A little smile for my camera? Koh Yao Noi, Thailand, February 2009.

Peaceful adventures in Koh Yao Noi

  Thailand: Islands - February 2009

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text: 


Here are some new images from the peaceful little island of Koh Yao Noi, in Phang Nga Bay, Thailand. Authentic atmosphere. Nothing to do with Phuket.

I am writing this post (March 3rd, 2009), as I am about to leave Koh Yao Noi tonight. The Eden Divers minibus will pick me up later in Phuket and I will spend the night on the dive boat. Tomorrow, I'll be back in Phuket, first bubbles in the Andaman Sea !

In the meantime, here are some new pictures of the peaceful little island of Koh Yao Noi.

Koh Yao Noi : the return of the camera's revenge

That's right, my faulty camera was cooperative! 🙂.

I'm getting my hopes up. Hopefully I can take some underwater pictures! The dive cruise lasts four days. You'll know everything when I get back on March 7... What a suspense!

Anyway, I'm really glad that I chose Koh Yao Noi so I can refresh myself and acclimatize smoothly.

The beach of Lom'Lae Resort. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand. February 2009.
In the morning, I admire the sunrise from the terrace of my bungalow. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand. February 2009.

There is not much to do here, except boat or motorcycle rides. Even kayaking and cycling for real sportsmen or real brave (which I am not).

And that's good.

My "adventurous" life

Because I often travel alone, in far away countries, without organizing things too much in advance, I am sometimes told that I am an "adventurer". But I live very quiet adventures, in truth.

????

A little recap of my adventures of adventurer in Koh Yao Noi ...

Crossing a forest of rubber trees, with latex oozing trunks, by a small road taken at random. Apart from a few mosquitoes that devoured my ankles when I stopped to examine the drying latex carpets, no threat on the horizon.

The latex that oozes from the bark of the flayed rubber tree is collected in a small jar. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand. February 2009.
Under the rubber trees, the latex mats dry. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand. February 2009.

I did not even get lost. A road in ocher land soon brought me back to the main road, hard.

So, go to the village, to buy mosquito at Seven-Eleven. Ah, this little ding-dong inimitable when you push the door! I narrowly escape bronchitis, given the chilled atmosphere inside ...

The village of Koh Yao Noi. Thailand, February 2009.

Then stop at a seller of clothes, which is also cyber café in the back of his shop, to pick up the mails and respond to comments on the blog.

On the way out, a mandatory break at the crepe maker's in the market, because a chocolate pancake at only 10 baht can't be refused.

A little pancake? Koh Yao Noi. Thailand, February 2009.

There, I sympathize with the women seated in the small restaurant next door. And I play the tourists without complex, aiming my goal towards the children, too happy to have a camera that works.

A little smile for my camera? Koh Yao Noi, Thailand, February 2009.
Fruit stall at Koh Yao Noi market. Thailand, February 2009.

Sequence emotion, then, on the dirt road that leads to the beach of Lom Lae Resort ... A baby buffalo and his mom, impressive big horns graze along a dry rice field.

The kid is cute and approaches me, intrigued.

The little buffalo is much nicer than its mother, whose big horns worry me. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand, February 2009.

The mother does not like and pretends to chase me away. She may be attached, she manages to scare me.

Little adrenaline rush. I run away, my heart beating.

Station to the coconut falls!

Other than that, not much to fear on this island. Everyone leaves his bike with the key on it and you can be a farang, a stranger, a tourist, we do not scam you on your small shop at the market. It relaxes…

Oh, all the same: you have to watch out for the coconut falls! ????

One of the rare dangers threatening the island: falling coconuts! Koh Yao Noi, Thailand, February 2009.

It sounds funny, but it's a very real danger. Every year, good coconuts kill more people around the world than sharks, for example.

A policeman renting bungalows

Pramot, the guy who holds Tabaek View Point where I am staying, is a policeman. He started his little bungalow business six years ago, with his Japanese wife, Kazuyo. He is a lovely talker, who goes out of his way to be helpful to his customers.

His job at the police station takes him up to four hours a day ... This is to say if the crime is developed on this island.

He came to settle here because life is simpler and easier than in Phuket, he tells me, and on top of that he gets the same salary. He doesn't like the city.

