Koh Panyee is a novel Muslim village floating on the ocean in Phang Nga Bay. It is an element of Ao Phang Nga National Park. The floating island lies within the shadow of a tall limestone rock formation in a sheltered bay out to sea.
Koh Panyee is about half an hour by boat from Phang Nga Pier in Phang Nga Bay. If you book a tour, the village is straightforward to achieve from Phuket and Krabi.
The origins of the Muslim village of Koh Panyee
The floating Muslim village was created roughly 2 hundred years ago by 3 maritime fishing families from Java, Indonesia. They were in search of a superb location with numerous fish. If they found this place, they might allow them to know by raising a flag at the highest of the mountain in order that others could join them. They found a sheltered spot near a high rock and raised the flag. More people slowly joined them, and within the meantime, 400 families live here! Currently, only the older generation within the village still speaks Bahasa Indonesia, the younger generation mainly speaks Thai.
By living on the water, they cleverly circumvented Thai law. The law states that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. Later, when increasingly tourists got here to Thailand, and subsequently to Koh Panyee, they got ownership. The very first thing that the people of Koh Panyee built at the moment was a freshwater well and a mosque.
What is value seeing on Koh Panyee?
Thanks to a few fishing families who found this place and decided to settle here, an entire village was created with every thing you can expect from a village.
There is a college, a hospital, a cemetery, a market, shops, a small museum, restaurants and, in fact, a fish farm. Would you prefer to spend the night on this unique village? It’s possible, because today there’s even an easy hotel! In the past, the inhabitants made their living mainly from fishing, but now tourism can also be becoming an increasingly vital source of income.
We spend the night on Koh Panyee
If you must experience Koh Panyee without other tourists, you’ll be able to make the most of the unique opportunity to remain at this resort James Bond Hotel (Bungalow). This is a must-see for anyone all for strange local life. When there are not any more tourists, restaurants and shops close and normal life goes on.
You can rent a kayak from the hotel for 300 baht to cruise across the village. Rooms on the James Bond Hotel are easy, with cold water and fans. The expensive room has a balcony overlooking the spectacular Phang Nga Bay. The owners are very welcoming and may also help organize a personal tour of local attractions.
Muslims and their customs
Pork, drinking alcohol and smoking are prohibited on Koh Panyee. Although the inhabitants of the island have probably seen many bikinis, they’re unlikely to discuss it. Still, it’s respectable in case your clothes are a little bit more covered on this floating island. It also makes it easy to attach with the friendly locals of Koh Panyee.
Most restaurants and shops are aimed toward tourists visiting this unique place. Continue into the maze of narrow wood and concrete paths, especially away from the souvenir shops, and you will note a really chaotic and even scruffy-looking Koh Panyee. Of course, prices on Koh Panyee are higher than in less touristy areas resembling Phan Nga on the mainland.
A big expansion of Koh Panyee is not any longer possible, the floating island is becoming too large. For future generations, this probably implies that they are going to should search for a spot to live to tell the tale the continent.
Floating soccer fields
In our opinion, essentially the most unique thing to see in Koh Panyee is the three floating soccer fields. The first floating soccer pitch was built after the 1986 World Cup using wood from old houses and whatever else was loose on the island. Of course, not entirely perfect, since the surface was not even and smooth. In some places even fingernails were protruding. Every time the ball was thrown, the kids also needed to enter the water.
Playing football in such conditions, the kids’s football techniques turned out to be higher than expected. On the continent, they won many championships and put themselves, the Panyee FC football team and the island on the map.
How to get to Koh Panyee?
Koh Panyee is frequently visited as a part of a James Bond Island tour from Phuket, Phang Nga city Or Krabi. If you simply need to visit Koh Panyee and/or overnight, you’ll be able to discuss this with the longtail boat owner at Tha Dan Pier or with the travel agent in Phang Nga Town. From Phang Nga Bay, the crossing mustn’t cost greater than 200 baht. From Phuket or Krabi it might be cheaper and easier to hitch a tour. If you must stay on Koh Panyee, you’ll be able to ask in case you can join one other tour the following day so you’ll be able to get back in your trip.
