Koh Jum

The Pace of Life

So, you've discovered the secret that is Koh Jum! Just what exactly is the daily routine of people who visit this beautiful island?

Well, you can relax on your balcony, swing around in a hammock relaxing, chill out and take a relaxing stroll along the golden beach collecting shells or, if you're the sporty type, you can rent a kayak and paddle around the crystal clear water. All the time in a relaxing way of course!

As you have probably gathered, the key to get the real feel of Koh Jum is to relax the mind. The overall natural landscape of the island never fails to amaze and even the local community, who have lived on Koh Jum for years, still sometimes take a step back and just admire their surroundings.

The bungalows are built to enhance and landscape that gives the overall feeling of getting back to nature. Still essentially a fishing community, the way of life reflects this. Work hard, relax hard. Naturally visitors are not obliged to take part in the work side of that!

For those who come from Krabi or Phi-Phi, the differences couldn't be bigger. It's almost another world as you come from loud bars and clubs, restaurants and huge hotels into this slow pace of life. Hard to believe that these people come from the same planet, let alone the same province.

The Jum community have absolutely no interest in the goings on in Ao Nang or Phi-Phi. "They do their thing, we do ours!" Having compared the two paces of life in Krabi, time to choose which one suits you best......can't take you that long, surely!

Jum People

The local population of Koh Jum is just 1,500. Outside of the bungalows, Jum residents are based in three main villages, Jum, Pu and Ting Lai. The main income for the island is fishing, with the vast majority of the local men being part of a boat crew and in each village there are small shops selling groceries and other bits.

Tourists only started to arrive on the island around 5/6 years ago. The first bungalows to be built were Joy Bungalow, the brainchild of a couple of local guys who were keen to advertise the beauty of their home.

As with all these island folk, they are very welcoming and unlike the more well known tourist resorts around Krabi province, Jum people are friendly and genuinely interested in your background. The word "profit" is not on the agenda here!

Koh Jum is just like Koh Phi-Phi - 15 years ago! A very relaxed atmosphere, no rush to do anything and, thankfully, no huge resorts and pumping dance clubs. Having spoken to a few of the local community, this is likely to remain the case for years to come.

Electricity will finally arrive on the island in 2002 but some feel that this will take away from the overall feeling of the place. At least two of the bungalow complexes have said they will keep using candles and oil-lamps and just have a cable running into the bar/restaurant.

In a province so well promoted around the world, it is refreshing to know that at least one corner of Krabi has remained a distinctly Thai charm. In the last few years even Koh Lanta has fallen to the tourist boom that is working it's way down to Trang province.

Whether it is fate, creative planning or just pure good fortune, the big money men have overlooked Koh Jum and just kind of drive by. Mention this to the locals and their collective response is...............GOOD!