James Bond Island is one of the most popular places to visit from Phuket.
It’s accessed from mainland Thailand, however. What with traffic most always a mess, it can take two hours or more just to get to the pier from which the long-tail boats depart for Phang Nga Bay … now protected as Ao Phang Nga National Park.
With all that in mind, once our call on Phuket was changed to an overnight, we decided to book a ship’s tour and add James Bond Island to our plans. It would have to be a cruise-only since we didn’t have time to land on the island.
The long bus ride gave us a small glimpse into daily life on Phuket, which was quiet today because it is election day. Traffic was light — at least in the morning — and the roads impressively smooth. Nonetheless, it took over two hours to get from the Deep Sea Port to the boat pier.
On arrival, we were given life jackets to don before we boarded the long-tail boat. These boats have a high bow, which blocks the forward view. So, Mui and I took the last bench, near the boat operator. Yes, the second-hand truck engine used to propel the flat-bottomed vessel — the sole defining characteristic of long-tail boats — was noisy. But we had a better vantage point for photos as we cruised through the waterways lined with mangroves before heading into the open waters of Ao Phang Nga. As well, we didn’t have to share the bench with anyone else.
The national park is characterized by limestone cliffs and rock formations that are clad in thick forests. Cave systems abound … some of which can be entered by boats for a closer look at the stalactites.
Small islands dot the bay … the most famous of which are the twin islands of Khao Phing Kan and Koh Ta Pu … better known as James Bond Island because it was used as a filming location in the 1974 Roger Moore 007 film, “The Man with the Golden Gun.”
In fact, Khao Phing Kan was the home base of the villain of the film … Scaramanga. But it was the limestone needle — Koh Ta Pu — that stole the show. Toto, our guide, said that in the 1997 Brosnan 007 movie, “Tomorrow Never Dies,” Koh Ta Pu also made an appearance, but the setting was used as a replacement for Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay.
After cruising along the mangroves, our boat took us through a cave, and then moved into the bay. The ride was a pleasant one, with the forward motion of the boat generating a nice breeze that had a delightfully cooling effect. In many ways, the scenery reminded us of Ha Long Bay, where we overnighted on a junk boat when Insignia called there on RTW2017.
Once we reached the open waters, we made a stop at Koh Panyee, described to us as a fishing village built on stilts. Our stop here included lunch at the Newfern Restaurant, followed by a tour of the village … which was more of a shopping opportunity than a tour.
Next, we boarded our long-tail boat, donned our life jackets, and headed further into the bay to see James Bond Island. First we, went around to see the iconic needle; and then we cruised over to the other side to see the “slit” in the rock wall that supposedly led to Scaramanga’s lair.
From James Bond Island, we essentially retraced our route to return to the long-tail boat pier on the mainland.
Once back ashore, we got on the buses for the drive back to Phuket. Traffic grew heavy once we crossed the bridge that connects the mainland to Phuket. Stop and go for long distances. Conditions were such that Toto announced that we had to head directly back to the ship. Hence no shopping stop. Yay! As it turns out, we beat the 4:30p all aboard by just 15 minutes.
Once on the move, Insignia turned her bow south to return to Malaysia for our two ports of call on the mainland portion of the country. This means that we will be losing the hour we gained after we left Langkawi a few days ago. Playing games with the time again!Read more
Traveler
Du bisch so hübsch 😍
Doris Gerber Oohhh merci viu mau 🥰
Traveler
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