Panyee Island.

Traveling brings new adventures that drive so much to explore, to discover and to learn. Being a traveler means being open minded to discover and explore new cuisine, religion, people and culture. Traveling to Thailand was eye opening however I found myself falling in love with what is known to be Panyee Island which directly translates to Flag Island. 

The Island derived its name when two Indonesian fishermen with a promise that they would settle at the place where there is an abundance of fish. These fishermen notified the others by raising a Flag upon the highest limestone mountain in the area and built the first home on stilts. Panyee Island which is also known as muslim village because 99% of its population being muslim. Today the village has  grown to a population of approximately 2000 residents being of Thai and Indonesian nationality. Together the people of Panyee Island live entirely on stilts with only the mosque and cemetery being on land with the rest of the village floating among the Andaman sea. 

Along the Island there is a floating recycling centre which was founded by a 40 year old resident of Panyee Island who goes by the name of Saudi who voluntarily founded this recycling centre in which he alongside his brother collect plastic debris from the surrounding area of the Island via a canoe in which is transported by a larger boat to Phuket where they sell the debris to earn funds for the elderly and orphans of Panyee Island. Saudi and his brother have been collecting waste for over 10 years in which they are able to collect up to 100 kilograms of waste in the time frame of 15 to 30 days in which they earn 600 to 700 baht which amounts to 300 to 350 Rand a month. Saudi and his brother do not gain anything from this campaign besides the the reward of helping those in need on the Island by providing this selfless service to the worlds oceans and to the people in their small community. 

Disembarking onto Panyee Island  I did not know what to expect from floating homes to a floating soccer field. The self sustainable Island of Panyee had me mesmerized by the kohpanyee school, hydroponic garden, vibrant people and not to mention the spider monkey, Hassan. Being surrounded by little kids to being invited into the homes of elderly ladies who live a simple life has thought me what it is to be happy by just being grateful for the simple things without the need of fancy homes with huge gardens or even cars.