James Bond Island and a visit to Phang-Nga Bay

One of Thailand’s most famous sights is of course the ‘James Bond Island’, a backdrop used for the iconic film The Man with the Golden Gun. Legend has it that this remarkable geological feature was created after a remarkable fisherman, hailed for all of his fishing triumphs, could no longer catch any more fish, and instead continually caught a nail in his nets. Angry at his failures, he split the nail in half with his knife, with one half flying into the sea and leading to an island emerging suddenly from the sea depths. This is where the island gets its namesake, as Khao Ta Pu literally translates as ‘Nail Island’. Nowadays this myth has long been forgotten by everyone outside of Phang Nga Bay, and is known colloquially as James Bond Island. When we booked our trip to the South of Thailand, we had both agreed that we simply had to visit this astonishingly beautiful sight, and it turned out to be the best day of the holiday.

James Bond Island and a visit to Phang-Nga Bay

We booked the excursion on our first day in the Devasom Hotel. It total, the tour came to around £100 between us, which included all our transport, a private guide, a delicious lunch, a few boat trips and unlimited beer and fizzy drinks. It was definitely worth every single penny! We started our trip early in the morning after a hearty breakfast, and were picked up by our guide at around 08:00. We were then driven from Khao Lak to the East Coast, which took a few hours but we were able to enjoy the stunning Thai countryside as we went, with tropical trees and flowers decorating the sides of most of the roads. Along the way we also saw a huge monitor lizard crossing the road! Eventually we stopped alongside a river on the edge of a mangrove forest, and were told that only a few hundred metres away was Phang Nga Bay. Excited for the start of our adventure, we stepped onto our long-tail boat and strapped our life-jackets on. The water was lovely and calm and a light breeze flowed into the boat, which really helped with the extraordinary heat. The temperature was already well into the thirties, making it one of the hottest days of the trip. Undeterred however, our boat set off into the bay, starting off a day of a lifetime.

As we left the mangrove forest into the bay, we were greeted by the giant limestone towers that make the area so famous. These towers were like a giant mountain range in front of us, each of them uniquely decorated with various plants and colours. The sea itself was becoming slightly choppier and above us were many sea hawks, with one every so often diving into the sea in an attempt to catch a fish. Our first stop in the bay was beneath a limestone cliff, which was covered in ancient cave drawings. On the rock you could clearly see paintings of dolphins, monkeys and even crocodiles. These drawings were painted by indigenous people over one thousand years ago, and are still so clear that they could have been drawn yesterday.

After seeing these drawings, we were then told that a kayak trip had been booked for us around the bay. This was rather worrying, especially as the day before we had totally failed at kayaking, with the excursion ending with us being beached in the middle of an estuary. Feeling very nervous, we agreed to the kayaking trip and were told (thankfully) that it would not be us who would be stirring, but a local guide who does it every day. Our guide was utterly fantastic and showed us the caves of the bay from a totally different perspective; he even went into some very low ones which required us both to lie down! One very sweet part of this venture was when he pulled out a large mangrove tree leaf out of the water and cut a love heart into it for both Jack and I, which I still have to this day. Our guide also told us about his work in the bay and that he had been doing the same job, for minimal pay, for the last 15 years. It turned out to be a very humbling experience and allowed us to talk to some real local people who were not part of the 5 star luxury hotels we were staying at.

After the kayak trip, we were told that the time had come to visit the James Bond Island. Our boat began to come into the harbour, which was not on the famous nail-shaped island, but a neighbouring larger island, on which are many tourists and attractions. We did a loop of this larger island before coming to the bay which has the legendary view of James Bond Island. Although the view was spectacular, it was a shame at how many people there actually were on the island. It made it very difficult to walk around, or even take pictures. Despite this, the views of the island and of the surrounding bay were simply breath-taking, and it was quite easy just to forget where you were and look out across the bay.

