Hello from Phuket, on the west side of Thailand! 

I am here for one night. Earlier today I arrived from Koh Yao Noi, a very quiet island just east of here. 

In the last update, I wrote about how I did a 7 island tour in Ao Nang. Well, since then, I did something equally as spectacular, and even more physically demanding! A few days ago, my friend Aaron and I went a little inland to a town called Krabi for the afternoon. In Krabi, there is a temple called Tiger Cave Temple. However, this is unlike any temple I have seen before. It is on top of a huge mountain, and you have to climb 1,237 very large steps (each step is at least 2-3 feet) to get to the top! It had some amazing views and it is definitely one of the steepest hikes I have ever done.

And when we came back down to the bottom, we found some monkeys! They are extremely smart but very devious. One even took someone’s water bottle, figured out how to open it and tipped it back, and drank from it! I don't trust monkeys...

I made a short video about our adventure. Check it out here. You can also check out my previous video from Ao Nang.

After about 5 nights in Ao Nang, I took a boat west, to Koh Yao Noi. I could have gone to the Phi Phi Islands, which are south of Koh Yao Noi. Everyone has told me they're great, and really beautiful, and have blue, clear, tropical water with white sand beaches. However, these islands are also very very touristy and have a huge party atmosphere at night. While I'm sure I am missing fun times, I will definitely visit next time I am in Thailand, and I am happy I chose Koh Yao Noi. 

Koh Yao Noi is just north of its sister island, Koh Yao Yai, and it is literally a 5-minute ferry ride away (very cheap ferry ride too). Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai have yet to see the swarm of tourists that other Thai islands have seen. For the first time since arriving in Thailand, I saw less than 10 foreigners the entire time I was there (3 nights), and also for the first time ever, I saw the locals enjoying the beach. Sometimes I think foreigners overlook the fact that they are in a country that is not their own, and the locals are not just there to serve them margaritas on the beach. They like the beach too! It was really cool to get a chance to be in a place that felt off the beaten track and have the opportunity to witness life in a place that has not yet been affected by tourism. The islands have great palm tree beaches, and I think in another 10 years or so there will be a lot more resorts here. The islands are trying to attract high-dollar tourism, and I'm sure that more people will start to come soon. 

Another interesting thing about Koh Yao Noi is the island is majority Muslim. Buddhism is the main religion in Thailand, but the farther south you go, there are more mosques and Arab food. The first two days I was here, it was Ramadan, and the third day was Eid, a holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of Ramadan. During Ramadan, people do not eat during the day. Only before sunrise and after sunset. So that made it difficult to find food, because there was only one or two restaurants open near where I was staying! Let's just say I went to this Italian place quite a few times and they started to recognize me...

Koh Yao Noi was a great experience and I hope to see more off-the-beaten-track places throughout my travels. Sometimes it seems like there are only a few places left that have not been affected by tourists, and those places are cool to see before everyone else gets there. 

Off to new adventures very soon...

Until the next update,

Zach