Ko Yao Island Resort and 9Hornbill review

KO YAO ISLAND RESORT

RO: Ce s-ar fi intamplat daca Naga (Dragonul de Apa al prietenilor tailandezi) nu s-ar fi sacrificat in drumul lui spre Krabi, ranit fiind sufleteste ca iubita lui s-a maritat cu alta creatura … mitologica si ea, cel mai probabil? 🙂 Va spunem noi: nu ar fi existat Ko Yao Noi si Ko Yao Yai, caci asa se speculeaza ca s-a fi creat cele doua insule, prin prabusirea subita a amorezatului dragon de apa si formarea unei stramtori intre cele doua paradisuri din Golful Phang Nga.

EN: What would’ve happened if Naga (our Thai friends Water Dragon) wouldn’t have sacrificed himself on his way to Krabi because he was hurt that his (probably mythological creature as well) girlfriend married another creature… We’ll tell you what: Ko Yao Noi and Ko Yao Yai wouldn’t have existed because it is speculated that this is how the 2 islands came to life — by the sudden collapse of the enamored water dragon and the forming of a narrowing between the 2 paradises from Phang Nga Bay.

RO: Cum ajungi in Koy Yao Noi

Nu stiu de unde am prins frica asta de calatorit cu masina sau transportul in comun sau cu ferry-ul sau barca caci zau ca nu se aplica regula din Filipine nicaieri in Thailanda. Cu alte cuvinte, nu ni s-a intamplat niciodata sa nu stim cand plecam, cand ajungem, cu ce si in ce conditii. Prin urmare, din Patong (locul pe unde ne gasesti mai mereu cand ajungem in Thailanda 🙂 ) am luat un taxi spre Portul Bang Rong. Calatoria dureaza in jur de 40 de minute si costa aproximativ 800 baht. Varianta mai ieftina ar fi si autobuzul local care pleaca in mod constant pana la ora 14:30 din piata locala din Phuket in timp ce o alta varianta ar fi inchirierea unui transport privat pus la dispozitie de hotel, ce te poate ridica din aeroportul din Phuket sau Krabi si te aseaza direct pe sezlongul din fata vilei 🙂 Noi am optat pentru cea de-a doua varianta asa ca o sa ne continuam calatoria si discutia despre costuri. Odata ajunsi in Bang Rong, am avut optiunea de a ne lua un bilet cu ferry-ul sau cu barca long tail pana in Portul Manoh. (barcile pleaca din jumatate in jumatate de ora iar ultima barca este la 16:30). Noi am decis sa luam ferry-ul ce pleaca la ora 14 iar costul acestuia a fost 300 baht/persoana). 30 de minute mai tarziu si inca un taxi ce a costat 100 de baht, iata-ne ajunsi la Ko Yao Island Resort, scaldati in parfum de lemongrass si desfatati cu o priveliste despre care o sa va povestim mai jos, daca ne lasati sa tragem linie si sa calculam ca am parcurs 63 de kilometri (dintre care 20 pe apa), in aproape 2 ore si jumatate iar costul total al “expeditiei” a fost 1600 baht, adica in jur de 230 de lei (caci, daaa, creste bahtuuuuul de la an la an, bravo lui, ciuda noua:) )

EN: How to get there

I don’t know where I got this fear of traveling by car, by public transportation, by ferry or by boat because there’s no reason to compare the Philippines to Thailand. In other words, it never happened for us to not know when we are leaving, when we reach our destination or how we’ll get there. Therefore, from Patong (where you’ll most likely find us whenever we’re in Thailand 🙂 ) we took a cab to the Bang Rong Pier. The trip takes about 40 minutes and costs approximately 800 baht. The cheaper option would be the local bus that leaves constantly until 2:30 PM from the local market in Phuket, while another option would be renting private transportation offered by the hotel that picks you up from the Phuket or Krabi airport and leaves you on a sunbed in front of your villa 🙂 We chose the second option, so we will continue our journey and discussion about costs.

Once arrived in Bang Rong we had the option of getting a ticket for a ferry or long-tail boat to the Manoh Pier (the boats leave every half hour and the last one leaves at 4:30 PM). We decided to take the 2 o’clock ferry and it cost us 300 baht/person. Thirty minutes later and another cab that cost us 100 baht, we arrived at Ko Yao Island Resort, bathed in lemongrass fragrance and indulged in a view we’ll tell you everything about later if you let us draw the line and calculate that we’ve traveled 63 km (20 of which on water), in almost 2 and a half hours and the total cost of this “expedition” was 1600 baht aka 230 lei or 50 euros (well, yes, baht’s exchange rate goes up from year to year, good for him, bad for us :))

