Koh Panyee
The Moslem village of Panyee, a settlement of buildings on stilts with about 1200 inhabitants, lies in the estuary of the Phang Nga river in front of the rocky island of Koh Panyee.
Koh Panyee is a towering limestone outcrop jutting out of the sea at Phang Nga Bay. Below the limestone hill, a Muslim village on stilts has developed. This is Panyee. Many tourist brochures call it a floating village of sea gypsies. However, the village is not floating and the inhabitants, although are not sea gypsies, but rather permanent settlers who depend on the sea for their livelihood.
The whole village with an exception of the mosque is built over the water. A main pier runs the length of the village that connects it to the island and smaller piers connect to the main one.
The village has grown substantially over the past 10 years and what was once a small fishing village that existed almost entirely on fishing now plays host to the throngs of tourists from all over the world.