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When people think about the beaches in Thailand they probably think about Phuket, Krabi, Samui, Phi-Phi, Pattaya, Phan-ngan (full-moon party beach) or Koh Tao. Few people even know about Phayam and that can be a very good thing if you get over there in the next couple of years.
This island is located on the West Coast near the border to Myanmar. They do have a small airport and after about an hour ride on a prop-plane from Bangkok, you can be at the dock that leads to this truly unique island.
There are almost no cars on the island due to the fact that there are no piers (that I could find) that are capable of offloading a vehicle of that size. Most of the roads are barely wide enough to accommodate motorbikes. The resorts aren't really even resorts (yet) but rather, are small bungalow operations that have more an intimate feel to them. You become familiar with the staff and they treat you in a very personal way since the two places I stayed at only had about a dozen units in total.
My bungalow, which is pictured above was not luxury by any means but i think for backpackers and budget-minded travelers in general, it is exactly what we are looking for. It had 2 beds in it, an attached and rather large bathroom and the total price per night was 500 B or around $16 US.
I wasn't on the beach at this price but in less than a minute I could be at the beachfront bar / restaurant (which had great prices) and this leads me to the next part about this island that appeals to me and I presume other people the most.
There's almost nobody here. I didn't wait for an opportune moment to take this picture, this is what it looks like all the time. There were bungalow operations all up and down the beach, but even at full capacity, there is only an opportunity for each of these places to add around 30 people to the beach or so. Therefore, you get this stunning place all to yourself, so to speak.
I think it is relatively important that you be capable of riding a motorbike if you want to get around because the few restaurants that exist are a bit spread out over the very easy to navigate island. There are very few "roads" here and if you only ever used 2 of them, you could get to nearly anywhere.
This place is NOT on the tourist map... for now. Until recently there had been no mainland electricity and this kept the masses away. However, massive electrical generators have just been introduced to the island and i noticed that there were some rather massive hotel / resort operations that were being built. We can all but be guaranteed that if these resorts have their way, there will be 10 times as many tourists here in the near future and with them, the prices will become inflated and the beaches crowded.
To get there, book a flight or bus out of Bangkok (or wherever) and head to Ranong on the West Coast. From there take the ferry, which departs many times a day (but not at all at night) straight over. That's all there is to it!
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