Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It is no longer possible to camp on Phi-Phi Leh, but you can still visit Maya Beach at
dusk and sleep on board a boat bobbing just offshore with Plankton Sunset Cruise (
Click
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Ko Jum & Ko Si Boya
Just north of Ko Lanta, Ko Jum and its neighbour Ko Si Boya have surprisingly little de-
velopment; what's there is tucked away in the trees.
Ko Jum was once the exclusive domain of Lanta's
chow lair
people, but ethnic Chinese
began arriving after Chairman Mao assumed power in the 1950s. At the time there were
no Thai people living here at all, but eventually the three cultures merged into one, which
is best sampled in the warm early morning, amid the ramshackle poetry of Ban Ko Jum,
the island's fishing village.
Although technically one island, the locals consider only the flatter southern part of Ko
Jum to be Ko Jum; the northern hilly bit is called Ko Pu.
Sleeping & Eating
Most accommodation options have on-site restaurants.
Bodaeng
( 08 1494 8760; Hat Yao; bungalow with shared/private bath 150/200B)
A good old-fashioned hippie
vortex with dirt-cheap lean-to wood and bamboo bungalows sprinkled in the trees. It ain't
fancy - expect squat toilets in the corrugated bathrooms. It is open year-round and there's
a restaurant too.
BUNGALOWS
$
Siboya Resort
( 08 1979 3344, 0 7561 8026;
www.siboyabungalows.com
; bungalows 350B, houses 600-1200B; )
OK,
Ko Si Boya's beach isn't spectacular. But the mangrove setting is wild and full of life, and
the wood bungalows are large and tasteful. No wonder ever-smiling, secretive
50-somethings flock here like it's a retirees' version of Alex Garland's
The Beach
.
HOTEL
$
Woodland Lodge
GUESTHOUSE
$$
