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| Orso (above) Matyi (below |
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| View from the pillion |
We were so lucky to have our time on the island Koh Phayam, thanks to our host Christian. Because he had to go back to Venice earlier than planned, he arranged for an Italian friend to meet us at Koh Phayam pier. Giuseppe greeted us, then told the motorbike 'couriers' where to take us. They wait for incoming boats to arrive and take passengers and luggage to their accommodation around the island. We had far too much luggage but they organised it quickly, me on the back of one bike, John on another, the huge rucksacks with another rider. My motorcyclist said she was a good friend of Christian's, and was disappointed that he'd gone home sooner than expected. As she negotiated the bike round a tree trunk on the edge of the lane, she felt me tense — it was about 45 years since I'd been on the back of a bike … "Don't worry madam, I am a safe driver"! We arrived at Christian's house and were greeted by Laura, a French friend of Christian's who was staying there. She helped us carry our bags in and gave us fresh watermelon, very welcome. We were also greeted by Christian's dogs Orso and Matyi, who probably sensed how much we love dogs.
Laura had use of Christian's battered motorcycle, and she took John back to 'the village' near the pier to hire a motorbike which was to be our transport for the next nine days. There is no other transport on Koh Phayam, except for the odd tractor trailer or push bikes and it was far too hot to cycle. Later we followed Laura to Aow Yai (Long Beach) for a swim, then followed her around the island where she showed us another beach, Aow Khao-Kwai (Buffalo Bay). Laura pointed out a good family-run restaurant where we could eat, then left us to it.
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| Aow Yai (Long Beach) |
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Hard to spot this gap in the
hedge in the dark! |
We had a good meal, but unfortunately when we set out to return to the house we realised that we had no torch or phone with us and in the dark we couldn't find the gap in the hedge which led to the land around the house. After going up and down the road several times we asked for help in several places, were directed to a tourist police point (a group of men sitting drinking beer under a CocaCola sign), they led us to someone who spoke English who turned out to be Christian's neighbour, and she sent a lad on a motorbike to lead us home.
We never ventured out without a torch after that, but after trekking up and down that lane several times that night, we knew every landmark and never made the same mistake again!
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| Christian's lovely house |
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| Upstairs is like being in a tree house |
More photos of Christian's house here
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| A reminder of Venice? |
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| Proudly flying the Venetian flag |
We were so lucky to have our time on the island Koh Phayam, thanks to our host Christian. Because he had to go back to Venice earlier than planned, he arranged for an Italian friend to meet us at Koh Phayam pier. Giuseppe greeted us, then told the motorbike 'couriers' where to take us. They wait for incoming boats to arrive and take passengers and luggage to their accommodation around the island. We had far too much luggage but they organised it quickly, me on the back of one bike, John on another, the huge rucksacks with another rider. My motorcyclist said she was a good friend of Christian's, and was disappointed that he'd gone home sooner than expected. As she negotiated the bike round a tree trunk on the edge of the lane, she felt me tense — it was about 45 years since I'd been on the back of a bike … "Don't worry madam, I am a safe driver"! We arrived at Christian's house and were greeted by Laura, a French friend of Christian's who was staying there. She helped us carry our bags in and gave us fresh watermelon, very welcome. We were also greeted by Christian's dogs Orso and Matyi, who probably sensed how much we love dogs.
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