A short boat ride from Phuket is Koh Yao Noi, a glowing example of homestay and community-based tourism
Published: 28/10/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Horizons
Located in Phangnga Bay between Krabi and Phuket, Koh Yao Noi wows visitors with abundant natural resources on land as well as under the sea. Many tourists travelling there even said they would want to keep the island just the way it is, as their secret escape.
A peaceful strip of beach on the east coast of Koh Yao Noi.
Tranquil and scenic, fringed by sandy beaches, Koh Yao Noi is home to communities of Muslim who lead a simple life, and are also equally at ease playing host to tourists.
The island first caught the eye of tourists two decades ago, but in just 10 years their number soared at such an alarming rate that the villagers were left with no choice but to control the tourist traffic, and in 2002 under the guidance of the Responsible Ecological Social Tours Project, the villagers managed to form the Koh Yao Noi Community-based Tourism Club that today regulates all tourist activity on the island.
‘‘We have played host to many a tourist these two decades. It’d got to a point we knew we could not stop them coming, so we needed to manage them wisely,’’ said the club’s coordinator Dusit Butree who locals fondly call Bang Bao.
Born and bred locally, he recalled that as far back as 1993 he and his neighbours launched a campaign to fight off poaching of the area’s marine resources. ‘‘We resolved to stand on guard on our shores to ward off the poachers,’’ said Dusit. ‘‘Later we successfully lobbied government agencies to slap a ban on illegal fishing within three kilometres of the island.’’
The news of their triumph spread like wildfire. The media and tourists descended in hordes. Using the publicity thus generated, Dusit and his friends made a pitch for conservation of natural resources. In the mangrove on the fringe of the island the villagers began planting trees.
Little girl rides a swing at Pa Sai Beach that also has several tourist bungalows; and fish spread out to dry in the sun.
This successful campaign won the island many admirers who travelled there, keen to learn how it was achieved. And the loose coalition of fishermen responsible for the success was forced to expand its scope, leading to the establishment of the community-based tourism club.
The club runs all aspects of tourist activity including homestay service, for which tourists need to book in advance, and a choice of tour itineraries lasting two to four days.
On this tour my guide was none other but Dusit, who usually finds himself assigned to English-speaking groups. It began with a visit to the club for a briefing on the island’s background and geography. It was a half-day tour. Before setting out we were treated to a big seafood meal. I can assure you seafood here is really fresh, tasty and served in generous portions.
‘‘We like guests to follow our rules: dress properly when roaming the island, no littering, no collecting shells or corals, no alcohol nor drugs,’’ said Dusit.
The island is quite small, running 15 kilometres north to south about 40 square kilometres in size. It is home to 5,000 people, mostly fishermen and farmers, and boasts a hospital, schools and a post office all linked by a network of roads including one that follows the coastline. Some 30 households on the island are members of the tourism club. Combined, they can accommodate up to 150 people at a time. Guests get to observe the local people’s way of life via the homestay experience and the tour that includes stops at a rubber plantation, a coconut farm, a rice field, a batik shop, followed by free time on the beach.
The tricycle is handy moving around the island; and a cluster of the sataw ‘stink bean’ dangling from a tree.
The next day we went island hopping and snorkelling. Dusit prepared a big seafood lunch served in plastic boxes with fruit and bottled water. Styrofoam cups and containers are not used. ‘‘We are well-known for our green community and scenic beaches that we are all proud of,’’ he said.
The progress made by the club won it the World Legacy Award 2002, the Tourism Award 2002-04, the Hospitality Management Award 2007 from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Award for Outstanding Performances 2007 and a certificate endorsing quality of homestay service, relevant facilities and activities.
‘‘We do what we love and we like it when people see its value. Although past experiences were exhaustive, they were worth it,’’ he said.
After three days on Koh Yao Noi, I too want to save this destination as my secret escape.
Koh Yao Noi is easy to reach from Phuket. From the airport, take a a taxi (300 baht) to Bang Rong pier and then a speed boat to the island.
Speed boats depart daily at 7:35am, 8am, 9.40am, 10.35am, 11am, 1.30pm and 5.30pm. The 35-minute boat ride _ with a stop at its sister island, Koh Yao Yai _ takes you to Ma Noh pier in the south of Koh Yao Noi. The fare is 200 baht one-way.
