Koh Yao Noi Days 1&2

So we got to Krabi by bus around 9 a.m. and took a longtail motor boat out to Koh Yao Noi which took about 30-45 minutes. It was hard to tell exactly how long it took as I spent the entire vacation without a watch, and with my cellphone not working at all (it wouldn't even register the local time, so it was 12:00 a.m. always). I loved that I didn't have a watch and it only became nerve-wracking/possibly deleterious during the weekend when we were playing in the hatter and I was in a single room alone and had to wake up at 6:20. Actually, my body clock worked just fine as I woke up almost every morning between 6 and 7 a.m. (which is between 8 & 9 am Korea time). On the boat was this cute little goat, which was all tied up in a bag, presumably in order to prevent it from walking around and bugging the passengers, which consisted of me, Adam, Bekah and one older Thai man. The boat trip took us through Phang Nga Bay, which is situated between Krabi (on the east) and Phuket (to the West). In Phang Nga Bay alone there are over 60 small islands laden with steep, rocky cliffs and small patches of beautiful white sand beaches. The boat ride, needless to say was pretty cool, and I kept thinking to myself, "oh my god, I'm in Thailand," and more than that, "holy shit, I'm only here because I'm teaching English in South Korea." I don't think anything has made me more grateful for my life in Korea than this trip. And this is not because I didn't like Thailand and Korea is much better or anything, just because I am so incredibly lucky to have the opportunities I have had through my job. Seriously.

Anyways, we landed on Koh Yao Noi and took a taxi to a bungalow place called Coconut Corner. However, they were all booked for the next couple days, so we were a little nervous about having a place to stay. Luckily, the old woman who worked at Coconut Corner told us she had a friend who had bungalows and that the taxi driver would take us there. HOORAY! The bungalows were 800 baht/night (just over 20 bucks/night) but that was for all three of us together, so it was about 7 USD/night, which is outrageous. We had a private shower and bathroom, plus plenty of room and a REFRIGERATOR.

Took it pretty easy on Day 1. Scoped out the beach and had some food. We also napped quite a bit because the busride was not particularly restful, given the bumpiness at 3 a.m. and the cramped quarters for 14 hours. The beach near our bungalow was just okay, really rocky at low tide and the water was really salty, warm and a bit murky, but frankly, I was just thrilled to be out of 0 degree (Celsius) temperatures for once and the beach didn't bother me one bit. Some pics from day 1 at the beach:

The next day we decided to rent bicycles from this place called Sabai Corner, which is run by an Italian ex-pat and is the oldest still-running bungalows on Koh Yao Noi. We did a half-day rental, and started biking. What Bekah and I hadn't previously realized was just how hilly Koh Yao Noi was. I was at a distinct disadvantage given my bike being entirely too small for my 187 cm frame. With the pedal down, my legs were still thoroughly bent, meaning I had to work twice as hard to pedal, and on the lowest gears, my feet kept slipping off because there was no resistance. gah. Anyways, we hit one big hill in the first 20 minutes or so, and Bekah and I both had to get off our bikes and walk them to the top of the hill. The downhill portion was pretty easy, though. We got to the pier where we had been dropped off the day before and spent some time relaxing and taking lots of pictures:

 

Then we continued northward, and hit an even larger and steeper hill. It was at this point (halfway up the hill, walking defeatedly, with no peak in sight) that Bekah and I realized that the north only got hillier and more difficult to bike and that it would be better for our self-esteem (and my impending asthma attack) to not continue on. Adam was bummed, but he went on without us and we turned around and biked down the hill and on towards our bungalow. We stopped at our bungalow and got our beach towels and put down some empty water bottles and hit the road again, this time southward. We were wearing just our bathing suit tops and shorts because it was so hot and we didn't want farmer's tans, but as we continued southward, we began to feel a bit uncomfortable as the women became more and more veiled (the island is predominantly Muslim) and seemed to stare at us as we biked by. After a little bit, we turned around and headed back to the beach. We biked towards our bungalow and hit the beach for a little bit. Laid out some, swam/floated/waded in the water a bit, and then headed to a beachside food vendor for some fruit shakes (fruit smoothies, really). Adam met up with us then.

We returned our bikes and ate dinner at Sabai corner that night. I had mediocre pad thai, but Adam & Bekah had otherwise very good dinners. Went back and slept at the bungalow after a long, hot (30+ degrees C) day of biking and such.

Actually, that night Adam and Bekah went out to the beach, where I discovered this lovely friend, who was a lot larger than the picture makes him look. I had to wait for Adam and Bekah to get back because I was a bit afraid. T.T Look closely!

Days 3 & 4 on Koh Yao Noi coming up soon!

xoxo
A