Back to Thailand -- James Bond Island

Better late than never, right? I know you (all 5 of my blog readers) have been waiting on abated breath for me to work on some more Thailand entries. So here we go. Our tour of James Bond Island and Phang Nga Bay.

We took a speedboat out from some remote area of Phuket towards Phang Nga Bay. The tour we took to Phi Phi Islands was from this fancy gated community with yachts at the boat docks. The area this tour started from was so remote that the tour and fisherman were the only ones around and it was way out in the middle of no where. Okay I guess we weren't the only ones there. These guys (and about 15 more of their pals) were hanging out too.


As we headed towards the bay our tour guides fed us some awesome tiny bananas, blood oranges (I have never eaten one before) and fresh pineapple. I cannot stress enough how amazing the fruit was over there.

Our boat leaving the docks (and monkeys) behind.

Our ride took off into the middle of the sea and all around us were huge limestone formations, some uncovered and others covered in vegetation. Our first stop was to be at the "bat cave", but thankfully the tide was not at the right spot and we just stayed in the boat. I really was not looking forward to walking through a cave where Thailand bats lived.
Bat cave that you can actually walk through.

After we left the bat cave we headed towards Koh Hong. Here we were to unload onto a big boat stationed in the middle of the sea and get onto tiny sea kayaks.

I have to admit I was a bit freaked. Getting on a tiny kayak in the middle of the sea in Thailand, with who knows what living in the water, was a tad bit unnerving. They gave us a person to paddle and lead us so it really was pretty safe. We took this kayak into "hongs" (caves), through little paths in the water trees and into different rock openings.
Trees along our path in the kayak.

One hong opening was so small that you literally had to lay down flat in your kayak to get inside.
Us getting ready to go through the opening to get inside the rock formation. You can see the couple in front of us laying back to get inside.

Our paddle guy was camera happy. (As you will see with the many pictures of Matt and I on the kayak) But I have to say some of them turned out pretty good.
After we got back on our speedboat they took us to Koh Pannyi, a tiny Muslim fisherman village to eat lunch. The whole village is built on stilts over the water.


When we arrived at the restaurant the meal was already set out on the table. For a person who doesn't eat anything that isn't land bearing it was a bit of an eyeopener.
There was a dish of white rice (which I ate alot of), cooked fresh vegetables (which I also ate alot of), some mystery chicken plate, two whole fish (head and eyes included), some mystery egg dish and soup.

Matt's bowl of soup and yes he ate all of it. (Like the tentacles?)

Outside the restaurant we were able to walk around the docks. There even was a man taking pictures (for a fee of course) with a giant bird. We opted to not be clawed and just took pictures ourselves of the scenery.

After lunch we went to James Bond Island. Ko Tapu or Nail Island, found fame through the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun", hence the name James Bond Island.
Matt and I at the top of the stairs on James Bond Island. The upside down rock behind us is a famous landmark.

This was probably one of Matt's favorite places of our whole trip. Not because of the movie (which you would never had known they filmed there if it wasn't for a small sign in at a promotional products gift table selling old copies of the movie) but because of the amazing limestone rocks and caves.


After I managed to drag Matt away from the caves we went back up the stone steps (not something easy when not wearing shoes) we went to a private island to soak up some rays. The tour guide was funny telling us that if we went anywhere past the boat or into the jungle that we would probably not make it back without seeing some sea urchin or deadly snake. Needless to say I just stayed on the sand.
After a very long day we went back to the boat dock where once again we were greeted by these little guys.

As always I have many more pictures from this part of our trip posted here. Matt got a bit carried away with the pictures of the limestones.

Up next? Patong Beach, Phuket and the nightlife.

Happy Early Birthday To Me!

I know my birthday is still 3 weeks away, but I bought my own present. I bit the bullet and got two tickets to the American Idol Tour! **Cue the fireworks, applause and screaming**

I could kick myself. I had the opportunity to buy presale tickets and didn't. They would have been floor seats. I then had the chance to have Row B tickets, but once again didn't. Between the cost of the tickets themselves and the gas to get there (it's in Charlotte, about 2.5 hours away) I just couldn't justify it.

