Koh Panyee or (Panyi) is a small man-made island with approximately 1 rai and 200 houses. Most of the dwellers are Thai Muslims, earning their living by fishing and selling souvenirs and food to visitors. There is a school and public health canter, as well.
The village has a Muslin School which is attended by both girls and boys in the mornings. Due to the informal nature of this education, many of the boys attend schools further afield in Phang Nga or in Phuket. Further emigration from the village is encouraged as the size of the settlement is restricted by dangerous water conditions in the rainy season.
This wide-peaked limestone mountain provides good protection from the ocean waves and features a sizable sandbank which has become a settlement containing four small villages surrounded by resplendent nature, shady mangrove forests and the numerous islands of Phang-Nga National Marine Park.
The ancestors of the current inhabitants can be traced back to three Javanese families who sailed to Thailand’s Andaman coast from Indonesia at the end of the 18th century. These seafarers decided that when they found land suitable for settling, they would mark it as theirs with a flag displaying the title ‘Pulao Panji’, simply meaning ‘our flag’.
After establishing themselves on the island, they have continued their lifestyles based on Islamic principles for three centuries. The villages located on the island are registered as part of the Koh Panyee Sub District, which has a population of around 1400, spread over 150 households, most of which are single-story stilt houses, set into the limestone cliffs at the front of the island, looking out into the Phang-Nga bay.
The 1 square rai area at the foot of the mountain is used as a communal area and houses a two-story marble mosque with a beautiful golden dome and a cemetery.
The shallow waters around the island are suited to fishing as well as cockle and fish farms, the main sources of income for most of the islanders.
However, the recent influx of tourists has seen some locals turn their hand to other ways of making a living including opening restaurants, organizing boat trips or selling souvenirs, dried seafood products and jeweler made from the pretty local oyster shells.
All of these avenues allow the islanders to make a living between December and April when there is no monsoon rain.
Despite the recent rise in tourism, life in Koh Panyee is still primarily based around the fishing industry as tourists only visit in significant numbers during the dry season.
Tourist needs to be respectful that this is a Muslim community.
James Bond Bungalow is an excellent place to stay for around 1100 thb per night.
