The Southern Islands

One ferry, shuttle, bus, taxi, plane, and song tao later, I have finally arrived back to the comfort of the ever so familiar streets of Chiang Mai. If I could use one word to describe Thailand’s southern islands it would be breathtaking. From the clear blue skies to the clear blue ocean, Phuket, Koh Yao Yai, Koh Phi Phi, and all of the many little islands in between are nothing but blissful. 

Our planning began after a few canceled classes and a lot of eager thoughts about experiencing James Bond Island and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Beach” first hand. After booking our flights from Chiang Mai to the islands for 8 days and 7 nights, all I could imagine was the smell of the ocean, the waves beneath a long-tail boat, and my heart and my camera soaking it all in. 

On Saturday morning, Sophie and I woke up, headed down to Suthep, and hopped into the back of song tao for the airport. When we landed in Bangkok, I experienced an unexpected appreciation for our peaceful life in Chiang Mai. I did not realize just how massive the capital was; $1 song taus turned into metered taxis, street vendors turned into fancy restaurants, dusty streets turned into high-traffic intersections, and the overall ambiance of the city reminded me of a less-sky-scraping version of New York City. Bangkok is definitely a city I want to explore, but I’m very grateful for my mountain-side classrooms and rainforest-green view from Uniloft. 

Bangkok Train Station

From Bangkok, we bought our tickets and boarded our first overnight train to Phuket. [Lesson #1: Do not purchase train ticket from tourist centers - purchase at the station to prevent being ripped off. Lesson #2: Choose a spending limit for taxis before accepting a charge - bargaining can save you from being ripped off. Lesson #3: Buy bus tickets at least a day in advance - buying the day of can increase your likelihood of being ripped off]. Although we ended up spending a good $100 more than the rest of our fellow travelers, we at least enjoyed the hospitality of a snug mattress and pillow on the overnight train before a long day in the sun. 

When we first arrived in Phuket, I felt as if I was driving through a scene in Jurassic Park. I was amazed at how amazed I could be by the simple formations of rock and erosion. It was as if the core of the earth had pumped its fists towards the sky in sporadic bursts. The thick coats of rainforest were hair upon its knuckles. The windy roads were bracelets around its wrists, shimmering in the rays of the sun. 

Phang Nga Bay off the coast of Phuket

Our first stop in Phuket was Patong Beach. Although the tropic water and steady cove were beautiful, I wouldn’t rank Phuket among my favorite stops throughout the trip. The uninhabited beach with the single long-tail boat that appears on Google at first search is not exactly what you get when you go to Phuket. It is much more of a tourist hotspot than anything else, with beach chairs lined along the brim of tiki bars and restaurants, at which are numerous topless Europeans grabbing a cocktail to prompt their sunbathing. The island offers parasailing, banana boating, and jet-skiing, but nothing you can’t do easily on the coast of Florida. We spent the day in Phuket just unwinding on the beach with Fou, Stasha, and Johnna (three others from our program) and then enjoyed some dinner on the water. 

Patong Beach

After Patong Beach, we decided to look for a place less traveled. We examined a few maps and discovered a fairly large island that was surprisingly unadvertised. After probing a handful of information booths, we finally learned that the only way to get to the mysterious Koh Yao Yai was to depart from a pier on the other side of Phuket, one that was only used by locals to import and export goods between the islands. 

At the pier we joined a group of Thais, boxed goods, and a motorbike on a wooden boat, and departed from Phuket and into the blue water. One of the locals on the boat told us a little bit about the island. He explained that Koh Yao is 99% Muslim, contrary to the predominately Buddhist population in Thailand, and to the predominantly alcohol-induced population in Phuket. The red tree-tops that give the island an Autumn glow are hevea brasiliensis, commonly known as rubber trees. They are Koh Yao Yai’s primary harvest. The island is also home to many water buffalo, which roam wild in the swamps not far off the roads. Koh Yao Yai is far less developed than the neighboring islands, but we were excited to explore the tranquil landscape.

I tied my salted hair into a ponytail as we hopped onto the dock in Koh Yao Yai. More locals greeted us at the pier. “Bungalow - cheap, cheap?” Fou said, and before we could ask twice they shuffled us into the back of a song tao, and sent us off with a big smile and a hand waving in the air.

