Haad Yao (Had Yao)

“For me – only Haad Yao”, announced Guy, the young owner of the Western-style bakery, surprisingly located alongside the lonely paved road in the midst of the jungle. Despite my utter affection toward many of the other beaches in Koh Phangan, I must declare that Haad Yao fairly deserves this undisputed loyalty.

“For me – only Haad Yao”

We’ve arrived at Haad Yao for the first time straight after a four-days-stay in our favorite resort Cocohut, located at Leela beach with a five minute walking distance to lively Haad Rin. As Cocohut’s permanent guests, we’ve never experienced neither shortage of activities nor dissatisfaction, but nevertheless, one bright morning we decided it was time to try something else, and we packaged our only backpack and moved to the Northwest part of the Island.

At the very first moment of our arrival, as the taxi driver dropped our backpack and two laptops to the ground and left the area without any delay, we felt a little bit abandoned and helpless. The Haad Yao surrounding seemed estranged and too isolated for our taste and sort of caught us unprepared so to speak. On our right, the mighty jungle wall has risen to extremities; on our left we could see a poetic access to the loneliest most beautiful beach with no more than 5-6 peoples basking in the sun and enjoying its rare glory. Since it was too late for regrets, we turned our steps to the left towards the “Long Bay” resort, the closest one to our stopping point.

As evening came it became clear that Haad Yao and its surrounding treasure a hidden almost magical dimension. Despite being fairly close to the crowded Haad Rin and busy ThongSala, in Haad Yao we felt like we were moved to a remote mythical realm where time and space had no meaning.

Every morning we woke up at unknown time (there were no watches anyway), had our breakfast as slow as we could and dedicated the rest of the day to loitering in and around the beach and investigated its surrounding: the reticent shore, the turquoise sea surface with coral reefs hidden underneath, the powerful almost mythical jungle that had wakened my childish fantasies of prehistoric world again, and everything else we could explore. In the evenings we had our routine drinks on a balcony of one of the local pubs, usually “The Magic Bar” overlooking the sea. After two-three drinks we were heading home via steep and dark road, whereas the good ancient jungle was sort of protecting our right side. At times, just before sleep we sat on the white long bay (Haad Yao, in Thai) and silently looked at the fisherman boats as they slowly danced with the moon lit horizon till the very moment at which they were not visible anymore.

The three main upsides of Haad Yao:

1. Divine feeling of clearness and solitude.

2. Great conditions for diving and snorkeling.

3. Excellent choice of sideways pubs with breathtaking sea views.

The three main downsides of Haad Yao:

1. Intense feeling of clearness and solitude.

2. Little to no human company.

3. The most boring TV and overseas calls are extremely expensive.

Why to stay there anyway:

1. Because it is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Island.

2. Because its diving and snorkeling sites are considered the best in the Island.

3. Because it will probably be the place you miss the most.