From Ma Noh pier departure times are 6.30am, 7.50am, 9am, 10.10am, 10.40am, 12.50pm, 2pm, 4.40pm and 5pm.
The main mode of land transport on Koh Yao Noi is the ‘songthaew’ mini-bus or you can rent a motorcycle or bicycle where you’re staying.
Other important contacts:
Yao Noi Community-based Tourism Club, call Dusit at 086-942-7999 or his friend Bang Mee at 081-968-0877.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s local office at 076-212-213.
Hornbill seen from roadside.
Ihyaussunnah, the only mosque on Koh Yao Noi, is an important meeting point for the island’s Muslim residents. Five times a day they converge here to say their daily prayers. The prayer room is on the upper floor, and men and women take separate stairs to get there. Men sit in the front, the women at the back, a ceiling to floor curtain separating them. In the same area is a primary school, Sattha Tham.
Rice plots next to the concrete road on the island’s west coast took me by surprise. Frankly, I didn’t expect to see them here. The road’s elevation prevents inundation of farms by sea water. The villagers grow only one crop a year: they plant in August and reap in December. They also raise buffaloes, but only for their own consumption, not to work the farms.
Vasant Buathong practices integrated farming and is happy sharing that knowledge with other villagers. When I was visiting he showed me two species of coconut: the juice of one is sweet and the other fragrant, he said, and asked me to tell which was what. I tasted both. The fragrant variety had the faint smell of pandanus leaves and sour aftertaste, while the other was odourless but indeed quite sweet. He also grows banana, pineapple and jackfruit side by side catfish and rice in which he is ably assisted by his wife, sufficiency economics being their guiding principle.
Batik is an Otop product of Ban Tha Khao. The designs based on marine life and flowers found in the area are created by a man who is mute, but that is no handicap for he heads a group of 13 housewives who manually produce batik clothes using wax-resist dyeing technique. This is the only one village on the island making batik. The products are sold at an open-air shop next to the pier at Tha Khao Beach where people take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The shop also holds batik demonstrations daily between 8.30am to 4pm.
This is Duang Chalermkan, 81, fixing a fish trap, which is an example of local ingenuity. In use almost 200 years, it is handy for snaring large fish such as grouper, parrot fish and big eye trevally. Made of rattan wood and wires, the 2.5m by 3m contraption is lowered from a boat to the seabed and left there for a period of 15 days, after which it is retrieved. With luck Duang can net up to 200kg of fish in one go.
Koh Hong in Than Bok Khorani National Park, Krabi, was part of our day-long islandhopping and homestay package, complete with snorkelling gear and lunch boxes. We liked Koh Hong most because of its crystal clear water and white sandy beach. (below) A Singaporean tourist and his son enjoy feeding fish.
Our tour guide Dusit led us to this rubber plantation at high noon when present there was not a single soul. All there was to see were these sheets of rubber hung out to dry with no-one standing guard. Dusit explained cases of thefts were rare, almost unknown. Rubber sheets are sold a rate of 90 baht/kg, and the island boasts 3,000 ‘rai’ of rubber plantations in its northwest.
Meanh Ruamsakul is the proud owner of Ban Mangkon, a floating lobster farm. The specimen weigh almost a kilogramme each. Here he is seen feeding them fish. The farm has been around more than a decade. It is a major source of lobster for hotels and restaurants in Krabi and Phuket. Visitors can have them steamed or barbecued, the cost being 1,800-2,200 baht/kg. The farm also raises fish such as puffer, cobia and giant grouper, and of the latter there is one weighing 50kg, which Meanh insisted isn’t for sale but for the visitors to see, for their entertainment.
Ma Daeng sells ‘khao mok kai’ (saffron rice with chicken) at a makeshift restaurant next to Manok pier where you catch the speed boat to Phuket. It was tasty, as were other southern style dishes, ‘khao yam’ (salad-like dish made from rice, fresh vegetables and aromatic sweet-salty sauce) and ‘khanom jeen’ (fermented rice noodles) topped with various spicy curries. Her husband (left) is a village headman. He is holding a cage in which sits a Javanese dove, regarded as a bird of luck in south Thailand.
**
Bron: Bangkok Post