Thai Moon

Next few stops on the M&A Andaman Sea tour (almost like T-Swifts Era Tour, I’m sure) included James Bond Island, a smaller island, lunch/visit at a floating village (established 200+ years ago), and a S-shaped cruise through mangrove trees.

Bond…. James Bond (island) was a quick stop. Mucho tourist there and Alex offered other unique stops in its place, so after a few drive-by pics, us anti-social humans headed to the floating village of Ko Panyi for lunch.

QUICK TRIVIA: Anyone remember what James Bond movie this island starred in?? Me neither but Mike will, so what’s your guess?

Originally founded by people from Indonesia, Ko Panyi are Thai citizens. Alex said the village is gaining popularity with tourism and seeing growth. In fact, more houses can’t be built into the sea and power was just ran from the mainland to the village, under the sea, only 6 months ago. Before that… diesel generators powered this village. Well that and the power of the simple life…

During our stay, Mike and I not only enjoyed food atop the floating restaurant but sat in silence and took in the children laughing and swimming in their school clothes (no dancing) moments after the school bell rang. No phones, no Snap, no helicopter moms, no pressure of society… just full of joy. I did see an “Angela” at the top of the ramp scared to venture down to jump in the water. Her friend, drenched in sea water (in her school dress) ran up the ramp to encourage “Angela” to come with… not sure if this “Angela” took the leap of faith and ventured down for a dip because it was time for us to depart. But if I had a moment with that “Angela”, this Angela would tell her to go for it! Life is short! Carpe diem!

Also note a mosque, no temple in this village. As we traveled further south in Thailand, the Muslim faith is much more widespread vs Buddhism. They don’t have pork dishes on many menus around these parts because of this and Alex says he never orders pork when he is working out of respect for his Muslim co-workers.

FUN FACT: Alex was a monk for 4 months when he was 20. Said he treasured the experience and it changed his way of thinking and how he wanted to live his life. His brother who was headed down a dark path, turned to Buddhism and remains a monk today. 🙏🏼

Before I “leave” the topic of this village, can we also acknowledge the floating soccer field? Alex said the kids got tired of racing boats and wanted to play “football”. Not the Z-tackling fuel type but the what-we-call-soccer kind. They originally built platforms out of wood that floated. Alex said they were uneven and caused a lot of stubbed toes (he didn’t say that but I imagined it would). Talk about balance and training on a constantly moving platform?!?!? Their first year competing on the mainland they made it to the championships! It brought attention to their village so people donated the current field that you see today. Pretty sure Olympic teams will catch on to this moving field soon. It seems like it would equivalent to training in altitude for a race! I wouldn’t know because this vessel wasn’t built for racing but it’s what “they” say. Make note that you heard it first here. 😉

Next stop… the Mangrove trees. These trees are not only found here but all over the islands and in lagoons. You probably saw a few pics in our Part 1 post. How their roots stretch from their trunk down into the soil, allowing for water to ebb and flow with the tides. Alex told us that in some areas people have to be told not to climb on the single mangrove trees, as they aren’t strong by themselves. But… he went on to say that when many mangrove trees are together and their roots intertwine with one another, they become really strong! Isn’t that SO true for us humans too?!?! Living in community with others is how God intended us to live. Each of us bringing our own “roots” to share with one another, with the goal of supporting and strengthening one another, right?

Ok… I’ll stop. But crazy how mangrove trees live like we all should! You may take away something else from this mangrove rant but whatever it is, I hope it made your day better! 🤍

Next stop was a small beach/island that was busy during our first pass… but the coast was clear for our second attempt. This island stop allowed our boat captain to back in and let us off right on the beach. Alex says people can go back into this cave and camp. Perfect place for a BBQ and if it rains, there is a smaller cave off to the side for shelter. We didn’t stay long enough for a BBQ as the sun was beginning to set and it was time to get into place for the grand finale… the sunset, one more cave and then the bioluminescence water show!Meer informatie