Pramot and his wife Kazuyo, on the terrace of Tabeak Viewpoint's restaurant. Koh Yao Noi, Thailand. February 2009.
Pramot of Tabaek View Point, and his Japanese wife, Kazuyo. (Thailand, March 2009)

Yesterday, as I rather wanted earthly adventures as you know (bullfighting with rice buffaloes, meeting with the native market, hide and seek with mosquitoes under rubber trees), I even declined his invitation to a free BBQ party for lunch, on the small island opposite.

Pramot offers the crabs and fish grilled on the beach to those who stay more than five days at home... This was the case for a Swiss German couple and a German woman. He offered me to join them, "for free"for free... really nice.

I hope I didn't offend him too much by refusing. But as I'm going to be on a boat and in the water for four days, and I've already given myself a tour of the bay, I didn't feel much like going back on a longtail boat, to hear German conversation during the whole trip, swimming and lunch... People who looked friendly, by the way, but older than me, and with whom I didn't immediately feel a connection. Anyway, anyway...

It's always like that, when traveling alone. Everyone wants to invite you to join a group, an activity, a meal. Already the day before, I had turned down a tour of snorkeling organized by Koh Yao Bungalows (with a family of Germans, again... they know all the good stuff, the Germans!).

It's not always easy to make people understand, full of good intentions, that you don't necessarily want to have company.

  Thailand: Islands - February 2009

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  1. bonjour,super si l'appareil est de bonne composition on va avoir plein de belles photos à regarder :D, mais 4 jours à attendre là c'est de la torture 😉 bonne croisière

  2. Haaaaa the Germans, they travel everywhere (with the Dutch too!)
    Your little island looks very nice, much less touristy than phi phi, lanta and company!
    I just hope you don't have to stay in Phuket 😉

  3. Finally, you're taking it easy and want to relax and enjoy the island's charms at your own leisurely pace. And we have the pleasure of benefiting from your escapades. I've just come back from a performance by the Medrano circus, which featured several top acts, including Tibetan martial artists, crazy bikers in their cage and trapeze artists. By the way, today it was really cold. 😆 And thanks to your Canon for not giving up on you. Keep on making us dream.

  4. Wait a minute, walking under a coconut tree is an adventure in itself! lol I dream of the calm you describe so well. When I travel alone, I alternate between sociable moments and solitude. There's nothing like finding your own rhythm. Listening to your own desires for a change. And taking lots of great photos 😉

  5. @Laurence: Alas, my miserable camera failed me for good on the 2nd day of the cruise. But I managed to take as many photos as I could on the first day, and then borrowed a small Powershot S30 with its housing. Not as powerful as mine, with batteries that don't last, but I still managed to shoot nudes underwater... You'll see, I'll deliver some photos in a future post. The torture is almost over!!!
    😉

    @ Marie-net: Well, I'm there now, in Phuket, but I'm only spending a very short night there on my return from liveaboard. I didn't feel like hanging around, so I decided to head straight to Koh Lipe. I get up very early on Sunday to catch a boat! By 3.30pm local time, if all goes to plan, I'll be in Koh Lipe! Koh Yao Noi has nothing to do with Lanta, Phi Phi and so on. Koh Yao Yai, the neighboring island, is even more authentic and tranquil, it seems. I'll visit another time!
    😀

    @Nono: "Cushy adventurer", well done! Well, I missed the Medrano circus, but I saw nudibranchs and zebra sharks instead! My Canon has let me down for good this time, but I'm resourceful, you'll see...
    😛

    @ Marie-Julie: As for photos, as I said earlier, I'll have to find another way. My little Canon is dead from the dead now, alas.
    😕

  6. For photography, you've come up with a trick... that we can't wait to discover. And your new computer, are you happy with it? A real azerty keyboard I presume since there's not a hat missing? 🙄 I'm expanding my English vocabulary thanks to this blog. Snorkeling, I don't know if I'll be able to replace it easily, but I'll do everything I can.
    A plouf'

  7. Hello, Nono!

    Come on, I'll leave you one last little word, before I go to sleep, since I'm still on the line.

    Yes, I'm very happy with my little computer. I'm now connected to Wifi at the hotel I'm staying at tonight... So cool. Normally, on Koh Lipe too, I should be able to benefit from Wifi at Forra Diving where I plan to go... But we'll see.

    For the photos, see my last post. As for the next ones, I'm still in suspense, myself included. But I'll manage.

    Alternatively, instead of snorkeling, you can say PMT, which is also very classy (palmes-masque-tuba). Not easy to fit into a city dinner in the middle of a Breton winter, I've no doubt...

    😉

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