CanKata: February 2012

Ko Phayam was highly recommended to us by a number of other yachties. A few months ago, when we thought we had sold CanKata, one regret that Darrel had was that we hadn’t sailed to Ko Phayam. So when we took CanKata off the market, we immediately started planning a visit. We headed there on February 3 with two other yachts - Aqua Dreams and Ultimate Dream - to fulfil our "dream".

Lonely Planet describes Ko Phayam as “a friendly, demure little island which supports about 500 inhabitants, mostly Thai and Burmese, with a smattering of expats and a few dozen ethnic chao leh (sea gypsies) thrown into the mix. Locals support themselves prawn-fishing, farming cashews and working the rubber plantations”. Concrete pathways, suitable for motorcycles, criss-cross the island.

We had two big disappointments: water visibility wasn’t great, and it wasn’t easy to get a massage. Another minor problem was that Long Beach, where we first anchored, is very shallow and that meant a lot of dinghy-dragging when the tide was low. And the sand was fairly muddy.

But there were many positives: The eateries were affordable with fresh, tasty Thai food. The scenery was very pretty. The island was very quiet and peaceful. You wouldn’t call Ko Phayam “over-developed”. It has a number of small resorts, but nothing over a storey high. It is certainly a nice haven for a cruiser who has spent too much time in a marina or at Patong (a very touristic beach town).

We prefer Nai Yang, with its clearer water, easier dinghy landing, and scads of services not available on Ko Phayam. But if we ever feel the need to “get away”, Ko Phayam is a destination to consider.

Ko Chang:

We knew no-one who had been to Ko Chang, which is a few miles north of Ko Phayam, but had heard that it might be a nice spot to visit. We gave it a shot, and found it even more pleasing than Ko Phayam. The water is less desirable, but as a quiet get-away, it gets top marks. It is much less developed, but there are a few great eateries and a couple of fabulous massage places. There are beach huts for rent, scattered here and there, but no large resorts. For $5, you can catch a ferry to the mainland centre of Ranong to get any supplies you need. We had everything we needed on CanKata, so stuck to swimming, eating, strolling, and getting massages. Ahhh.