"Koh" means island in Thai, and Yao Noi was the name of the small island in
Phang Nga Bay in the Andaman Sea where we stayed for four nights of tropical bliss. We stayed at a boutique resort called
Paradise Koh Yao and it was definitely paradise to us!
To get there, we flew from Bangkok to one of the larger, more known islands called Phuket on the west side of Thailand. Then a car was booked to take us to the marina, where then the resort speed boat picked us up, and another French couple, and took us 45 minutes to the resort on the northern tip of the island.
We picked, well actually Brian did the leg work and found this resort, because we wanted something relaxing and amongst the natural beauty of the Adaman Sea and limestone cliffs/rocks. We wanted to avoid the crowds, parties, drinking etc on the big island (atmosphere more like cancun during college spring break). We just wanted to be old people - up early to enjoy the day, happy hour at 5ish, dinner at 7 ish, more post dinner drinks and to bed early!
The island was my favorite part of our entire trip - it was just spectacular. Our first full day we booked a kayak tour. The resort puts us in their long tail boat with a boat driver and tour guide and we boat around the limestone cliffs and islands. When the tide was low, we sea kayaked through low caves and into amazing lagoons. The lagoons housed unique birds, fish that have legs!, monkeys (but we didn't see any), bats (yuck) and mangrove trees with very cool root systems. Liam was our guide. He is Thai, 22 and left school at 14 since he could make money working in the tourism industry. He was very nice and could speak English fairly well.
We stopped on a small island with a private beach to eat our packed lunch. As we were the only couple who had booked the trip this day, we basically had a private day and tour - it was incredible!
One of the most famous islands they call the "James Bond" island from the 70s move - JB and the Man with the Golden Gun. It's off another island which you can walk around to take pictures. Usually being a blonde gal in other parts of the world, I get a lot of attention from the local guys. But not at all in Thailand. That is the one area that was so nice for a change. Ironically, it was Brian who drew the attention. American culture is very popular there. Brian being a tall, strong, handsome American guy was really interesting to the Thai guys. So they would come up to him and ask to get their picture with him. They must really like American baseball since they would try to talk to him about baseball - funny he doesn't know much in that area!
The next two days, we enjoyed the kayaking so much that we hired the sea kayak ourselves and explored the area looking for private beaches where we could chill and hike a bit into the jungle (not too far in). We would return to the resort by around 2pm and then relax on the beach for another hour or so before the typical late afternoon rain moved in.
Around 3pm, the resort staff would walk around with fresh fruit to choose from as a snack. Fun tropical stuff such as: dragon fruit, lynchees, yellow watermelon, papaya and something else I didn't even know!
While I expected the food to be pretty decent on the resort and lots of proper Thai food (which we were excited about), we were pleased to experience absolutely amazing food! The chef was a top notch French chef who decided to leave the high class french cuisine restaurants and live on a Thai island and live a bit more relaxed. So the food was incredible. We still ate Thai every night, which his kitchen did very well (still spicy for me!) but they also did western, italian and mediterranean cuisine as well. Plus, and amazing breakfast buffet every morning - my fave!!
Our room was very cool - an outdoor shower (still protected by walls, but one you can push back and watch the trees and sea while you get clean!); a huge bed with the mosquito netting (although the mozzies really weren't that bad); and a really great patio with a lounge swing (which Brian really enjoyed).
We were able to relax, enjoy one another's company and appreciate the absolute beauty around us. It was definitely paradise!
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