Archipelago.
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To follow: Koh Phayam on two wheels
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