RO: Unde stai

Atentie: E posibil ca privelistea sa-ti ia rasuflarea asa ca te sfatuim sa o iei usurel si sa te cazezi la o vila pe plaja si sa lasi 9 Hornbills-ul pe urma 🙂 Nu de alta dar e mai bine sa privesti Phang Nga Bay de la nivelul tau, in prima faza si apoi sa-ti iei curajul sa-l privesti de sus, de parca ar putea sa-ti apartina intru totul 🙂

EN: Where to stay

Warning: The view could possibly take your breath away, therefore we advise you take it easy and stay at a villa on the beach, leaving 9Hornbills last 🙂 It’s better to look at Phang Nga Bay from your level at first and then pick up the courage to look at it from above, like you own the entire thing 🙂

RO: Indiferent ce vila ai alege, toate sunt orientate spre plaja, asta ca sa fii sigur ca nu ratezi nicio schimbare de umbre sau culori 🙂 Piscina ofera un view neobstructionat asupra golfului, in timp ce terasa casei te linisteste dupa o zi de plaja cu o cafea (Nespresso, bine-nteles:) ). Toate vilele sunt construite din materiale locale iar pe intinderea de 220 de metri de plaja proprie ai tot spatiul de care ai nevoie sa te relaxezi. Noi am fost aici in Octombrie, la sfarsit de sezon ploios si cu sinceritate raportam ca, desi hotelul era ocupat in proportie de 80%, cumva totul se risipea intr-un mod atat de firesc si placut, incat rar te intalneai cu cineva la mai putin de 10 metri, fara sa punem la socoateala zona de restaurant. Si ca veni vorba …

EN: No matter which villa you chose, they’re all facing the beach so that you don’t miss any change in shadows or colors 🙂 The pool offers a clear view to the gulf, while the terrace soothes you after an entire beach day with coffee (Nespresso, of course 🙂 ).
All villas are built with local material and you have all the space you need to relax on the 220 meters of private beach. We were here in October, in the late rainy season and with all due honesty, we report back that, although the hotel was at 80% occupancy, everything was spread out so naturally and pleasantly that you would seldom come across other people closer than 10 meters away, if we don’t count in the restaurant area. Speaking of which…

RO: Unde mananci

Ne stiti gurmanzi de fel. Si mai stiti si ca suntem innebuniti dupa mancare tailandeza. Asa ca, se poate ceva mai bun decat un restaurant dichisit si ticsit cu preparate care mai de care mai aroy (delicios)?

RO: Ca orice restaurant care se respecta servirea este impecabila (si cand spunem “impecabila”, cred ca putem cu usurinta sa scriem asta cu litere mari si sa despartim in silabe, daca ne lasati 🙂 ). Bun, servirea este IM-PE-CA-BI-LA! Multumim :). Totul a putut fi transformat in preparat vegetarian intr-o clipita, n-a fost nimic de care sa avem nevoie si sa nu poate fi acomodat si va mai dam un pont: Tomato Tartar (asta pentru ca venim din Filipine si am vrut sa simtim gustul de busuioc tailandez pana ne intoarcem)

EN: Where to eat

Like any self-respecting restaurant, service is impeccable (and when we say impeccable, we can lightly put it in caps and spell it out for you if you let us:)). Ok, so service is IM-PEC-CA-BLE! Thank you 🙂 Everything could be turned into a vegetarian dish in a split second, there was nothing we needed that couldn’t be accommodated, and let us give you another tip: Tomatoes Tartar (because we come from the Philippines and we wanted to eat as mush Thai basil as we could before we came back 🙂 )

RO: Curry-uri, cocktail-uri, Pad Thai si Som Tam, ca asa a sunat meniul daca nu vrem sa recunoastem ca am mancat tartar mereu, ca ne-am indulcit cu inghetata si pudinca de mango cam des si ca s-ar putea sa fi facut exces de Broccoli Med Mammuang (nu va zic ce este, sic) 🙂

EN: Currys, cocktails, Pad Thai and Som Tam, that’s what our menu sounded like if we’re not willing to admit that we only ate tartar, that we sweetened ourselves with ice cream and mango pudding a bit too often, and that we might have overdone it with the Broccoli Med Mammuang (not gonna tell you what it is, hehe) 🙂

RO: Ce poti sa faci

Nimeni nu vrea sa te lase sa te plictisesti (asta in acceptiunea in care plaja, mancare, piscina, somn, relaxare, masaj, ar putea fi sinonime cu plictisul :). Prin urmare, resortul iti pune la dispozitie in mod gratuit biciclete ca sa explorezi zona, caiace sa te bucuri de apa si echipamente de snorkeling ca sa te bucuri de “subape”. Daca nu stiai deja de Phi Phi Island si James Bond Island, ai ocazia acum sa descoperi una dintre cele mai mari atractii ale Golfului. (ce e frumos e ca poti alege un tur privat si-n felul asta sa-ti cresti sansele sa te bucuri de atractii fara prea multi oameni in jur).

