Ko Yao Yai: A Whole New World

The average length of the blog posts has reached a new high. In an effort to restore the digestibility of our content (and because I am lazy), I am going to make this a very photo/video centric post. 

After 16 days in Pakistan, our next destination was Ko Yao Yai, Thailand. The island, pictured below, is located between the eastern coast of Phuket and the western coast of Krabi. It is about 16 miles from the northern to southern tip. 

Reaching the island, however, was no easy feat. After our airport debacle in Lahore, we took a four hour flight, had a five hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, flew for another two hours, took a 30 minute taxi to Krabi, then (after learning the hotel gave us incorrect times for the boat schedule) took a 40 minute taxi to a different port, then an hour long private boat ride, and finally, another 40 minute taxi. Here are some photos of our boat ride views.

Through the trials and tribulations, we made it to the BJ Radisson Resort. Located on the beach with an expansive pool and waterslide, it was by far the nicest place we stayed. Stepping into this oasis after our previous stay in Lahore brought tears to our eyes. Literally. 

We quickly learned that any restaurant you walk into, the food was fresh, tasty, and cheap. For example, this mango smoothie, basil fried chicken, chicken pad thai, and mixed vegetable lunch came out to $11. 

And these two dishes were $6 total. 

If you find yourself asking, "with the food that cheap, did you ever order more than one entree?" the answer would be yes. Many times.

Or maybe you're wondering, "did you get eventually grow tired of these simple dishes comprising just noodles, rice, a protein, vegetables and the occasional egg?" The answer would be no. We did not. 

During our first full day, we spent time lounging by the pool, reading, running, and getting cheap massages in the small nearby town. Both of us got badly burned. Somehow the umbrellas by the pool, a healthy layer of sunscreen, and the overcast weather were unable to protect us from the 11 UV index. 

CJ fell asleep with his book on his stomach. Hence, the rectangular tan line on his stomach. 

 CJ taught me this card game called Canasta, which is like Gin Rummy on steroids, so we played a fair amount of that. Pictured here is us playing, CJ laughing, and a fish - served to us whole with a lime chili sauce. It ended up being the spiciest thing we have eaten thus far. CJ's smile would not last for much longer. 

Our second day, we rented mopeds for $8 each to explore the island. As we tested out different bikes, I revved my engine too quickly and flew wildly across the road. CJ crashed into a curb. The owners were not happy and attempted to downgrade us to slower mopeds before we took off. 

But drawn to the cherry red, sporty exterior of these bad boys, we paid them the money and sped off. 

After a quick learning curve, we got the hang of it. Enjoy this compilation of drive-by shots around the island. 

We passed different animals, stopped at a few lookouts, and ate at two different beach restaurants. 

Late in the day, I was running low on fuel so we stopped at a local gas station. Yes, that green transparent liquid was indeed poured into my moped. 

All in all, flying around the island of Ko Yao Yai and experiencing the lush green landscape made for one of the most fun days of the trip. We were greeted back at the hotel by a beautiful sunset. 

It is hard to believe that just two days ago, I was watching a chicken getting killed while a group of Pakistani children asked me to be in their tiktok. *Sigh*

When we got back to the hotel, we negotiated for an extra $33 of meal vouchers at the hotel restaurant because of the boat miscommunication the first day. We went in asking for an outlandish $80, but settled for the equivalent of five entrees. How do I know it was worth five entrees? Because immediately after receiving the voucher, we went straight to the restaurant and blew it all on more food than we could finish. Justice has been restored. 

Later that night, we took on the hotel waterslides. 

Our final full day was much like our first. We lounged, we napped, CJ got a massage on the beach. I followed suit and saw the same lady. 

We met a nice family from Finland who were on a month long, device-free, vacation in Thailand. I was sadly unable to capture a photo of them. We did however, watch another amazing sunset with the two older siblings. 

The next morning, we exchanged a sad goodbye with our friend the BJ Radisson Hotel. A truck, a boat, and a taxi later, we had reached the Phuket airport. Off to Chiang Mai. Till next time.