Koh Panyee

Koh Panyee in Phang Nga Bay

The sky is clear and the breeze is warm. It is a perfect day to go on a boat trip. We are on Phang Nga Bay and heading for the famous Koh Panyee. Koh Panyee is about 20 minutes by long-tail boat from Surakul pier in Phang Nga province.

Many people flying into Phuket will have looked down on this village seemingly floating in the magical bay and wondered what it is like to live in the place. Phuket.com went out to Panyee to take a look and discovered the true meaning of the phrase a simple life.

The Villagers

There are 1,485 people from 315 families who live permanently on Koh Panyee, the youngest being a baby boy born just a month before our visit. All of them are the descendants, directly or indirectly, of Toh Baboo and his family and friends, who were the first people to settle on Koh Panyee some 200 years ago.

Toh Baboo and two other families left their homeland in Indonesia by boat, looking for a new place to live. The three families made a vow to each other that if one of them found a place where there were lots of fish and where everyone could live, that they would signal the others by raising a flag on a mountain as high as possible, so that the others could see it and join them.

Toh Baboo discovered the island with its abundance of fish and, true to his promise, raised a flag atop its soaring cliff, That is how the island got its name, Koh Panyee – the Island of the Flag.

What to See in Koh Panyee?

Koh Panyee is a small island. Most of it is huge, almost vertical, limestone cliffs. The hundreds of huts, shacks, restaurants and houses where the villagers live are built on stilts over the surrounding shallow sea. No one seems quite sure how many wooden and concrete piles hold up this extraordinary community, but it is certainly a fascinating and unique feat of informal engineering.

At first, fishing was the sole industry for this Muslim community but nowadays it is No 2. These days, half the locals service the tourism industry and 40% are still fisherman.

The village has its own school, a mosque, a health center, lots of small souvenir shops and a handful of large restaurants, all facing the sea, where tourists can enjoy a fresh seafood lunch. The latest development on Koh Panyee is the construction of bungalows that offer overnight accommodation for as little as 300 baht.

On landing one is immediately struck by how very friendly these village folk are. I find myself with three young guides almost as soon as I step ashore. They show me proudly around their home during my three-hour visit. I also learn a bit about their colorful life on Panyee.

“We are very lucky that we born not long ago,” 11-year-old Farrain tells me. “The old people say that life was tough without electricity, fresh water from the mainland and new technology.” School is out for summer, so the kids have plenty of time to wander around, play computer games (yes, the island has Internet access), help their parents mind the shop or play soccer.

I Five Productionz

Jalan Taman golf no.28 , LK Centre , Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, 11520.

Phone:+62812 6 555 555 9 / +628788 077 3538.

BlackBerry Messenger: 5717ba69/53E7B2D8  

E-mail :  admin@skyetourandtravel.com / skye.operator@gmail.com

Copyright © 2015 Paket Tour Termurah

Kayaking at Phang Nga Bay

Canoe In Phang Nga Bay

Sea Kayaking around Phang Nga Bay and Krabi is an amazing experience you really shouldn't miss!
Discover a unique and hidden world as sturdy canoes weave their way through a network of brilliant crystalline limestone caves, to reveal the mysterious hidden world of the "Hongs"

The "hongs" are actually collapsed cave systems in the interior of each island, only accessed by tough, purpose-designed inflatable canoes through sea-caves at low tide. Open to the sky and filled with jungle flora and fauna,the hongs conceal a unique eco-system with monkeys, birds, fish, and apart from the sound of birdsong, complete quiet.

Local operators have so far gained access to dozens of hongs between Phang Nga and Krabi to the south. Each hong tends to have its own distinct character, and it's easy to spend days, even a week, visiting island after island.

Limited numbers of people are taken out at a given time; and experienced guides accompany every boat, not just to lead the way and to provide commentary, but also to advise on ways to conserve these precious natural resources. Although there may be a week or two of inclement weather every year, sea canoeing is fun virtually any time of year in Phang Nga Bay - even in the "rainy season." The islands and hongs often assume an surreal beauty in the rains and, inside the caves, stalactites sparkle even more. Still, for those who like their sunshine, December to March is highly recommended.

I Five Productionz

Jalan Taman golf no.28 , LK Centre , Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, 11520.

Phone:+62812 6 555 555 9 / +628788 077 3538.

BlackBerry Messenger: 5717ba69/53E7B2D8  

E-mail :  admin@skyetourandtravel.com / skye.operator@gmail.com

Copyright © 2015 Paket Tour Termurah

Sino Portuguese Style

Sino-Portuguese Houses

A must-do in Phuket is a walk in the old part of Phuket City, around Thalang, Dibuk and Krabi roads. The beautiful architecture along these roads will take you back to the charm of a century ago.
According to Pranee Sakulpitpatana, a lecturer at Phuket Rajabhat University and one of the island’s premier historians, the architecture is a reflection of European influence on the island.
Europeans, including the Portuguese and the British, had been interested in Phuket’s tin wealth since the 16th century.

In the 18th century, much of the island’s tin mining was carried out by Hokkien Chinese who became the big players in building the old part of the city. In the early 20th century, under Governor Phraya Rassada Nupradit, major European mining companies were invited in, and the major public infrastructure such as roads and canals was built. No one knows exactly when the first building in this style was constructed, but old photographs from the reign of King Rama V (1853-1910) show that it was already well established by then. Two styles of building in particular stand out: the shop-house (Sino-Portuguese style) and the big mansion (Sino-Colonial style).

The Sino-Portuguese Shop Houses in Phuket

The shop-house was a place for a family to both live and do business, using the front of the building for trading and the remainder, including the upper floor, as a private home. Shop-houses are usually found built in rows, giving rise to the Hokkien Chinese term tiam choo, meaning a row of shop-houses. The floor plans of all these shop-houses are very similar: five metres wide but as much as 50 metres long, creating a very spacious living space for an entire family. Across the front of each, along the edge of the street, is an arcade, offering shade and shelter to the public. Behind this, the house is usually divided into four parts.

There is a living room for general purposes and for receiving guests, followed by a space, open to the sky, with a well. At the rear is the kitchen. Upstairs is the family’s private area and bedr sooms. In the old days, the central open area was often the heart of the house. It was here that you would find the women of the house chatting while cooking or doing the washing. It was also, in a sense, the lungs of the house, allowing air to flow through, even in the hottest month, April, when temperatures in Phuket can rise to 38 degrees C. Also contributing to the cool atmosphere were the thick, solidly-built walls.

I Five Productionz

Jalan Taman golf no.28 , LK Centre , Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, 11520.

Phone:+62812 6 555 555 9 / +628788 077 3538.

BlackBerry Messenger: 5717ba69/53E7B2D8  

E-mail :  admin@skyetourandtravel.com / skye.operator@gmail.com

Copyright © 2015 Paket Tour Termurah