grazee
longtail driver
Posts: 7
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#1 Posted: 11/12/2007 - 19:57
Hi and greetings to all,
Just returned from another sojourn to the “land of smiles” and its wonderful northern neighbor Laos. As I have posted before on my Thai travels, this time I will only cover the travels not mentioned in previous posts.
Firstly, after flying down from Chiang Mai, we caught a cab from Suvarnabhumi airport to the southern bus station (1 hour 15 mins, 450 baht flat fee) to head down to Ranong and then onwards to Koh Payam. Small glitch, although there were still some busses running from the OLD southern bus station, the Ranong busses were running from the just opened NEW southern bus station. A small inconvenience, a second cab and we arrived in plenty of time to get tickets on the 2030 VIP bus to Ranong. The trip itself was quite comfortable, and we were duly delivered to the Ranong bus station at 0500 the next morning. Not a good time to arrive in Ranong when the ferry departs at 0930. We hung around the bus station for a while and resisted the offers of a songthaew to go directly to the pier, instead we wandered about 100 meters down the street to the Kiwi Orchid guest house, where we had some breakfast and relaxed until it was time to head for the pier. The lady that ran the guest house was great and she will make you welcome while you wait to head off to the pier.
Facilities at the pier are pretty basic, a small shop, a locked toilet and the grumpy woman who sells coffee and toilet access, so you would be well advised not to get to the pier to early (there were signs that the pier may be being upgraded). Apart from that, the ferry to Payam (150 baht p/p) although basic was fine and the 2 ½ hour trip was quite pleasant.
Payam was a breath of fresh air, think Samui in the early 80’s and you’re getting close, except without cars. The small village at the pier has a couple of “mini marts”, a travel agency, a few basic restaurants and that’s about it. *Note, there is no bank or money exchange on Payam, the only options being the travel agency or your bungalows and both will offer rates about 10% less than you will get on the mainland.
We chose to stay at the Bamboo Bungalows ( www.bamboo-bungalows.com ) on the south western beach of Aow Yai and after a brief motor cycle taxi ride were duly delivered. The bungalows were great, ours a traditional bamboo thatch (350 B), absolute seafront, with a front porch to relax and take in the great sea views and spectacular sunsets. The facilities at Bamboo were great, good food, friendly staff and reasonable prices, the only thing to be aware of is that they only have power between 1800 and 2300. The beach itself was stunning, set between two jungle clad heads; it was about 3 kilometers of broad white sand washed by a gentle surf. The water was warm although a little turbid due to the surf, but great for swimming, despite the occasional lice.
There are a number of bungalows along the beach, but it is by no means crowded. As we were there early in the season ( October) only a few were open for business, with a couple of others just cleaning up for the season. Most were the traditional bamboo huts, but there were a few more elaborate structures, a couple to mention were “Long Beach” at 200 baht and Smile Hut bungalows at 2-300 baht. Apart from the bungalows, there’s not a lot happening, with the notable exceptions of “My Barbeque”, a kind of Rasta eating and drinking establishment and the ubiquitous and fantastic “Rasta Baby”. The latter was a great establishment with great (and eclectic) music, good barbequed seafood for a pittance (and sometimes for free) a ready supply of your favorite poison and more importantly a fantastically friendly staff. If you do happen to go there, say hi to Noel (and Sweetie Pie), the wonderfully eccentric English gentleman who spends most of his time there!!!
In summary, Payam is a fantastic place to do little more than chill. It’s by no stretch of the imagination a party island, although you will meet some great people. Though the tell tale signs are there, it’s still relatively undeveloped and uncrowded and price wise, it’s still pretty reasonable.
Enjoy your travels,
Grazee |
