Ko Panyi

Ko Panyi is a village of around fifteen hundred people built almost entirely on stilts over the water against the side of a limestone island in Phang Nga Bay, founded in the late eighteenth century by Malay fishing families who came north and settled where the fishing was good and the karst gave shelter. It is Muslim, and the mosque with its gold dome stands over the houses. The story it is best known for is the football pitch: in 1986 boys in the village, with no land to play on, built a floating platform from old fishing rafts and scrap wood and played on it, and the team went on to compete successfully in youth tournaments - a rebuilt pitch is still there and is now a fixture of bay tours. The village is on every Phang Nga itinerary, so the walkways are lined with souvenir stalls and seafood restaurants at midday and quiet outside those hours. Homestays operate for those who want the latter.

What you actually see

• The stilt village - houses over the water against a limestone island.
• The floating pitch - built by village boys in 1986 and rebuilt since.
• The mosque - the gold-domed centre of the community.
• The tour rhythm - stalls and crowds at midday, quiet in the evening.

When to go

November to April. Tour boats arrive around midday and the walkways fill; staying overnight in a homestay gives the village outside those hours.

Honest expectations

Heavily geared to the midday tour trade, with persistent stall selling and inflated restaurant prices. It is a residential village - photographing into homes is unwelcome. Modest dress is appropriate in a Muslim community.

Nearby

Khao Phing Kan and the Phang Nga Bay karsts are on the same tour route.