Four weeks into our stay in Phuket we only had one thing left to cross off our “list”: a visit to Phang Nga Bay, home of the famous “James Bond Island”.
Our experience with Phuket Sail Tours in the Phi-Phi Islands was so delightful that we signed on with them again to visit Phang Nga Bay, and it ended up being yet another perfect day out on the water.
We started with a visit to Elephant Cave, a small grotto on an island in the bay. Our “paddle boy” paddled us into the cave’s small opening on a kayak, and he took us on a tour of the place on foot. The cave was named after a huge elephant-shaped stalagmite formation, which we saw and posed in front of for pictures.
Sihanoukville and Kampot: A Mixed Bag
Then we took a quick spin by James Bond Island and James Bond Rock, made famous in the film The Man with the Golden Gun. The island was completely overrun with tourists, so we just circled it, ogled the incredibly beautiful James Bond Rock, took as many pictures as we could, and then we were off to another island for a paddle through a mangrove swamp.
The mangrove tour was awesome for two reasons:
- The mangrove was huge. And beautiful. And spectacular.
- Our “paddle boy” had a great sense of humor and kept dragging his thumb down the side of the wet kayak to make a high-pitched squeaking noise. He explained in broken Thai that the noise was an elephant fart. Our boy then laughed riotously until he cried, and our guide repeated the noise no less than 700 times.
We had a delicious lunch on board the boat, went for a swim at a tiny little deserted beach populated with a few bad-tempered monkeys, and then headed home.
Phuket Sail Tours was fantastic. Phang Nga Bay was beautiful, but we had already been to Ha Long Bay a couple of months before, so it was a difficult act to top. We still enjoyed ourselves immensely and would recommend it to anyone. It’s a beautiful place.
During our last few days in Phuket we decided to grab a Hobie Cat and do some sailing. The only spot we could find to do so was on the southernmost tip of Phuket, so on a day when the weather looked favorable, we jumped in the car after breakfast and drove the hour down to Ao Yon Beach, a beautiful little stretch of sand that seemed custom-built for a sailing school.
Adjusting to Island Life: Our Time in Mauritius
The two Brits that ran Topper Sailing School were very cordial and informal, and they had us out on the water in no time. Braeden had never been sailing before, and as soon as we picked up a couple of puffs and started flying across the water his face lit up with a huge smile. He gleefully dangled his feet in the water as we raced across the gorgeous, sparkling bay.
We spent a good 2-3 hours exploring, stopping off at a little deserted beach to marvel at the hermit crabs scrabbling everywhere, doing a circuit of Hamburger Island, and generally having a great time.
After we dropped off the boat, rinsed off, and thanked the folks at Topper Sail, we walked down the beach to the Brasserie Yacht Club for lunch. It was a perfect spot to enjoy some good eats, incredible food, and a cold Singha before the long trek back to Kamala.
Phuket was everything we expected it would be. We visited many, many fantastic beaches, soaked up the amazing scenery, tucked into delicious food almost every night, and met some wonderful people.
It’s not a vacation destination for everyone, but we loved living there for a few weeks, and we’re looking forward to returning.
Our next stop, a little island south of Phuket called Koh Lanta, was where we would sadly spend our last two weeks in Thailand. But it was an ideal place to finish up our time in Southeast Asia.
Next time: Koh Lanta!