EN: What to do

No one wants you to get bored (in the sense where the beach, food, pool, sleep, relaxation, massage would be synonymous with boredom :)). Therefore, the resort offers bikes for free to explore, kayaks to enjoy the water and snorkeling equipment to enjoy the “underwater”. If you haven’t heard of Phi Phi Island and James Bond Island already, you have the opportunity to discover one of the biggest attractions in the gulf. (the nice thing is that you can opt for a private tour to increase your chances of enjoying the surroundings without a lot of people around).

9 HORNBILLS

RO: Cand vine vorba de 9Hornbills lucrurile capata forme luxoase, de corturi africane cu iz safarian. Sora mai mica sau frate mai rasfatat (spuneti-i voi cum vreti 🙂 ) a Ko Yao Island Resort, 9Hornbills e la doar o aruncatura de bat de umarul rubedeniei mai mare. Sau mai precis, la 5 minute de mers cu buggy-ul privat al proprietatii.

EN: When it comes to 9Hornbills things get luxe with African-safarian tents. Ko Yao Island Resort’s little sister or more spoiled brother (however you wanna call it), 9Hornbills, is just a smidge away from its bigger sibling. To be more precise, a 5-minute drive with the resorts private buggy.

RO: Cu mana pe inima va spunem ca rar (la fata locului am concluzionat ca e pentru prima data, chiar 🙂 ) ne-a fost dat sa vedem asa view spectaculos. Toate corturile sunt orientate spre rasarit iar dimineata ai parte de niste culori de-ti sta mintea-n loc. Si cum view-urile frumoase aduc priviri holbande ca la televizor, iata si raspunsul la intrebarea “ce poti sa faci aici” ?:) Caci, da, locul e facut pentru relaxari depline si incarcat de baterii cat pentru un sezon intreg de grele cumpene. Cu sau fara legatura cu asta, partea aceasta este destinata numai adultilor, asta ca sa stiti cand va planificati concediul.

EN: We can wholeheartedly tell you that rarely (for the first time, even, as we got there:) ) have we seen such a spectacular view. All of the tents are oriented towards sunrise and in the morning you are mindblown by the colors. And since beautiful views make people stare, here is the answer to the question “ what can you do here?” 🙂
Because this place is indeed meant for full relaxation and charging of batteries. On or off-topic, this side of the resort is dedicated to adults only, just so you know when you’re planning your vacation.

RO: Ko Yao Island Resort deserveste tot ce inseamna 9 Hornbill, prin urmare esti la un apel distanta de a fi ridicat cu buggy-ul si dus la restaurant si la acelasi apel de a lenevi pe terasa sau de a lua cina sub clar de luna. E decizia ta cum vrei sa faci iar ei sunt aici sa-ti indeplineasca cele mai cu mot dorinte.

EN: Ko Yao Island Resort takes care of everything related to 9Hornbills, therefore you are one phone call away from being picked up by a buggy and taken to the restaurant or just chilling on the terrace and dining under the stars. It’s your call and they’re here to fulfill your wildest wish.

RO: Am palavragit putin si am aratat mai mult pentru ca vrem ca locatia sa vorbeasca de la sine. Asa ca ultimul calup de osanale intra acum: Ko Yao si al ei 9 Hornbills sunt doua dintre cele mai frumoase locuri unde am fost vreodata, unde privelistea a taiat rasuflarea deja firavilor oameni “raniti” de la atatea imagini spectaculoase cum Filipinele, locul unde ne ducem traiul momentan, are. Serviciile impecabile sunt lucruri des intalnite in hotelurile din Thailanda, asa ca de aspectul acesta ne-am ocupat din start, trecandu-l in alb, din oficiu.

EN: We chatted a bit and showed you more because we want the location to speak for itself. The last round of praises begins now: Ko Yao and its faithful 9Hornbills are 2 of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been to, where the view took the breath away of sensitive people already “hurt” by so many spectacular places like the Philippines, where we live our day to day life now. Impeccable service is something often come across in Thai hotels, so we checked that box from the beginning.

RO: Si nu-ncalecam deja pe-o sa ca am si fost invitati la deschiderea unui nou restaurant si hill top bar ce se vor deschide curand. Asa ca … raportam mintenas de la fata locului 🙂

EN: We haven’t even finished this story and we were already invited to the opening of a new hilltop and restaurant opening soon. So… we’ll report back swiftly on location 🙂