After a roller-coaster of dirt roads lined with swaying palm trees, we arrived at our beloved “Activities Resort.” For $6 a night, I could not imagine a more comfortable, accommodating, and entertaining place to stay. The man who ran the resort was like Ramone from The Proposal, times one-hundred. First he was our hotel clerk, then our waiter at the restaurant, then our personal escort to different beaches... He set us up with a snorkeling guide and provided us with masks and flippers for free, sent us with his son to help build a fire on the beach at night, then helped us buy fresh seafood from the local fisherman when we wanted to barbecue by the water. Almost any and every request we made was followed by a nod, smile, and “ok.ok.”

Koh Yao Yai was definitely my favorite of the islands. If you want that image on Google to come to life, go to Koh Yao Yai. You will see the lonesome long-tail boat and the white-sanded coast. You will feel the bath-warm water and the little fish swimming between your ankles. You will hear the silence of the breeze, waves and moonlight at night. It is beautiful.

Koh Yao Yai

While in Koh Yao, we did an all day snorkeling trip where we got to see three smaller islands near the Phang Nga Bay - one with a coral reef off a rocky coast, one with a sandbar that extended for miles, and one with tropical drinks served in coconuts and pineapples. That was one of my favorite days. We also spent a day renting motorbikes so we could explore the island on our own. I quickly learned that driving on the left side of the road is not my expertise. We spent the last night cooking fresh shrimp and fish over banana leaves during our barbecue, right before we took pictures in front of a sun that looked too big for reality. I wonder if they will ever invent a camera that can truly capture the beauty of what our eyes can see.

We were sad to have to leave our little private island, but excited to move on to our last stop at Koh Phi Phi. The weather was not in our favor the day we left Koh Yao Yai, so taking a tiny long-tail boat out into the Indian Ocean was a bit rocky to say the least. But we arrived safely in Phi Phi Don and began the quest to relieve our shoulders of our heavy backpacks.

Long-tail Boat

The town of Koh Phi Phi was my favorite aspect of the island. There are small shops throughout a maze of little streets filled with walkers, bicycle riders, and cats, cats, and more cats. You could probably spend an entire day just browsing through storefronts of bathing suits, knock-off sunglasses, and I <3 Phi Phi tank tops - which is basically what we did when we weren’t roaming the sandbars at low tide on the beach. 

The nightlife is the definitely Koh Phi Phi’s highlight. Unlike the high-class bars and restaurants and city-like atmosphere of Phuket, Koh Phi Phi is much more interactive. I don’t think I can recall seeing one car on the island. It is more of a melting pot of people from around the world, all there to enjoy the liberation from real life. It was invigorating to hear so many different accents in a conversation. At the hotels, they check people in as “Sweden, Italy, UK, Australia.” 

The food in Koh Phi Phi is also prepared for a mix of cultures. Being able to branch out from our religious meals of rice and pad thai resulted in me consuming 2 cheeseburgers and 4 slices of pizza in 2 and a half days. There are dozens of bars throughout the town as well. Our personal favorite was the Irish Pub that served mojitos and strawberry dacquaries in little buckets that you could carry down to the beach. At the beach they had mechanical bulls, big dance floors, and fire shows that you could watch - or take part in if you are anything like my roommate who limboed under a 2-foot pole blazing in flames. 

Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi was the perfect ending to our island excursion. By the end of the last night on the beach, we were ready to return to a land without sand. I fell asleep with my feet dangling off the side of the ferry from Koh Phi Phi to Krabi, where we waited for our bus back to Bangkok. It was a long 12 hours in a seat that wouldn’t recline, and a terrible alarm to a man yelling “Ban-kok! Ban-kok! Ban-kok!!!!” in our eardrums at 5am. 

But when we boarded the plane, I felt a sense of comfort as I watched the landscape transform from flat ground and tall buildings to mountainous jungles and Buddhist temples. And so, one ferry, shuttle, bus, taxi, plane, and song tao later, I am ready for a long day of showering, aloe-vera-ing, and snuggling into my bed here in Uniloft.