Thailand, Phuket

Phuket was not at all the port I remember stopping at when Larkin was five. So…our chosen excursion was to visit Phang Nga Bay was exciting as we took a high speed boat through the 150 sq mile bay in the Andaman Sea which is between the island of Phuket and mainland Thailand. Since 1981, an extensive section of the bay has been protected as a National Park.

After our initial departure from the marina, the camera caught all these seadoos following the boats which made it seem like James Bond’s evil men were coming after us!

Limestone cliffs with caves, collapsed cave systems, and archaeological sites are found around the bay and we motored through them on our way to Khao Ta Poo island …which means crab’s eye in Thai. Of course it is most famously known and made popular as James Bond Island because of filming a scene for The Man With the Golden Gun in 1974! Hence all the people and all the boats!

The ride to the “James Bond” island encompassed more carsts like topography rising out of the sea. Their erosion makes for stunning photos! Photos of the encountered erosion up close are below and you’ll note in one cave we found monkeys sitting on the rocks. Sometimes the rocks took on other personalities like dragons or whatever your imagination comes up with! Newfern Seacanoe didn’t seem too reliable but you’ll see the lady sitting on the boat if you look close. Many people could be seen kayaking to enjoy the limestone vistas. We did motor by protected mangrove forests to see what they looked like up close.

There were many different types of boats that brought people in, dropped them off and hung around until the groups were ready to leave! The had a great recycling bin and of course some people enjoy doing unique selfies! …and of course unique geology!

After James Bond Island we landed at a floating Muslim only city called Koh Panyee Water Village with its own schools and mosque which you can see in the background. The settlement at Koh Panee was established at the end of the 18th century by nomadic Javanese fisherman. During this time the law limited land ownership solely to people of Thai national origins, and due to this restriction the settlement was, for the most part, built on stilts within the protection of the island’s bay, providing easy access for fishermen. With the increase of wealth for the community, due to the growing tourism industry within Thailand, the purchase of land on the island itself became a possibility, and the first significant structures were built ashore including a mosque and a fresh water well. 

In the late-20th century, the community found it difficult to subsist solely on the fishing industry, and the postman proposed to invite tourists to the village to benefit the residents. Nowadays this is one of the main attractions on tours of Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, often serving as a lunch stop. We did not do lunch there, but did walk through the floating island where our boat met us on the other side with of course various stalls selling souvenirs to make money along the way. No photos of the kids were allowed but I figured their shoes weren’t off limits! Girls shoes with pink, boys with green…

We headed back to Phuket enjoying some water melon, only to get back on a bus to drive thirty minutes to a restaurant. I’d say, the tide was out! It was a lovely lunch.

My favorite little buddy JJ is still having snow fun in Idaho! Up next, Sri Lanka and three stops!