But you know what? It will be my birthday treat. I stay home with my kids. My husband travels–– alot. I deserve it. I didn't get the best buy in seats, but hey they aren't that bad.

And the lucky winner to go with me? My lovely son Chris! I am already planning our departure time to get there in time to line up to see them get off the bus and hope real hard that we are the lucky ones to get meet & greet passes. Val, maybe you should send me some luck. You seem to have a way with celebrities. Maybe make a call into your Talk Soup boyfriend **wink wink**

Only 81 days!

Thailand - Phi Phi Islands

The Phi Phi Islands are located in Thailand, between Phuket and the western Andaman Sea coast of the mainland. Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh are the two main islands. The rest of the islands in the group, including Bida Nok, Bida Noi, and Bamboo Island, are not much more than large limestone rocks jutting out of the sea. Phi Phi Leh was the backdrop for the 2000 movie The Beach and is also the location for the Viking Cave. Phi Phi Don is the largest island of the group, and is the only island with permanent inhabitants, although the beaches of Phi Phi Lee are visited by many people as well. There are no accommodation facilities on this island, but it is just a short boat ride from Phi Phi Don. During the 2004 Tsunami much of the inhabited part of Phi Phi Don was destroyed. After the tsunami, approximately 70 percent of the buildings on the island had been destroyed and approximately 4,000 people were killed.

We arrived in Thailand on Sunday and just spent the day relaxing at the pool. After 22.5 hours on an airplane and 12 hours in an airport you really aren't up for much activity. That evening we walked down the beach and around the area to explore some of the shops, restaurants and local hangouts.

Monday morning we left our hotel at 8 am and set off for a tour of the Phi Phi Islands. We decided on a speedboat tour rather than a local transportation type tour. Can you imagine cruising the open sea waters on this?

It took almost an hour to get to our first stop. During the ride our tour guide told us all about the islands and fed us some awesome fresh fruit. Our first stop was a lagoon where we were to go snorkeling. This was my first view into the lagoon area. I can't even describe just how beautiful and amazing it was.
At the lagoon we (okay Matt) took lots of pictures of the limestone formations and then jumped into the warm water to snorkel. The fish were right up against us when we were in the water.


We then hopped back into the boat where we went around to swim in another lagoon. After we were done swimming we went to go see the monkeys. On the way there we passed the Viking Cave.
This cave is covered with saliva bird nests, which are harvested and used in bird nest soup. (Click the link. Very interesting reading)

So back to the monkeys. Our boat went right over to the side of the one island where there were at least 20 monkeys playing, climbing in the trees, sitting on rocks and sleeping. Real monkeys, in the wild. Our tour guide had brought peanuts to try and feed them. He said they get sick of bananas. Don't try to take any of their food though. They get a bit angry and will hiss and try to bite you.
After our little monkey feeding session we went into the open waters and snorkeled again. The fish were totally different than in the lagoon. We even got to see a Nemo fish! Talk about beautiful. I have to admit. I was hesitant to get in the water at first. I was afraid of what may have lived in the water, but I am so glad I did. Definitely better than when we snorkeled in Mexico or the Bahamas.

After some more fresh fruit we then went to a part of the island where we could actually get out and walk around. Some people stayed on the beach (I think it may have had something to do with the amount of topless sunbathers there were on that beach) while others followed the tour guide into the island for a walking tour.

This island is guarded by rangers who live in this house for three weeks without any electricity or running water. Supplies are brought from the mainland and their main job is to protect the park.

At the bottom of our walking tour there were boats lined up all along the beach. It was very cool.

At this point we hopped back into the boat and went to another part of the island for lunch. While we were there we watched them take the small wooden boats to a supply boat farther out in sea and then bring back the supplies and load onto a tractor.


Our lunch consisted of soup, rice, noodles and chicken wings. The soup was so good I had to have two bowls.

Afterwards we had time to walk around this part of the island. Everything was just so beautiful.

The last part of the tour consisted of going to a small beach where there wasn't anything to do but sit in the chairs and relax or swim. I actually took a bit of a snooze. Believe it or not this chair was like a luxury bedding sets.


Amazing, amazing tour. Now I need to rent The Beach so I can say "I've been there!"

You can see tons more pictures from this part of our trip here.