With the heat now gaining, and our bellies rumbling, we decided it was time for our lunch-stop of the day. We were told that lunch had been booked at a restaurant on the legendary floating fishing village of Koh Panyee. This town was established during the 18^th Century by nomadic Malaysian fisherman, who were unable to purchase land around it. Once the population grew too large, the village turned towards the tourism industry to gain more profits within the town. Nowadays it is used as a lunch stop for people on tours of the bay, and for people who want to see the world-renowned floating football pitch. Once we had docked, we were taken to our restaurant. The restaurant again had impressive views across the bay and was surprisingly quiet. Almost immediately after we had sat down, we were greeted by a buffet of all the Thai food you could imagine. The food was utterly incredible and our tour company did an amazing job at ensuring that we were having a really great time. One highlight was certainly their deep-fried prawns with sweet chilli sauce, which went down a treat when combined with a thirst-quenching Chang beer.

With our hungry stomachs now satisfied, we went on a tour of the village of Koh Panyee. The village was very typical of a touristy hotspot in Thailand, with many people setting up stalls that sold hand-made goods and decoration. There were some very unorthodox merchants too, with one person selling a handshake from a monkey in dungarees for a few dollars. There were also a lot of children who had been sent out to sell various things, such as wind-spinners or pencils. After a swift tour of the village, we were then taken down to their impressive floating football pitch where our boat was waiting for us. We were then taken back in the direction of our original dock from the morning, however this time our route took us through the lush mangrove forest. Here we were treated to views of many tropical birds, mud-skippers jumping up as we passed them, and even giant jellyfish lurking in the dark water below.

It felt very much like an adventurous trek through the jungle, adding to the excitement of the day. Once at the docks we jumped back into the minibus and this time headed towards what the guide called Monkey Temple, which, as you may have guessed, was a temple with a load of monkeys living there. After a short journey, we soon understood why the guide referred to it as Monkey Temple; there was a whole hoard of them!

They were all in the habit of pestering tourists for food, such as fruit, meaning that they all came very close and begged for food. The real magic of the temple however happened when you stepped inside. Alike most of the surrounding area, the rock here was made of limestone and so people had made use of a naturally occurring cave and created a temple within it. Alongside the marvellous decorations was a giant gold reclining Buddha, which was adjacent to a set of very steep (and somewhat unsafe looking) stairs. These led you up into the depths of the cave, where we were surrounded by a colony of fruit bats. To say this was an incredible experience was an understatement, and was the cherry on top of a fantastic day.

Our visit to Phang-Nga bay and the James Bond island was by far the most jam-packed day of the holiday, but in return, we got arguably the most memorable day out. And to top it off, we were back at the Devasom for about 15:00, which meant we still had time for a cocktail or two and a swim in the pool!

Here’s a sneak peek at what else we got up to in Thailand:

My Travel Tips and Recommendations

Flights

My usual go-to for booking flights is Skyscanner, the flight search engine. What I love about Skycanner is that you have various options depending on your situation. If you know where you want to go it’s easy – all you need is to search for your destination and dates, and you are provided with all flight options to choose from. If you haven’t decided on your next trip yet, you can use the Everywhere tool for inspiration and to find the cheapest places to fly to.

Accommodation

Whenever I plan my travels Booking.com is my best friend. The website is super easy to use and provides a whole range of accommodation from fancy resorts to budget hotels. Jack and I also regularly use Airbnb – in particular, for staycations in the UK.

Things I can’t travel without

As a travel blogger and keen photographer I never travel without my trusty technology. Always packed are my

Canon EOS M3
GoPro Hero5 Black
I’m also saving for a DJI Mavic Pro

Travel Insurance

It is so important to be prepared for all possibilities when travelling and you simply shouldn’t travel without insurance. When looking for cover I would personally recommend World Nomads or the Post Office – both are affordable and certainly won’t break the bank.

James Bond Island and a visit to Phang-Nga Bay

James Bond Island and a visit to Phang-Nga Bay