Beautiful Panyee

Traveling to Ko Panyee is convenient and can be done from a variety of locations. Visitors could catch a boat from Pang-Nga Bay or at one of Phuket's several piers. For our team, we departed from Phuket as it was the easiest for us.

During the boat ride to the island, we were kept fascinated by wonderful views of limestone cliffs that line up one after the other. It's amazing how nature is able to create such immaculate work of art in the midst of the blue ocean and winding cliffs like this.

On the way, we passed some tourists enjoying scenic kayaking tours around the caves so we greeted them with a friendly wave. We noticed that when people go on vacation, it doesn't matter what nationality they are, words of greetings or 'Sawadee' exchanged between passers by always bring a smile upon everyone's faces.

After an hour of pleasant boat ride, we reached Panyee Island’s Pier located in Pang-Nga Province. Most of the local villagers are Thai Muslims whose main occupations are fishery and selling local handicrafts to tourists.

Among the things you will find here are pretty pearl necklaces and bracelets, dried seafood, shrimp paste and a variety of chili pastes. They certainly make good souvenirs for friends back home.

For the few families who are skillful in handicrafts, they would make little wooden boats, a symbol of Ko Panyee, to be sold as souvenirs. The boats are sold just in front of the villagers’ homes at comparatively reasonable prices.

We walked around leisurely, exploring the village surrounded by the sea and noticed that every house is built of wood in simple styles and placed high on stilts. This reflects the simple way of life which is so endearing to see. Everyone wears a smile on their faces and all the neighbors know one another like their own family members.

The Panyee villagers spend their days leisurely. They enjoy settling down on the porch just chit-chatting with other family members. Hours are spent at a slow pace, a world of difference than those of the big cities’.

As we gingerly walk along the path, we came upon the island’s only school. The children here greeted us with innocent smiles and laughter, occasionally chatting with visitors who stop by. Their genuine personalities left us and other visitors amused and contented, partly envious of how simple but happy their lives can be.  

Our visit to Panyee Island made us realize some thing. The charm of the local villagers must have a lot to do with their natural, gorgeous surroundings of clear ocean and dreamy island atmosphere that keep them so contented. This is evident on all their faces, from the young ones to senior citizens. 

For lunch, we had scrumptious seafood that was to die for. The slightly sweet taste of the fish, shrimp and squid meat was an indication that they must have come straight from the sea.

Afterwards, we took a boat tour to admire the small islands around Pang-Nga Bay and took hundreds of memorable pictures as memento of our trip. The visit to Panyee had been a wonderful experience for everyone and we hope that you readers out there get to find time to experience this amazing island for themselves as well.