We never ran into crowds – we’d see one or two other tourists at most, no matter if we were walking on a beach or stopped for a coffee. We spent a few days on the island just cruising around on our scooter, following the random signs pointing to mysterious sights like ‘viewpoint’ or ‘hidden beach’. Koh Yao Yai was a little bit bigger than expected, with a population of about 8,000, but even in the main village on the island it never felt like it was busy. Scooter rentals are between THB250 and THB300 (US$7.70 – $9.20) for 24 hours, and after getting back in the saddle it didn’t take me long to feel confident enough not only to cruise down the main road – where luckily, there was barely any traffic – but also a few of the smaller dirt roads which led to some hidden beaches. After walking along the road for a bit on our first day to see if we could get anywhere on foot (nope!), I realized I had no choice but to get over my fear of scooters if I wanted to see something of the island other than our hotel. You could get by with the private songthaws (your hotel will call them for you), but honestly, this is a pretty limited way to get around, since they transport you from A to B rather than showing you the island. Since most resorts seem to be like this – small bungalow villages along the coast, with not much surrounding them – if you want to see the island, you have no choice but to rent a scooter. Our small resort right by the beach was lovely, but there wasn’t anything to do there except for taking walks along the beach, taking a kayak out for a ride around the bay, or lounging by the pool. Our hotel was on the western coast of the island, meaning we didn’t get to see any of the glorious Thai sunsets, which was a bit of a shame. Occasionally, you pass a small village, but mostly there are just clusters of simple houses and maybe a simple village shop or two. No matter where you drive, you’re almost always surrounded by lush jungle scenery. There is only one main road that circles nearly the entire island, and a few additional small side roads. Koh Yao Yai was the first island we visited, and on the ride in the Songthaw (shared pickup truck) from the ferry pier to our hotel, the lush green jungles bordering the road reminded me of Koh Chang.
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