Koh Sirey (Sirey Island)

Just to the east of Phuket Town, just a few kilometers from the center, past the fishing port and the Rassada pier (from where you catch the ferry to Phi Phi), you cross a short bridge to Koh Sirey. As you cross the bridge (see location on Google Earth) you'll see fishing boats in the narrow channel between Phuket and Sirey island. The channel and the surrounding land are full of mangroves where you may spot monkeys from time to time...







Sirey Island is only about 20 square kilometers, and you can drive all around the island in half an hour. Much of the island is hilly and there are lots of rubber plantations. Around the coast there used to be small fishing villages, but development is catching up! There are a number of villas being built and some very big seaview houses around the shoreline. This has only recently been noticed as prime real estate. Some of the coastal views are fantastic.





There are still sea gypsies (Chao Ley) on the island, and you can visit their rather..er..dirty village at Laem Tukkae. The villages suffered some damage in the 2004 tsunami and some new houses were built for them nearby, but as far as I can see the old village is now back to normal. Don't expect to see too much of old traditional sea gypsy life here. Do expect to see 20 stalls selling shells. The few photos of the village on this page were taken in 2004.









We go for drives around Koh Sirey now and then. The views can be very nice and we like the temple on the hill (see more here : Koh Sirey Temple). The area is very quiet. You can visit the Phuket Abalone Farm, and there are a couple of local seafront restaurants that offer great views along with decent, inexpensive food. We went to "Haad Pleum Suk" last weekend. The food is decent, the beach there is clean and with views to the east across the sea to Koh Yao Yai. If you're staying in Phuket Town, it's only 15 minutes to drive on a bike over to Koh Sirey and well worth the effort.