Now it was not a pretty sight watching me climb clumsily into the boat. In fact, it was quite ugly, but "I did it" as my toddler granddaughter would say! Once in the boat it was quite comfortable. Our ride through Phang Nga Bay is one of the most picturesque and beautiful seascapes in Thailand. As we cruised we passed breathtaking seascapes of limestone stacks. We marveled at how the dramatic colors of ochre and amber hues contrasted vividly with the magnificent blue of the water. It was already worth looking like a total idiot trying to hoist myself onto the boat to experience the awesome beauty of this scenery.
Before we arrived at our first stop we paused briefly to enjoy the scenery in a beautiful bay with an incredible geological site. Fault movements have pushed massive limestone blocks up from the bottom of the sea. These rocks have resulted in many islands of towering karst creating this unique and breathtaking scenery. Sheer cliffs, overhangs, and caves create a beautifully calm and peaceful ocean environment which is perfect for small boats kayaking, or just relaxing. When tidal conditions are safe small boats an sail through the caves.
Our first stop was a visit to Khao Ping Kan Island, more popularly known as 'James Bond Island'. It was on this island where the filming of the last scene of "The Man With The Golden Gun" took place. This small island is an extremely crowded, hectic place. Our guide told us that approximately 4,000 tourists visit here every day. There is a small beach with rocky white sand. The water is quite warm and there are no sharks here so people feel free to swim safely. It was amazing how many street vendors can crowd into such a small space. Souvenir stands covered most of the available land on the island with the exception of a few somewhat narrow paths through which the great number of tourists maneuvered. Near to this island is the location where another James Bond movie (Die Another Day) was filmed. After our visit we climbed back on our speedboat to continue our tour of this gorgeous area.
Next, we visited Koh Panyi which is a water village comprised of more than 200 houses built on stilts over the water with attached wooden walkways. This village houses 1500 Muslim residents and includes a school, mosque, cemetery, restaurant, and lots of small shops. Many of the residents have converted their homes to accommodate a store front so they can sell souvenirs to tourists to boost their incomes.
We began our cruise back to Phuket in the afternoon. We were blessed with great weather today. It was sunny and very warm but thankfully the speedboat had a canopy so we were able to stay out of the direct sun. Bob, however, chose to sit outside on the front of the boat and take photos so his head is quite sunburned this evening. The return cruise was just as magnificent as the sail out this morning. Along the way we passed mangrove swamps, beautiful rock formations jutting up from the sea covered with lush vegetation and a grotto cave. It took us about an hour to speed back to shore. Hot, sweaty, wet, tired and hungry we filed off of the boat one last time and trudged across the sand to the village. After washing off our feet, putting on our shoes, and wiping our faces with a most towel graciously supplied by our guide, we were ready to make the short hike back up to the bus.
Yay!!! Air conditioning!!! Love it!!! We had about a 30 minute bus ride back to the ship. When we arrived we found the crew on the pier, anxiously awaiting our return. It seems we had been scheduled to sail 10 minutes before we returned. As soon as we were all safely back on the ship the crew rolled up the gangway and away we sailed!! Can't quite grasp that we only have 5 more weeks on our world cruise. Time has passed so quickly, although I am REALLY missing my kids, grandkids and mom. However, we still have plenty of exciting adventures ahead of us. We will meet our oldest son, Sean, in Oman for a day and our daughter Misha and her husband Naoki will sail with us for a day from Monte Carlo to Barcelona. Absolutely can't wait to see all of them!!!! Thankfully, we have a sea day tomorrow to relax, followed by 3-1/2 days in Myanmar (Burma).
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