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The 'Great Escape' really has nothing to do with a jailbreak. It
has everything to do with a true break from the pressures of work
schedules, getting stuck in traffic and contending with the general
daily order of life in the fast lane. 
About an hour, by boat, away from Phuket Island, are the islands
of Kho Yao. This is where true relaxation can be found. Well away
from maddening crowds, they give one the chance to step back in
time and experience a more rural Thailand at a very comfortable
level.
The larger island, Kho Yao Yai, is still pretty undeveloped on
a tourism level. However the smaller of the two, with reasonable
infrastructure on the tourism front, is Kho Yao Noi and it offers
the perfect escape.
Here you can wander down rubber-tree-lined paths, scramble along
jungle festooned tracks, cycle past quaint fishing villages, the
buildings dripping with flower filled baskets. You can watch fishermen
hauling in their catch or fixing nets, in untidy bundles, along
the shoreline. You can scale cliff faces, paddle into hidden caves
or across a bay to other small islands.
Diving here is reasonably good and you'll discover red and blue
corals, numerous fish, nudi-branches and other marine life beneath
the ocean's surface, in front of your hotel or close to nearby islands.
Another unique feature is the hot spring; renowned for its healing
properties, on the island' west coast.
Buffalo stare at you as you amble around paddy fields as white
egrets fluff their plumage and eye you from their leathery backs.
Mangrove swamps, secreting a myriad of bird and animal life offer
idyllic photo opportunities as do the picturesque lotus ponds and
spectacular monolithic island backdrops offshore.
Above all, it's quiet. There's not much in the way of night life,
there are few bars other than those at the resorts and traffic is
minimal. It has a small village with banking facilities, a few eateries
and a hospital.
The resorts on the island are beautifully designed and classy;
the in-house facilities are good and rooms let the cool sea breezes
waft your troubles away. Koh Yao Noi, with all it's basic simplicity,
really does offer you the true 'Great Escape'; (Read
more about Koh Yao Islands)
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